For many people, getting rid of their trash is easy - toss it in the recyclable or disposable bin and let a truck haul it away each week. 

You will get efficient and thoughtful service from Ruiou.

But how about a manufacturing plant that creates enormous volumes of trash or a township whose waste contains oil?

Now just throwing the trash into a dumpster has serious problems. 

For one, traditional dumpsters are huge containers that waste a lot of space and have no easy way to be moved or emptied. On top of that, many items have to be separated out of dumpsters. 

And unfortunately, the consequences of improper waste management are numerous: 

• Decreased workplace efficiency
• Dirty and dangerous workspaces
• Unsatisfied workforce

At Iron Bull Manufacturing, we know how managing your physical workspace can be a complete game-changer. We want to help you reduce waste so you can focus on the things that are crucial to your business. 

Through our years of experience, we’ve come to passionately believe that bottom dump hoppers can revolutionize every business that has to deal with waste. 

Ready to find out how you can save tons of time and boost profit? Let’s get to it!

Self-dumping hoppers come in a variety of styles and are very easy to use. You can get a low-profile hopper to slip under a workbench or a stretch hopper for extra-long scrap. You can even design a completely custom hopper to fit your unique needs! 

No matter what style of self-dumping hopper you choose, you can easily dump it using a forklift. The container dumps in a swivel motion like a tractor bucket - and hence its name: “self-dumping hopper.”   

And if you don't have a forklift, or have terrain that a forklift can't traverse? No worries! Trash hoppers can also be moved using a skid steer or anything else with forks which is why they are sometimes called forklift dumpsters. Small ones can even be dumped with a pallet jack!

In our opinion, the crown jewel of the trash hopper industry is the bottom dump hopper.  

These amazing trash hoppers can be used in nearly every imaginable scenario (more on that later) and can handle astounding amounts of weight. 

They are appropriately named since the waste drops directly out the bottom of the hopper (rather than the hopper tipping like most self-dumping ones do). 

Now, let’s dive into the details of bottom dump hoppers and see why they are the best trash hopper in the industry! 

Once you’ve decided how many doors you want on a bottom dump hopper, you can determine what system you want to use to open the doors. 

Again, there are two options. 

1 - Lever operated 

Lever-operated dumping mechanisms are the most common when it comes to bottom dump hoppers. Operating them is extremely simple - you don’t even have to leave your seat! All you have to do is pull a strap or cable attached to a lever on the hopper that controls the doors. 

Pull the lever, and the doors open, emptying your load in a matter of seconds. We’re not kidding - it’s that easy. You can be back to work in a matter of minutes. 

2 - Hydraulic operated

Some bottom dump hoppers utilize hydraulics to open and close the doors. 

This is particularly helpful for granular products like sawdust, gravel, or powder since hydraulic hoppers can dump their load slowly. This controlled flow creates less dust when you dump the material. 

The hydraulic operated doors are also easy to operate. Simply pull the cord and watch the hydraulics do the work for you. 

Is The Hopper Enclosed Or Open? 

The second significant distinction in drop-bottom styles is the difference between enclosed and open hoppers. 

Enclosed hoppers are often referred to as sawdust hoppers, but in reality, they are useful for capturing and storing any kind of granular material.  You could use them for sawdust, sand, gravel, stone, or any other loose material. 

These hoppers often come with an inlet port that can be securely connected to a dust collector or fan. 

That means the waste from your shop goes directly into the enclosed hopper without you ever even touching it. Less dust and less work is always a good thing. Just think about having less sawdust on all the surfaces in your shop, less sawdust in your nose, lungs, and hair, and less to clean up!

Some businesses even use enclosed hoppers in their cyclone systems.

Open hoppers have an open top and are used for collecting larger trash items. 

When it comes to what kind of trash can be stored in open hoppers, feel free to let your creativity run wild! 

For example, at Iron Bull Manufacturing, we can build specialty hoppers that allow you to separate liquid materials like water and oil from the rest of the scrap. 

Here’s a real-life example of what we’re talking about: 

Several months ago, a Caterpillar dealership contacted us with a special request. 

