Modified Silo Blower Cracks Shelled Corn

Modified Silo Blower Cracks Shelled Corn CROP STORAGE Silos (50) 18-4-38 "Several years ago I read in FARM SHOW (Vol. 13, No. 6) about a farmer who had installed sickle sections in a piece of pipe just above his silo blower in order to crack shelled corn as he blew it up into his silo. I've used the idea for three years with good results," says Robert Ullom, Flandreau, S. Dak. The farmer who originally came up with the idea was Kendell Hardies, Hillman, Mich. He welded 50 sickle sections into the sides of a section of pipe that fits between the blower and pipe leading up into the silo. He cut 2-in. slots into the pipe and then inserted the sectons 1 1/2 to 2 in. inside the pipe, just far enough so all of the sections' sharp edges extended inside the pipe. Then he used a wire feed welder to weld the sections in place. Ullom found that by installing two rows of sections - one above the other - he was able to take corn faster without any plugging and he was able to crack more corn (in the original story, Hardies said he was able to crack about 85 percent of corn). "The top row of sickle sections is about an inch above the bottom row and sections are positioned between the sections below them." Ullom says the idea eliminated the need for a second tractor to power a recutter or roller mill. "It sure makes cracking corn much easier," he told FARM SHOW. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Robert Ullom, 613 E. Pipestone, Flandreau, S. Dak. 57028.

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