ischarging into the open. The
chain and buckets, being carried on rollers which run on the outer
edge of the trough, cannot come in contact either with the hot coke
or with gritty particles. The chain of buckets is connected by
horseshoe-shaped brackets extending upwards beyond the sides of the
buckets and connected with the links of the driving chains. When the
conveyor is at work the covers of the mouth-pieces are opened and the
coke is fed into the buckets; simultaneously the water valves are
opened and the glowing coke is quenched. Any breeze which may have
fallen between the buckets is collected by a scraper and delivered
into a tank at one end, while the propeller wheel draws the water from
this tank and drives it back to the other end of the trough. The top
strand is the working strand and delivers its load at the terminal.
One important difference between an ordinary gravity bucket conveyor
and this apparatus is that the buckets are here rigidly connected to
the supporting wheels.

The West hot coke conveyor consists of a strongly-built trough in
which a single wide chain partly carries and partly drags the coke. In
the trough is a false bottom, the plates of which are loosely fixed
and kept in position by angle irons on which the chain drags. By two
arm-like extensions the links of the chain are widened right across
the trough. The pitch of the chain is 12 in., so that all the large
pieces of coke are more carried than dragged. The speed of travel is
about 40 ft. per minute.

[Illustration: FIG. 12.--Wild Coke Conveyor.]

The Wild conveyor (fig. 12) consists of a cast iron or steel trough 24
to 30 in. wide by 9 in. deep, supported by cast iron brackets to which
the rails that support the strands of the chain are secured. Both
chains run outside the trough, and are secured on either side to the
pushplates, so that only the scraper comes in contact with the hot
coke. Every second link of the 12 in. pitch chain carries a push or
scraper-plate, as shown in illustration.

The De Brouwer hot coke conveyor, which is much used in gas works both
in Great Britain and on the continent of Europe, was invented by a
Belgian engineer. Its construction has undergone many modifications
which experience has shown to be desirable. It consists of a trough of
cast or wrought iron, or mild steel, 20 to 36 in. wide and 3 to 6 in.
deep. Double endless chains