They were dealing with waste that included water - but they wanted to reuse the water that got discarded with their trash. 

We built them a dewatering hopper that separated the water from the waste after it was dumped in a bottom dump hopper. 

The result? 

Hundreds of saved man-hours since they didn’t have to separate the water and waste manually!     

(To learn more about hopper styles, read our blog: 4 Main Types of Hoppers And Their Uses.) 

Where Are The Fork Pockets Located? 

The third and final distinction in bottom dump hopper styles is the location of the fork pockets. 

Most bottom dump hoppers have fork pockets at the top of the hopper. This is different from the standard self-dumping hopper design, which has fork pockets on the bottom of the hopper.  

Some drop bottom hoppers have fork pockets in the middle of the hopper. This means the hopper doesn’t have to be lifted as high to empty into other containers. 

However, bottom dump hoppers with fork pockets in the middle can only be used with granular products. 

Now you know about bottom dump hoppers - perhaps you have a few ideas of how you creatively incorporate a drop-bottom hopper into your business. 

If so, drop a comment at the end of this article. We love getting new ideas from industry experts!

But we still haven’t hit the bottom line: 

How can a bottom dump hopper benefit your business? 

Let’s find out! 

Maximize Every Inch Of Work Space

What if you had more space because everything fit in your shop perfectly, like the pieces of a puzzle? 

You’d be guaranteed greater safety and efficiency. 

And while any trash hopper helps make your worksite more efficient, bottom dump hoppers stand head and shoulders above the competition in this area. 

Why? 

Drop bottom hoppers don’t have a dumping mechanism like other self-dumping hoppers. That means they can be designed with a rectangular shape and utilize every ounce of the hopper’s footprint. 

Precise And Consistent Material Control

Trash hoppers are incredibly useful because they allow for efficient waste storage and disposal. 

However, when the hoppers malfunction and don't operate correctly, you lose the advantage you gained in purchasing a trash hopper. But unfortunately self-dumping hoppers malfunction sometimes. 

Self-dumping hoppers rely on proper weight distribution to tip forward and pour waste out the front of the hopper. That means that if the products in the hopper are too light, or if heavy products are in the back, it might not dump. 

On top of that, the swinging forward motion of self-dumping hoppers is not very precise when it comes to where the waste will land. And the out of control motion can be somewhat dangerous to employees who are in the wrong spot at the wrong time. 

Watch this video to see how some delf dumping hoppers have an uncontrolled dumping action.

Drop bottom hoppers solve both of these problems. 

Since the bottom simply “drops away” in drop bottom hoppers, the waste is guaranteed to come out. It’s merely gravity at work! 

And you can also rest assured that the waste material will go precisely where you want it - directly underneath the bottom dump hopper! 

Endless Design And Customization Options

Because bottom dump hoppers have such a unique design, the customization options are almost endless. 

Do you need a higher or wider hopper? Perhaps you want a hopper with sloped sides or a hopper with crane hooks. 

No worries - a bottom dump hopper can easily be built to fit your exact needs. 

In fact, a drop bottom hopper can be modified to work in ANY situation 90% of the time. 

We’ll even help you brainstorm to find creative solutions to your waste management problems. Send us a picture or contact us, and we can help you find a design that works. 

Versatility Among Industries

Because you can modify bottom dump hoppers to fit your exact needs, you can use them in a vast array of industries. 

In other words: 

If your business creates scrap, a bottom dump hopper can help you. 

While standard self-dumping hoppers are almost exclusively used in the woodworking and steel industries, bottom dump hoppers can be used for anything from concrete projects to municipalities. 

For more information, please visit Sand Storage Hopper manufacturer.

In fact, we’ve been conducting a study here at Iron Bull. 

We’ve been coding all our customers - marking those that aren’t in the woodworking or steel industries with an “x.” 

Over the past several months, more drop-bottom hoppers were sold to specialty industries marked with an “x” than to steel or woodworking companies. 

Hopefully, you understand how valuable this flexibility is!

If you’ve been wringing your hands in the past because there is no waste management solution for you, you can stop now. 

