Auger Empties Temporary Storage

Auger Empties Temporary Storage AUGERS Augers (29B) 32-2-25 Temporary corn storage in an outside pile can be a pain to empty. Using a loader means breaking open the retaining wall, and vac systems can get torn up accidentally by rocks. This past winter, Kevin Holst made an auger system to clear the corn out of his 18,000-bu. pile. "It's always easier filling these temporary storage areas than emptying them out," he says. "I figured if an auger could fill it, why not use an auger to empty it." The key was getting the auger in place before the corn. His first step was to cut down a 55-ft. auger to 34 ft. He then cut a hole in the side of the double high set of rings used as the retaining wall and ran the auger to the center of the 60-ft. dia. bin. A standard grain sump attached to the end of the auger would empty out most of the grain. To speed the process, Holst also cut several holes in the auger sleeve to serve as intermediate sumps. He covered the holes with sliding doors that could be opened and closed with pull-rods from outside the bin. To draw corn out of the bin, the auger had to be reversed. Holst mounted a jackshaft and sprockets to the pto gearbox. For the most part, the auger worked the way Holst had hoped. "The intermediate sumps didn't remove much corn, but they did make it easier to get in and out of the bin at that point," says Holst. "Even the main sump didn't draw corn for more than about three hours. I hooked a 10-ft. sweep auger on a pivot post at the main sump." Once the center 10 ft. had been cleared, a second and finally a third sweep auger section were added. All but 8 ft. of corn on either side of the auger were removed by the sweeps. "We had to shovel the grain away from the main auger, but it was still better than the alternatives," says Holst. One other addition he made to the auger worked even better. That was an aeration tube with a 14-in. axial fan pulling air out of the corn pile. "I had a tarp over the pile and with the aeration tube and fan, it sucked the tarp down tight over the corn," says Holst. "I only ran it on windy days, but when I did, that tarp wasn't going anywhere." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kevin Holst, 22256 260th St., Eldridge, Iowa 52748 (ph 563 349-4858; kjholst1@juno.com).

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