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SE MN | You are talking about too many dollars to be asking randos on the internet for advice. Sit down and run the actual numbers for the different options. If you don't feel able to do that, talk to your local bin builders who do commercial work and ask them who does consulting for bin site configuration. Pay them a few thousand to really break down the options and project costs. Grain bins are one of the worst sunk costs in farming. They can make good money but they are worth 20% of what they cost the moment the last bolt is tightened, so once you make an investment you won't be able to change course cheaply.
I know that natural gas is an obvious yes if you have access. Whether it makes sense to spend money depends on the actual savings. There is nothing wrong with LP, thousands of farms use it every year but they would use nat gas if they could get it.
Three phase is not optional, if you don't already know, you will want 480v for a setup that size. There are some guys on here that promote buying surplus industrial generators to avoid big installation costs. The downside is fuel costs, maintenance, and you are on your own if it goes down when you need it. It also seems like it would make less sense if you needed to start up the big generator every time you wanted to run a fan or unload a bin.
If you are hauling 20 miles, a few miles one way or the other isn't going to change much. Having pits so you can open the traps wide open and run will make a bigger difference on your turn around time.
Having just built a much smaller bin setup, it's not all unicorns and rainbows. There will be many thousands of unplanned costs to get it running, the extra work to manage it, repair it, and run it in season will be a full time job for someone, and the money makes no sense at all unless you are confidant you will be using it 20 years from now. If you are getting along with your grain bags, I would think very carefully about the tradeoffs. You will be able to start much earlier but your labor needs will be much higher hauling and managing your own bins. | |
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Bin site: Is drying with propane really that bad?