You have reached your limit of 5 free stories. A story preview is shown instead.
To view more stories
(If your subscription is current,
click here to Login or Register.)
"Recycled" High Moisture Harvestore Stores Dry Grain
Walt and Gerry Ackermann needed more grain storage and they had an unused Harvestore. After making a few changes top and bottom, they had a 7,000-bu. storage bin with air-drying capability.
"We can put 18 to 20 percent moisture corn in and dry it down with a fan and no heat," says Walt.
At 80 plus years, W
..........
You must sign in, subscribe or renew to see the page.
You must sign in, subscribe or renew to see the flip-book
"Recycled" High Moisture Harvestore Stores Dry Grain SILOS Silos 33-5-7 Walt and Gerry Ackermann needed more grain storage and they had an unused Harvestore. After making a few changes top and bottom, they had a 7,000-bu. storage bin with air-drying capability.
"We can put 18 to 20 percent moisture corn in and dry it down with a fan and no heat," says Walt.
At 80 plus years, Walt still takes an active role in the farm operation and hated to see the Harvestore go to waste. It had been put up when the farm included a dairy operation.
Initially, the Ackermanns simply cut two filler holes and put three air vents in the roof with a rotating ventilator in the center hole. They also replaced the 5-in. floor auger with an 8-in. auger and used the silo for dry grain storage. When pulling grain out, they relied on a grain vac to finish emptying out what hadn't settled into the auger sump. After Walt's son Gerry had hip surgery, climbing in and out was a problem. More changes were made with the addition of a false floor and a new entry door for even greater value.
"We closed up the original doorway at the base with a steel plate, leaving room for the auger and air plenum," explained Walt.
A 5 hp, 20-in. fan pulls sufficient air through the grain to the floor of the 20 by 32-ft. structure to dry corn down to 14 percent moisture. The floor was installed level with the auger's grain sump. A new entry door with a grain sump was installed above the original. A sweep auger was installed on the floor to clear the grain floor.
"Our local silo dealer was great to work with and could tell us what size supports we needed for the floor of a silo with this capacity," says Gerry. "But it was our flooring contactor who told us to pull the air down and out for better drying."
Gerry gives much credit for managing stored grain to a computer program he uses to run the fan. "It tells me how many days to run the fan based on ambient air temperature and humidity," says Gerry. "When we put in 20 percent moisture grain, we just turn it on and run it until the grain is dried down."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Walter Ackermann, 78719 410th Ave., Lakefield, Minn. 56150 (ph 507 662-5303; bwackrmn@frontiernet.net).
To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click
here to register with your account number.
