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They Save Money By Cutting Up Old Grain Bins
We're always looking to re-use things. One of our neighbors says that watching us operate is a little like watching the old Sanford & Sons TV show," says Terry Hill, Battle Creek, Mich., who recently sent FARM SHOW photos of some low-cost buildings he made out of 14-ft. dia., 1,000-bu. grain bins.
To convert a b
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They Save Money By Cutting Up Old Grain Bins CROP STORAGE Grain Storage 25-1-6 We're always looking to re-use things. One of our neighbors says that watching us operate is a little like watching the old Sanford & Sons TV show," says Terry Hill, Battle Creek, Mich., who recently sent FARM SHOW photos of some low-cost buildings he made out of 14-ft. dia., 1,000-bu. grain bins.
To convert a bin, Hill uses a torch to cut the roof off, then cuts the bin in half vertically starting at the door. Sometimes he places the two halves side by side directly on the ground, overlapping them a little, and uses steel posts to keep the sides from spreading out. These 16-ft. long, 6-ft. high open-ended structures work great for storing lumber.
Last fall he needed some hay storage for his registered Jersey heifers so he converted a bin into a hay shelter that he put next to his cattle pen. A series of 6-ft. sq. pallets line two sides of the shelter. The pallets are lag screwed together and are also lag screwed to the bin walls and to treated wood that sits on the ground. The shelter holds about 110 small square bales.
Another project involved mounting the roof from one bin over an old gravity box. The gravity box holds up to 125 bu. of ground corn cobs that the Hills use as bedding for their chickens and hogs. The bin roof's fill cap is removed, and a grinder-mixer equipped with a 1-in. screen augers cobs into the gravity box.
"We buy bins from neighbors. Most people are glad just to get rid of them so we usually get them free. The most we've ever paid for a bin was $100. Putting up buildings this way takes a lot more time because we have to pull nails and sometimes have to engineer things. The bins are a little hard to handle when they're cut in two because they tend to twist around until you get them tipped up and in place."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Terry Hill, 4439 Capitol Ave. S.W., Battle Creek, Mich. 49015 (ph 616 979-9492; fax 616 979-8102).
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