We’re not kidding. You don’t pay an extra cent to adjust the size of a drop bottom hopper from Iron Bull. 

Instead, we base our pricing on the capacity of the hopper you are ordering, not the level of customization. 

In other words: 

A larger hopper does cost more than a small hopper because of its increased size capacity. And as a result, if you add 2 feet in width to a standard hopper size, you will pay more than usual. 

However, this extra cost comes only from the increased capacity of the hopper - NOT the size customization. As a result, the increased price is quite minimal. 

To be clear, special features that do not relate to size like crane hooks, or slatted side walls do come at a minimal extra cost.

We do our best to bring this straightforward approach to all the business we do - and that’s why working with us is so incredibly easy. 

1. Get a quote or give us a call. You can be sure that we’ll only give our honest advice and you’ll receive no pressure to buy. 
2. Let us build the perfect drop bottom hopper for you.
3. Enjoy the benefits of a safe, clean, and efficient workspace! 

It’s seriously that easy!  

Imagine reducing waste, lowering production costs, and increasing productivity.

You can do all three by utilizing a bottom dump hopper in your place of business.  

If you aren’t sure what kind of work best in your situation, that’s completely fine. That’s why Iron Bull is here. We’d love to apply our knowledge to your unique situation and help you find the best fix. 

And we offer much more than just trash hoppers.

We also provide a variety of tractor shade canopies, including:

• John Deere ROPS and tractor canopies
• International ROPS and tractor canopies
• Oliver tractor canopies and support frames
• Massey-Ferguson tractor canopies and support frames
• Ford tractor canopies and support frames 

Contact us or get a quote today. We look forward to hearing from you!

What is a Self-Dumping Hopper?

A self-dumping hopper is an essential forklift attachment for any commercial and industrial workspace dealing with large and heavy (waste) materials. The dump hopper is used in a variety of industries such as construction, warehousing and lumber processing to store and relocate heavy loads with a fork truck.

Excellent for handling heavy, bulky scrap, in-plant housekeeping, in-process materials, sorting and storing, castings, wood, metal chips, recyclables, and sludge.

Frequently asked Questions

Who would benefit from a Self-Dumping Hoppers?

• Construction Sites
• Warehouses
• Waste Management facilities
• Manufacturing Plants
• Large Wood Shops
• Furniture Shops
• Lumberyards
• Metal Scrap
• Fabrication Shops
• Metal CNC Machining
• Recycling Facilities
• Machine Shops
• Fabrication
• Glass Industry
• Food and Beverage Industry
• Fisheries
• Harvest Facilities

Increase Material Handling Efficiency

The on-site transportation, storage, and disposal of various items add significantly to the operating costs of any business. The type of dump hopper used makes a big difference in the effectiveness of each process. Something as simple as investing in a dumping hopper can slash expenses and expand profits.

Company equipment affects the performance and safety of employees. Keep your employees in mind when developing processes and choosing the right tools for efficient material handling at your facility or job location. Start with a review of the available options. Analyze how you can improve procedures at your business to increase employee satisfaction as well as your bottom line.

How to Choose the Best Size Dump Hopper?

Using dump hoppers to meet material handling needs is a way to save on time and energy. Compactors Inc offers a range of dump hoppers designed to meet the needs of many types of material management companies, including those that handle mining, solid waste, glass, and manufacturing materials. One important component to consider when selecting a hopper container is size. Understand the differences between the four sizes of hoppers before choosing a material hopper for your company.

Durable Hopper

A durable dump hopper is the smallest hopper offered. These hoppers have a weight load capacity of 2,000 to 4,000 pounds and a volume capacity of 1/8 to 5 cubic yards. The smaller size of a durable hopper is ideal for light weight material handling that may include ash, stamping, sawdust or glass. There are many different models to choose from, allowing your company to choose a small size with a shape that meets material handling needs.

Rugged Hopper

The rugged self-dumping hopper is a step above the durable hopper and is a good size option for companies handling coal, rubber, metal scrap or construction material below the weight of 8,000 pounds. Weight capacities of the rugged sized model range from 4,000 to 8,000 pounds and the volume capacity is the same as the durable hopper, at 1/8 to 5 cubic yards. A rugged hopper is constructed of 7-gauge carbon steel and includes the standard flip secure latch.

