Grain Drying and Storage Management

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Grain Drying and Storage Management
Fall 2006

• Sam McNeill
• Extension Agricultural Engineer
• University of Kentucky
• Research and Education Center
• smcneill_at_uky.edu270-365-7541 x 213

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Topics

• Drying costs
• Field drying vs harvest losses
• Storage considerations
• Aeration controllers

More info _at_http//wwww.bae.uky.edu/ext/Grain_Stor
age
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Economics of Corn Drying

• Drying systems
• Full bin
• Layer drying
• High temp. bin drying
• Automatic batch
• Continuous flow
• Dryeration
• Combination

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Fuel Costs for Drying Corn( 1.40/ gal LP 7 /
kwh)
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Equilibrium Moisture Contentfor Corn
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Safe Storage Moisture Contents
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Cost of Grain Storage(moisture shrink in
cents/bu)
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Corn Harvest Losses
Min. 1 2
Avg. 2 5
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 Costs of 5 Harvest Losses vs Drying (/ac)
LP _at_ 1.40 / gal
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Costs for Storing Grain

• Ownership costs for facilities equipment
• Interest on value of grain
• Extra shrink drying costs
• Dry matter losses during handling storage
• Electricity
• Labor

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Temporary Storage Structures

• Flat storage buildings
• Machine storage, quansat, warehouse
• Bin rings inside buildings
• Upright or tower silos
• Commercial plastic tubes
• Outdoor piles

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Considerations for Temporary Grain Storage

• Economics
• Storage Capacity
• Pressure exerted by dry grain
• Grain handling
• Aeration
• Protection from moisture (rain/snow/soil)
• Protection from birds and rodents

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Storage Capacity Estimates
bae.uky.edu/ext/Grain_Storage
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Flat StorageHandling

• Filling
• Use portable augers
• Move to shape the pile
• Unloading
• Skid loaders
• Portable augers
• Vacuum-type conveyors

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Aeration Requirements

• Design airflow rate of 0.2 cfm/bu
• Push /pull air through grain
• Max. duct length of 100-ft
• Run ducts across width of buildings OR parallel
  with grain peak
• Longest air path lt 1.5 x shortest air path

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Duct Layout in 40-ft Wide Building
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Grain Spoilage from Roof Condensation or Moisture
Migration
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Temperature Influence on Insects
Source P. Fields, USDA 1992
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Recommended Stored GrainTemperatures in Kentucky
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Estimated Time for Aeration Cycles (Hours)
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When to Run the Fan ?

• Different strategies
• Air temp. in target range
• Relative humidity of air lt 70
• Temperature of the grain
• Moisture content of the grain

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Temperature Cable System

• Thermocouple sensor cables
• Cable suspension system
• Leadwire extension
• Readout plug
• Displayinstrument

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Typical Cable Installation
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Actual Coverage Area
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Temperature Cable System

• Advantages
• Saves labor costs
• Monitors remote locations
• Disadvantages
• Cost of installation/ maintenance
• Limited coverage
• Still need to inspect grain

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Commercial Dryer Controllers
grainsystems.com
shivvers.com
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Commercial Fan Controllers
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Off-the-shelf Fan Control with Thermostats
RELAY
FAN
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Hourly Temperatures for Princeton, KY
Total fan hours 70.5
Date
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Fall Fan Strategy
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Automated Insect Monitoringwww.opistormax.com
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Automated Insect Monitoring
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When Inspecting Stored Grain Always Work in Pairs
!
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Questions ?
Gooooo CATS !!