Grain Stirrer-In Silo Drying

Description

In bin drying is the most cost effective and efficient alternative to tower, batch and top or roof drying systems.

By combining heated air, introduced into the silo through a full aeration floor – and a DryStir stirring machine in your silo, you are able to safely and quickly dry grain in your silo – eliminating the need for additional infrastructure – either in your existing silo complex, or in your new silo complex as in-bin drying. You don’t require wet bins, or additional loading and unloading conveyors, and the silo – when drying is completed and unloaded, The bin is once again available as a storage or flow capacity.

Fitting a stirring machine in your silo loosens and mixes the grain for enhanced airflow and even heating, allowing much fasterdrying than regular dry-aeration and can accept grain moisture of more than 20%. It also prevents overdrying and cracked kernels such as when heated air is introduced into an aeration system with less than 1% variation from top to bottom in stirred grain.

Stirring reduces the static pressure of the grain in the silo, increasing airflow by 33% and increasing drying rate exponentially.

The DryStir can be started with the first load introduced into the bin causing an even faster drying rate. The grain spreader provides an even grain surface for better stirring as the grain is loaded into the bin.

During regular storage the DryStir can be used during aeration to prevent hotpots developing, further reducing the risk of grain loss.

How does it work?

The DryStir is fitted with special constant pitch spiral augers, which pull more grain up from the bottom of the bin which results in better mixing, and loosing of the grain.
These special augers consume less power, start easier, loosens the grain better, mixes the grain better, and travel through the grain faster. Hard surfacing on the spirals provides long life with a 25mm solid shaft and can be replaced.

The DryStir augers are constantly moving in the grain, both rotating around the circumference of the silo, as well as moving inwards and outwards on the crosstube – ensuring that the entire silo’s content is reached by the stirring machine.

Modular construction of the DryStir allows for upgrades with more stirring augers, which are easy to fit, and easy to integrate into the existing system.
Silo diameters of from 15′ (4.5mØ) up to 48′ (14.63mØ) diameters can be fitted with a DryStir system while the down auger’s lengths are limited to 22′ (6.7m) or around 9 rings.

A heavy duty gear motor supplies power to a hardened steel track drive wheel. This assembly drives the DryStir beam around the silo on a track mounted on the silo wall. A cable wrapped around a stationary pulley in the center of the silo is attached to the trolleys. As the beam rotates around the silo the cable drives the trolleys in to the center of the silo then back out to the silo wall

A special designed tilt switch, is positioned at the outer end of the beam,  is placed on the beaam to shut down the motor drive in the case that the down augers get stuck, or if they are travelling through the grain slower than the track drive – preventing down auger breakage and bending. The gear motor then automatically starts up, when the down augers have corrected their angle, so that the stirring isn’t interrupted.

The unique spiral stirring pattern ensures  that all the grain is stirred and mixed – throughout the silo. As an optional extra – the DryStir Plus can be installed, which is a stationary auger, mounted right next to the silo wall, to ensure that the grain against the silo wall is also mixed and stirred. This option is recommended for especially wet and difficult grains, such as rice.

To speed up drying rates, an aerated wet bin with heated air from the same source may be used to accept harvested wet grain while the drying bin is operating. After the drying cycle in the DryStir bin is complete, grain is transferred into a dried grain bin which is also be aerated to allow for further drying through introduction of cold air to speed up the drying cycle even faster.

By using the DryStir – in conjunction with heated air for in silo drying – the following results are typical