Ultimate Hopper

Companies handling heavy weights of material should consider the ultimate self-dumping hopper as a safe and effective transportation option. This hopper has a weight capacity of 8,000 to 10,000 pounds and a volume capacity of 1/3 to 5 cubic yards. While the durable and rugged sized hoppers are ideal for lightweight materials such as ash and rubber, the ultimate hopper is an option for industries transporting brick, castings, demolition debris and other dense and heavy materials. Working with these heavy materials can be dangerous. Thus, the ultimate hopper includes side and back angle rows and two support channels to reinforce the ¼” carbon steel body, to help you handle large materials safely.

Behemoth Hopper

The behemoth self-dumping hopper is the largest hopper offered. It has the same weight capacity as the ultimate size material hopper, with a capacity of 8,000 to 10,000 pounds. The difference is in volume capacity, where the behemoth can provide a 6 to 10 cubic yard volume capacity. This is an exceptionally large hopper and is the recommended size for companies handling large and highly dense materials, such as hot ash, shipyard debris, concrete, and castings. In the case of the behemoth hopper, the continuously welded structure is composed of 3/16” and ¼” carbon steel. Additionally, there is a 72” long box tube base with a slide bolt latch to keep the large materials secure during transport.

Galvanized Steel Self-Dumping Hoppers:

The perfect hopper to handle any material handling applications where corrosion resistance is a must. Galvanized Steel Hopper is the best hopper in its class and is designed with quality material to provide a superior performance without any interruptions. We can also provide customers with custom designed Galvanized Steel Hoppers and will modify an existing model or design a custom steel hopper for special applications.

Common applications

Sewage & wastewater, fishery, harvest, outside material handling applications.

Galvanized Steel Self-Dumping Hoppers include the following features:

Built with exclusive pointed & pierced trunnion track with taper pins for superior damage resistance.

Our Hoppers are built with mild steel and are hot dipped galvanized to reduce corrosion.

Stainless Steel Hoppers

The Ideal solution for the Chemical and Food & Beverage industries. Stainless Steel self-dumping hoppers are constructed with an austenitic stainless-steel body with a hot dipped galvanized mild steel base. These stainless steel self-dumping hoppers will reduce operation costs, increase productivity, and provides a safe method of material handling.

Common applications

• Food
• Beverage
• Harvest

Stainless Steel self-dumping hoppers include the following features:

• High-class sliced and ejected trunnion track with taper pins to provide superior wear resistance.
• All hopper bodies are constructed with stainless steel.
• Unlike our painted hoppers, steel hoppers do not need an enamel protective coat. This is due to one of two specialized steel products: galvanized steel or stainless steel.

Applications

Both galvanized and stainless-steel hoppers are particularly suited to corrosive applications. This means that they are a great investment for farmers, chemical processing plants and food processing facilities. The tough steel will not rust or otherwise corrode when exposed to harsh chemicals and other acidic elements. Other than the alloy used in the construction process, your steel hopper is fabricated with the same dependable design features of a traditional self-dumping hopper. This means that you can use your hopper to load, haul and dump recyclable materials, food scraps or construction site materials.

A hopper is a highly versatile piece of equipment, so make full use of its features by taking on multiple projects around your facility. As a food processing hopper, stainless and galvanized hoppers both offer the protection and dependable designs you need. Store and haul organize waste, grocery store waste and restaurant waste without relying on your local waste management company. In-house waste removal can save you time and money as you grow your food processing facility or restaurant.

Chemical processing plants cannot afford to compromise their materials with a corroding hopper. Chemical spills are serious issues, so choose a hopper that can safely handle your products or waste materials and transfer them to other dependable containers.

Use your hopper your way. These are common applications, but we ensure our steel hoppers are ready for many challenges. Discuss your specific industry with our team to see how stock features or custom alternatives can keep your facility safe and operating at peak efficiency.

