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| I asked this question year ago, but since 2009 was alot different than recent years I'm going to ask again.
I'm interested in this system but there are very few around and would like to know the pro and cons from anyone that is using a top dry? I have talked to two different guys that are using them and for the most part they seem to like them. I'm going to be starting on bare ground so at this point I'm not trying to imporve existing facility. My currrent facility will switched to all bean storage.
Currently I only have storage for about 20% og my corn. Which may not be a bad thing this year. I've working on making a decision, and trying to save some money back, for about two years. Finally I think I'm ready to pull the trigger and construct some new storage and a dryer. Thanks for comments. |
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SE MN | Have had one since 1994 and they are a very trouble free simple dryer. You get better test weight because you are drying at a lower heat. Need to have a wet bin to increase your daily capacity. All in all a very good system. With that being said I am adding a continuous flow dryer to our system for next year. Going use the top dry and new dryer. The one problem with the top dry is when you out grow it. Not as easy to expand as a contiuous flow. The top dry can be made to be continuous flow and that would cut down on the amount of labor. Ours is too old to switch to it and is in the wrong place now so ours is a very labor intensive system.
One thing I forgot is that when the corn is above 25% they don't work as good. Takes a lot longer to do a batch and I need to refill mine after it runs for a while because as the corn drys and shrinks away from the center the air just goes up through the center with no corn there. Seems like 25% is kind of the point where they work much better.
Edited by gbfarmer 12/31/2009 11:24
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| real nice to not have to worry about stirring augers
ratchets
fines don't build up and plug augers
when doing real wet over 25 % we add extra corn in the top
to take care of the shrink factor |
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North central North Dakota | I use a 1980's Top Dry StorMore. Not big enough for todays crops but has worked for now. I have a hopper bin set next to it and next year plan on running a jump type auger to take the grain from below into an aeration bin next to it for more cooling storage space. I dry wheat and corn. Any soybean pods seem to be a pain when dropping the hot dry soybeans so I try not to use this dryer for soybeans if possible. |
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| I'm going to purchase the top dry w/ auto-flow whats your opinion of that ??????? |
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Findlay, Ohio | We have had a StorMore top dry since 1977, they are a good dryer. Our's is a continuous flow model and we have a lot of wet storage ahead of it, or would not be big enough for us today. The one draw back is, you need to be able to empty it after you get about 12,500 bu done. We don't like moving hot corn, so we lose some time cooling it before we move it. Our's is a 30' model, and I think they make them up to a 42' today. If you got a larger one, and had a wet storage, large enough to match what you wanted to do, I would not hesitate putting another top dry system in, like I said, they are a good dryer and when your done, you have storage and there is no clean up for the dryer. |
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Findlay, Ohio | That would be the only one I would buy, with 32 years of experience to bake it up. It will make you a good system, just make sure you put enough wet storage in when you do it. |
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Central Minnesota | Have had top dry continuous flow since 1989. 27 ft diamater. Had one burner till about 2004 and then added second burner. With 2nd burner we have dust build up on bottom of drying floor so have to dump entire batch out and start over about every 2 to 3 days. We have a moisture controller made by Optek, Inc. of Galena Ohio. It works very well but they don't make them any more. The good points are it is pretty simple and drys pretty fast for the amount of horsepower the fans use. I would say most of the bad points in our case involve the fill augers we use to fill it. Should have a leg instead of an auger system but get by. Just have to put up with keeping the augers running. Dry about 8000 bu per day when corn is over 27% and cold out to more then we can keep up with when the corn is under 21 and the weather is warm.
Edited by HFR 12/31/2009 12:32
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WCNY | I have had Top Dry since the early 90s. And agree with other post except I have never had any issues with drying beans. What I really like is no moving part to wear out.
Good luck
Edited by Daleny 12/31/2009 12:46
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South of Springfield IL | I have been running a 36' 11 ring Top Dry since 1995. I have one 30 hp fan and heater on top. I run it as a continuous flow dryer. Biggest problem with the dryer itself is an error message that say's no flame detection. Other than that not much else to go wrong. It does a very good job of drying and I think I can get 2 points extra by letting it steep in the bottom before I start the bottom fan. I clean the drying chamber on top where it drops down to the chutes and I will also scrape and clean the chutes. With the drying chamber empty I take a long broom handle and tap the top side of the drying floor to knock off the dust that has built up on the underside of the floor. I will clean it every 3 days. I leave it run all night but I do check it usually twice. I think that you need to be able to refill it as fast as possible so that the corn in the very top can start to warm up.
What I don't like about the Top Dry is that the only moisture control is by heat probes. This is ok , but how do you get a sample of corn in the bottom of the storage bin.. its around 130 to 180 degrees down there. Ya I know what your thinking, turn the heat off for a while and then go down and get the sample. Well it is still 120 down there. If someone had a good moisture control and some way of getting a sample it would be an excellent dryer. I ran all year just using time per dump instead of temp because my temp dial broke and I didn't want to spend 800 bucks for a new one. I'm thinking about a new gsi control box and a second fan and heater for 2010. |
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North Central Indiana | Kevin we are just a few miles apart. For the last ten or more years our batch dryer has set while we dumped 19% or less grain directly into the bin with a full floor and plenty of air. Our grain usually come out in the 14 to 17% range no later than April 1 with no damage. This was a unusual year an we had to run the batch dryer for the first time we believe in 12 years. I am putting up another bin this year with full floor and air and not spending money on the drying set up, because I believe my best return is buying as much stortage as possible.
