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southcentral nebraska | I'm posting this to help others who are drying corn with air only and want to minimize electricity costs. We filled our bins from Oct 10th to Oct 25th with corn 26 % to 19 % moisture. We do not shut the fans off regardless of weather conditions. The first of Nov when we were all done picking and have put the harvest equipment away we take about one load of corn out of each bin. At this time the bins have not been leveled off and there is a peak in each bin. We take about 800 bushels out of a 24,000 bin and 500 bushels out of a 10,000 bin. The hollowed out cone in each will be dished out from the center to about 4 feet from the wall. At this time the corn tested 19- 20 % moisture on top . ( ABOUT HALF WAY DRY ) The fans will need to run more weeks . Now the corn is 17 on top and 14 on the bottom. Time to shut off the fans. We have found it is not feasible to dry the top below 17 because of energy cost. We sometimes can get the elevator to average our moisture and then there isn't a dock for the 2-3 loads that come from the top. How many cfm ? I don't know, but I can tell you that when we lean over the man hole in the roof to check the corn, it will blow your cap off if its on loose. I'm guessing 1 to 1.5 cfm. I was taught by a good friend that when you are inside the bin checking your corn, you should scratch the surface area and their should be enough air flow to cause the fines to float up. Anytime there is not enough air to do this, you could have a problem and it might require taking some corn out till you can float the fines. I have been drying corn in the same bins for 40 years and its worked for me . My knowledge came from a neighbor who had lots of experience. My bins have aeration floors, not tubes. We used to level our bins by hand with scoups shovels after they were full, but we have found it is not necessary if we take the centers out 2-3 weeks after being filled . We store about 150,000 bushels, and electricity bill is about 10,000. | |
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shutting the fans off on the bins early
