Grain Drying for the Rest of Us

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?