Bin UnPlugger Could Be A Life-Saver

Bin UnPlugger Could Be A Life-Saver CROP STORAGE Grain Storage 26-6-20 Ken Quam has worked around augers and bins most of his life, selling and servicing grain bins for AgriSales, Northwood, Iowa. He's also spent 35 years as a volunteer fireman so he's seen his share of bin-related tragedies. Those experiences prompted him to come up with a grain bin unplugger that breaks up plug-ups from outside the bin without risk of life or limb and without emptying out the bin. "I tried everything before coming up with this idea," he says, recalling earlier efforts with pushing rods down from above and even using concrete vibrators. "In a tall bin, you can't get a long enough pipe, and how do you guide it?" Then he got the idea of inserting a half-inch pipe with a chain welded to the end. Quam would attach a drill to the end of the pipe and hope that the chain would break up any caked grain. However, he found that the unit was too difficult to control and length was limited. He kept experimenting and finally came up with a method that works. He cuts a hole in the side of the bin and inserts a pipe sprayed with a slippery lubricant. As he slides in the pipe, the end fills with corn, which he periodically vacuums out with a shop vac. Once he reaches the center of the bin where the plug is located, he inserts his unplugger mechanism and goes to work. The unplugger consists of a solid rod with a short length of hinged rod attached to the end with a big bolt threaded into it. A cable is attached midway along the end rod. Once the device has reached the plug, Quam moves the hinged rod back and forth by pulling on the cable. The bolt striking the plug breaks it up. "It takes imagination and a feel for what's going on in the grain," says Quam. "I can tell when I am in hard stuff or in loose. And I know when I am right down in the auger." So far, his device has only failed to do the job once, and that was in a grain elevator silo. His largest success was a 90-ft. tall, 75-ft. dia. bin that he unplugged in two hours. When he's done, all that remains is the pipe and a hole in the side of the bin. Quam leaves the pipe in place once the auger is working again in case another problem develops. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ken Quam, AgriSales, 608 8th St. N. Northwood, Iowa 50459 (ph 641 324-1507).

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