Hello everyone! Yep its been a few months since my last meaningful post. So I guess I better make this a good one! (dont hold your breath).
I have been spending most of my free time working on the first rebuild. It is a “pay as you go” R&D project more than anything, so it wont be lighting fast. I have two other rebuild projects lined up, and will start working on them in earnest once winter breaks its icy grip.
In my Don Quiote-like quest to get into small scale grain production, one issue I have been studying is grain drying. For the amount of acreage I would be doing the smallest grain bin at around 3000 bushels is way too large. I am not the only person with this issue. If you look hard enough on the internets (they have them on computers now! – apologies to Homer Simpson) you can find folks who have put together homemade small scale solutions. Here is one and another. Although not designed explicity for drying. some folks have had success drying a gravity wagon of grain with grain aerators (not fast enough for me).
Being the kind of guy who doesnt have the time for engineering, I have been searching for a “turnkey” solution. I did finally find something, first brought to my attention by Glenn Roberts at Anson Mills in SC: A peanut wagon. These wagons are a box on a trailer with a perforated false floor. A drying fan is attached when full and the peanut are dried in situ. This appox 300 bushel unit would be perfect for me. All I need to do is sell a bunch more parts 
Any thoughts?
March 9, 2011 at 5:32 am |
Well I’m not sure how we are getting away with this but we store grain in
food grade steel barrels which are free from the local creamery. (They get
ice cream flavoring in them.) So we are not doing any active drying once the grain is in the barrels. We do store them in a cool dry place avoiding heating and cooling which might produce condensation. We have been harvesting
the grain pretty dry in the field, discharge the combine direct into the barrels
and empty and refill the barrels for cleaning. Perhaps the small amount in each barrel, about 400# allows some breathing which would not occur in
larger containment. Plus California has long dry summers. No shortage of barrels. Have been selling from the barrels to local small bakeries, no problems.
March 9, 2011 at 5:43 am |
Hi John,
You may not need to do any drying as your crop may be dry enough off the field. For a lot of guys, that is not possible without an unacceptablee risk of loss of grain quality due to wetting and/or shattering. Glad you have been fortunate to get away with it.
January 30, 2012 at 6:12 pm |
How is it going on the AC rebuild? Please post
January 31, 2012 at 5:55 am |
Gilbert,
On http://www.allcropharvester.com/rebuild.aspx you can see the pic box. I have just added a few more pics to it. I have switched from workig on the “grey” frame rebuild machine to the orange frame as it has an earlier due date. If I have a good weekend I should have 80% of it done. Plan on putting the grain elevators, tailings elevator, fan,grain tank, cylinder, augers, and sep drives on this weekend.