Should we have another year like this one in the near future you can always set up a used batch or continious flowdryer to get you through. My 2 cents. |
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Janesville MN | I have had a GSI autoflow since 95 satisfied with the capacity and efficiency. Not real happy with moisture control. It seems you don't know the final moisture until many hours later after the corn has slow cooled, which is way after the fact to make adjustments. I am curious what this Optek control is and the principle that it operates if HFR would care to comment. If you get a top dry get the largest dia. that you can justify so that you can add fans to increase capacity down the road. |
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Central Minnesota | The Optek control is a true moisture reader. We installed it I think after the second year of trying to dry with heat sensors. Their is 4 moisture sensing plates that go over the dump chutes. You set the dump spout times and the target moisture. Then the control will gradually change the dump times per hour to maintain the target moisture. While not perfect because like you said there is some time involved from when the corn enters and is finally cooled it is way better then heat sensing control. If the corn is a reasonably consistent moisture entering the dryer with some experience over the years it does a pretty good job. It is to bad they don't make this controller any more for top dryers. They are still in business and I sent my controller into them an they updated a few things but told me they don't make them any more. I see Optek makes controllers for seed corn but don't see any for the top dry.
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SW Ontario | We have run a GSI since '05, 30' with 30hp 42" fan. Like others have said, they are fairly simple in comparison to some other dryers. The biggest downside with it, is the ability to check grain moistures as you go. The best way I find is to do it when transferring out of bin but sometimes you can have alot dried before that happens. Generally though, if you keep records from year to year you can get it set fairly close at the start.
This past year was a real test on capacity with our corn being 32-33% at the start of harvest getting down to 26-27% by the end. Drying times were considerably longer but I wouldn't say any worse than anybody elses system.
Biggest consideration in my opinion on going with a top dry is how are you going to increase drying capacity in the future if you want to. In our case, we currently manually batch and get by with one elevator leg in our system. Our upgrade will be to go auto-flow and put in some type of conveyor to feed it from our wet storage. If you start with an auto flow there isn't much room to grow capacity wise.
Second biggest consideration is finding a dealer with a good reputation for proper installation and service after it is all done. Actually that may be the most important thing.
Good luck.
Edited by RDF 12/31/2009 15:47
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| Thinking of starting with one burner, 30' gives me 1064 bu/hr @ 5% removal. I future I've got the option to add second burner. Which would give me cap upgrade to 2130 bu/ hr @ 5% removal. Is there I flaw in my thinking????? |
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| That won't work for me Bob. I've got to be able to hold corn well into the summer months. Grain quality is a big concern for me. 2009 hasn't really got much to do with my plans. I just wanted some opinion from Top dry owners since we have had an unusual year.
By the way thanks to all that commented on my question. |
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| I do have a GSI dealer close by and so far while working up some plan they seem to be good tto work with. Since they are relatively close that is another reason I'm considering the Top Dry |
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SW Ontario | You are correct, you can add the second fan/burner to gain capacity. At the time I was a little scared of having 2 units because I figured that meant twice as many parts and possibly twice as many future problems. After running one five years with little problems it maybe isn't a concern, as long as it is a cost effective way to upgrade.
Make sure you see some of the other work the dealer has done and talk to their customers to make sure they are satisfied.
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NW Iowa | First one went up in '76. 9 1/2 ring 30'. Bought a second one used in 2003. Made it an 11 1/2 ring 27' They dry cheaper as the bin underneath fills up. Less exposed sidewall to radiate off the heat. Agree with everything previous posters have said. Simple. No parts to wear out except on burner and fan. Burner and fan are in the air where rodents aren't a problem. I always go into the drying chamber when filling and make sure the corn is 1 ring deep at the sidewall and the rings are filled to the top. In drier corn they are there to keep the corn from getting too deep at the sidewall. In wet corn the opposite is the problem. Never have a problem with hot air blowing out the top if I do that no matter how wet the corn. Started drying this year with 30+% corn. Setting it up for continous flow completely solves any problems with that. |
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Ripley, Ontario Canada | I have helped a neighbour with a GSI topdry in an 18 foot bin. He runs it batch and I don't think he would buy it again after 3 years experience. We usually dry wet (ok by most of the posts on here really wet) corn 28-40%. It is hard to dry corn that wet in a top dry. The bottom of the batch is 10% and the top is still 30%, and by the time you figure that out you have dropped the corn and then have to put it back in again. They take time to fill and dump. For a bigger bin, you will need a 10 inch or bigger auger to make any time filling. You also have to have somewhere to dump the corn fairly regularly, and cool it after you move it. Also GSI uses a lot of propriatary parts (at least that is what we have been told) so if you don't have a good dealer close (and we don't) I would buy something else. |
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| if the grain is always going to be that wet
I'd put on a number 2 blower
I run two fans and one burner in beans
go in after the beans are dumped and pull samples
from different spots and
the burn one blow two has been drying even |
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| I have a stor mor top dryer. it has an old (86') continueous control panel. If it ever quits I will replace it with a new control from Kahlor from Fairmont MN. they set up a programable logic control for my grain leg. The leg and larger holding bin really made the system work. You also need to be able to move dry corn out fast so you don't auger out all the waste heat from the dry corn.
http://www.kahlerautomation.com/
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Top Dry grain dryers
