Hytrol Conveyors has published a free guide to estimating conveyor projects – its innovative “Stockyard Reference Guide.”

The book, which is a short 24-pages, helps you to get ballpark numbers for conveyor projects in a short amount of time. Of course, you can always call us to help you with that kind of thing (and we’ll be more accurate), but this might be faster for you. Not only do you get the cost per foot estimates, there is also some useful information on how to specify, why one conveyor might fit a situation better than others, and more.

The Reference Guide is designed for typical, ball park estimates – enough to help you get started.

Use it to get an idea of whether or not your concept fits your general budget and warrants further investigation. The Stockyard Reference Guide breaks down many kinds of stock conveyors from gravity roller to accumulating to portables conveyors. Its material cost is on a per-foot basis, and includes a standard conveyor with all the items normally included with it.Variations can and do occur based on a large number of variables. Items such as supports and guard rails aren’t included in the per-foot numbers.

One note on per-foot conveyor estimates: the first foot of power conveyor is the most expensive due to the motor, so shorter lengths are much less typically accurate than longer ones. For instance, using the guidebook, a foot of Model TA power belt conveyor is typically $100. A 10′ section would estimate out at $600. The reality is that such a conveyor would really cost $1,400 to $1,700. That’s because the guidebook is using longer conveyor lengths to establish an average. Take a 30′ long conveyor – using the $100/foot rule of thumb, it would be $3,000. In that scenario, the list prices are actually lower than the book’s estimate, ranging from $1,900 to $3,100 depending on belt width.

The point is that you can use the reference guide to get started, and you’ll find it excellent for that, but for a real number, you’ll need to contact us for a quote or check our online conveyor catalog for specific pricing for various lengths of these conveyors. It is a very useful book, and it’s free, so I urge you to download one or request a printed copy.

Click here to get your copy of the Reference Guide.

Tags: Belt Conveyors, conveyors, Hytrol, Incline Conveyor, Material Handling, Roller Conveyors, Systems Design, warehousing

Scott Stone is Cisco-Eagle's Advertising and E-business Manager. He is a 20-year veteran of the material handling industry. He publishes the award-winning Material Handling Tips & Information Newsletter and works on all aspects of the company's communications efforts. See Cisco-Eagle on Twitter