Dewatering Self Dumping Hoppers

The perfect hopper to safely handle loads up to 6,000 lbs. that require collection and drainage of wet material applications. Dewatering self-dumping hoppers are available in many sizes for the pulp processing and water & sewage treatment applications. The Dewatering Hopper offers the strongest self-dumping hopper in its class. It will reduce operation cost, increase productivity, and provide a safe method of material handling. We will modify an existing Dewatering Hopper or design a custom steel hopper for those special applications.

Common applications

• Pulp
• Aggregate
• Waste, and water
• Liquid Extraction container / content separation
• Beverage Bottle / Container Crushing / Emptying
• Aluminum Can Crushing / Emptying
• Plastic Container Crushing / Emptying
• Laboratories
• Pharmaceuticals

Dewatering Hoppers include the following features:

High-class perforated and distended trunnion path with taper pins to offer phenomenal wear support to the hopper. All the approved hopper bodies are built of 1/4″ carbon steel.

Recycling Self-Dumping Hoppers

The perfect self-dumping hopper for refuse and recycling material handling applications. The Refuse & Recycling self-dumping hopper has a lightweight plastic lid that keeps material dry, cuts down the odor and controls pests. Compactors Inc line of refuse & recycling hoppers are available in 1 and 2 cubic yards to solve all waste and recycling material handling requirements. Refuse & Recycling dump hoppers are the toughest hoppers in their class. In addition, these hoppers will reduce operation expenditures, increase productivity, and offer a safe and secure method of material handling.

Common applications

• Plant refuse
• Paper
• Cardboard
• Plastic bottles
• Aluminum cans
• Glass bottles
• Any type of trash or recycling products.

Refuse & Recycling self-dumping hoppers come with the following features:

• High-class sliced and ejected trunnion passage with taper pins for best wear confrontation.
• All hopper bodies offered are constructed of 3/16″ & 12-gauge carbon steel.
• Lightweight molded plastic lids that provide strength and elasticity.
• Endless Business and Industrial Needs

It is easy to see how hoppers fit right into a productivity-driven manufacturing environment. They also impart tremendous value to all types and sizes of businesses. Almost every commercial undertaking needs to store and process basic components, move them around and dispose of waste and recyclables.

Construction sites provide many opportunities to use hoppers to increase productivity. They can transport and feed ingredients for mixing small amounts of concrete or mortar. They can keep the site free of debris and unsightly materials. They can move pallets of shingles and dispose of old roofing materials.

The food and restaurant industries offer numerous applications for dump hopper use. A larger bakery, for example, can use a hopper for adding heavy quantities of flour or sugar to an industrial mixer. These dumpster bins can collect and carry empty packaging or used bowls and pans to waste and washing areas. With tight quarters and precise preparations, busy restaurants also need to keep clutter and trash constantly under control.

Larger offices, as well as schools and health care facilities, also benefit from using hoppers. They can store materials until needed, keep work areas clean and safe and dispose of waste and recyclables. Since hoppers come in such a large variety of sizes and weight loads, even smaller institutions make good use of them.

Material Handling Efficiency Starts with The Right Hopper

Before you decide on the best bin dumper to handle materials at your site, take time to evaluate your business processes, talk with your employees and learn how you could implement improvements.

How effectively you handle your raw materials affects the throughput of your products. The number of times a worker touches an item impacts the cost of production and the potential for human error or a safety disaster increases. Using a steel hopper means less direct contact with the materials and less time manipulating the hopper. The employee completes the task faster with greater safety. Because using these hoppers is so easy, the business saves on training costs, and the worker is happier performing the job. Maintaining a clean, uncluttered production area with a dump hopper improves productivity in any business or industrial setting. Whether or not the public views this zone, employees will complete their assignments in a safe, pleasant environment without cluttered corners or spots. Empty dump hoppers can be easily stored by stacking one inside the other to conserve space when not in use.

You cannot overemphasize the human and safety benefits of providing the right forklift dumpster or dump hopper for your employees. A dumping hopper keeps the operator safe from accidents and exposure to any potentially hazardous materials or waste. Not only is this the right thing to do, but it also pays dividends by saving time, lowering costs, and reducing employee turnover.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Pre-Expander Machine.