Coming from a farming background and having had machines mobile machines for cleaning and processing corn for decades find this incredibally interesting. <br>I wonder how well screw would act regarding self cleaning when seed treatments were applied and if the wet and slightly sticky material would shear off efficiently? <br>Think it may depend on bushal weight of material, size of seed and pitch/size of screw?,(reply>), @jordan elliott Agreed, though there's another downside: you can never lift all of the product this way. Since the lower portions push up the higher ones, enough of it needs to always be accumulated at the bottom in order for the elevator to work.,(reply>), Seems like it would work best with very dry material.  The scoops at the bottom generate the compression to lift the material, and if it couldn't "flow" into the scoops you might run out of compression.  Mumble, mumble, relationship between weight of material/ ease of "flow"/ rate of spin/ friction in tube...<br><br>Anything sticky might not work as well, if at all.  I'm an armchair engineer at best though, my two cents.<br>.