Bin Peat Gatherer

a machine for the mechanized gathering of peat from windrows and for transporting it to stockpiles. A bin gatherer for collecting spread peat was first developed in the USSR (1928-32); after 1944 trailer bin gatherers became widely used.

The bin peat gatherer operates with a caterpillar tractor with a power of 40-50 kilowatts (54-75 horsepower) and consists basically of a working member (a scraper with a bucket hoist), a bin with a capacity of 14.5-21 cu m having a bottom in the form of an apron or scraper conveyer, an automatic machine for metering the gathered peat, and a transmission driven by the tractor’s power take-off shaft. All the units are mounted on a chassis with a caterpillar tread.

Before collection by the bin gatherer, the cut peat with a moisture content of 40-50 percent is gathered from a spread into windrows 450-460 m in length. As the bin gatherer moves along the windrow, the peat enters the scraper, from where it is scooped into the bin by buckets and is finally transported to the stockpile. The peat is unloaded from the bin onto the lateral surface of the pile by the apron or scraper conveyer.

The bin gatherer collects 12,000-30,000 tons of air-dried cut peat in a season, thereby freeing 25-40 workers. More than 70 percent of the cut peat in the USSR is produced by means of the bin gatherer. With the introduction of the bin gatherer, integrated mechanization of peat production for industrial and agricultural uses was accomplished. The adoption of the bin gatherer has sharply reduced the laboriousness and the cost of producing peat fuel. Bin gatherers of Soviet construction are used in Hungary, Finland, and other countries.