Life-Saving Grain Bin Ladder

Life-Saving Grain Bin Ladder GRAIN HANDLING Accessories 18-4-3 Last spring, while looking at the tripod over the grain sump inside his grain bin, Willard Pearson got an idea. "Why not install a ladder in the center of the bin, from the tripod up to the top of the bin? Then, if anyone fell into the bin, the moving grain would carry him to the middle of it 'where he could grab the ladder and climb out to safety." He came up with a design for a ladder and showed it for the first time this summer at the Minnesota Inventor's Congress. The ladder consists of 5-ft long sections of steel pipe - with combination step-handles - that bolt together quickly to reach up to any height. The bottom of the ladder fits into a tripod that's positioned over the center grain sump. The top of the ladder is secured to horizontal steel braces that fasten to the roof. "If you ever get stuck inside a bin you can grab onto the ladder handles at any level of the grain. The problem with ladders that run down the inside of a bin wall is that once you get sucked into the center of the bin, you can't get to the ladder. Each section of this ladder weighs just 8 lbs. so a ladder fora 16-ft. tall bin weighs only 24 lbs. Grain is loaded into the bin with the ladder in place. When the bin has been unloaded down to the tripod, the bottom of the ladder can be lifted and swung over to the outside wall to get it out of the way." Pearson says the ladder sells for about $10 per foot. Contact FARM SHOW Followup, Willard Pearson, Rt. 1, Box 98, Dawson, Minn. 56232 (ph 612 769-4515) or K & M Mfg. Co., Box 409, Renville, Minn. 56284 (ph 612 329-3301)

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