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Vacuum Hopper Empties Grian Drills
"It lets me clean out my 36-ft. grain drill in five minutes or less and can also be used to handle grain like a conventional vacuum-blower," says Brad Thykeson, Portland, N. Dak., about the "vacuum hopper" he added on to a 1981 Kongskilde 300 grain vacuum-blower.
Thykeson salvaged a 30-gal. grain hop-per from an
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Vacuum Hopper Empties Grian Drills GRAIN HANDLING Miscellaneous 16-4-15 "It lets me clean out my 36-ft. grain drill in five minutes or less and can also be used to handle grain like a conventional vacuum-blower," says Brad Thykeson, Portland, N. Dak., about the "vacuum hopper" he added on to a 1981 Kongskilde 300 grain vacuum-blower.
Thykeson salvaged a 30-gal. grain hop-per from an old Massey Harris 90 combine and mounted it on a steel frame that he added to the rear of the Kongskilde ma-chine. He made a cyclone out of a 30-gal. oil drum and welded it on top of the hopper, then ran a steel pipe from the discharge side of the vacuum-blower up to the cyclone. To suck seed out of his drill he simply replaces the vacuum-blower's 6-in. dia. hose with a 4-in. hose that's equipped with a 2-ft. long PVC nozzle on one end. Sucked-out seed is pulled into the hopper which is then emptied out by gravity through a door at the bottom of the hopper.
"It completely empties out drill hoppers, making short work of a time-consuming job," says Thykeson. "I can empty out the drill in only 5 min. even if it's half full. It works much better than the 5-gal. shop vac I had been using because I don't have to use my hands to dig seed out of the cups and I don't have to use any pails. Another advantage is that I work away from the vacuum hopper so I don't get covered by seed treatment powder dust. The 20-ft. hose can reach either end of the drill when the vacuum blower is centrally located.
"The 4-in. dia. hose is easier to handle than the vacuum-blower's 6-in. dia. hose and has a smaller nozzle that easily fits into the drill box. A 90 degree elbow allows the nozzle to reach the bottom of the box.
"When I want to use the vacuum-blower to clean out bins, I reconnect the 6-in. dia. hose. Then I disconnect the pipe running to the add-on hopper and hook up the vacuum-blower's regular discharge pipe which I can swing out over a truck."
Thykeson spent about $300 to add the vacuum hopper to his grain vac.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Brad Thykeson, Rt. 1, Box 132, Portland, N. Dak. 58274 (ph 701786-2227).
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