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Cornhusker89

Posted 12/22/2017 18:53 (#6447426)
Subject: Guys with Neco Dryers....is this true?

E Central NE

Trying to decide on a dryer for next year and pretty well have it narrowed down to a Brock SuperB or a Neco. Talked to a guy that has experience with Neco dryers and he told me that the plenum chamber needs to be cleaned every other day, and due to the plenum getting dirty, they are more at risk of fire. With the Commander/Dryer Master automatic controls, he says if the corn coming in the dryer changes in moisture by 2-3 points, it takes 2-4 hours for the dryer to correct and get back to your outgoing target moisture. He also said since AGI bought out Global Industries, that service and parts availability have gone downhill. Not sure if these things are true or not. The one thing I do know, is comparing similar bu/hr, a Neco is $15,000 higher. Would like to hear from the Neco guys. TIA.

VWBuckeye

Posted 12/22/2017 19:07 (#6447455 - in reply to #6447426)
Subject: RE: Guys with Neco Dryers....is this true?

Ohio

We have a GSI Top Dry. Not familiar with operating the style of dryer you are inquiring about, but there were 2 in our area that burnt up this year. One for sure is a complete loss. Not sure on the other.

PearTrees

Posted 12/22/2017 19:20 (#6447499 - in reply to #6447426)
Subject: RE: Guys with Neco Dryers....is this true?

Northwest IOWA

We bought and set up our Neco in 2013, we only clean the inside of the dryer out at end of season ,and before start up here... maybe iv climbed inside once mid season to look around..dont remember doing much cleaning. We have 24210,which is a 24 ft length ,with 2100 bu holding.
We usually set our Dryer Commander to 16.2% at 85 degree..after cooling down in bin and again as winter moves in . We ve been happy w lots of bushels at 15.3-15.6 as bins get empty...The 1st two years we ran our dryer, it seemed the Neco techs were sometimes hard to get ahold of with ??, The past season we were very impressed with the technical help available.
Hope this continues!

bleedred

Posted 12/22/2017 21:11 (#6447800 - in reply to #6447499)
Subject: RE: Guys with Neco Dryers....is this true?

East Central Ia

Agree... not sure where these rumors of fire hazards are coming from.

We also have a 24210 and i clean it at the end of the year and there is not much stuff inside.

The moisture controller has a sensor on the incoming grain for wet corn and it proactively starts adjusting if there is a big swing in the incoming moisture.

But like any dryer if there is a big change in moisture it takes a little bit to get it dialed back in. We have had zero issues with grain going to market having wet or dry spots in the bins.

But the design of these dryers does mean you need to let it do its thing longer then other dryers. They hold A LOT of grain so it can take several hours to get corn all the way through the dryer.

My only issue has been keeping the outlet moisture sensor chute from plugging up and giving false outlet moisture readings. I check it every few hours and get along fine now.

At this point we have no regrets and would definitely buy another one. We have had to get in touch with NECO a couple times and have been happy with their service.

ndsu84

Posted 12/22/2017 21:29 (#6447854 - in reply to #6447426)
Subject: RE: Guys with Neco Dryers....is this true?

EC North Dakota

Never heard of a Neco burning around here.

I’ve had two for 10+ years and clean them once per season. No fires yet.

SamsDad

Posted 12/22/2017 21:31 (#6447856 - in reply to #6447426)
Subject: RE: Guys with Neco Dryers....is this true?

Western EC Iowa

Clean our neco once a year, honestly I have no idea how it would catch fire. Most of our cleaning is coon dung from the off season. Once you get the computer model set, which takes a bit of time, it's lights out on the moisture. Can't think of one reason to not get one, no way would I consider a screen dryer after having screenless.

golfnut

Posted 12/22/2017 22:10 (#6447942 - in reply to #6447426)
Subject: RE: Guys with Neco Dryers....is this true?

Central Nebraska

I know of one that burned the top several years ago and they had it up and going a few days later. I believe the owner told me that if they had gone with the leveling auger setup it probably wouldn't have happened. Somehow with the center fill option the corn was bridging in the corners and collecting fines. I also have a NECO dryer and only clean it before the season starts. I haven't had any issues with nearly 750,000 bushels through it.

nhermanson

Posted 12/22/2017 23:43 (#6448085 - in reply to #6447426)
Subject: RE: Guys with Neco Dryers....is this true?

Central, IA

I've run one for 7 seasons on a 24330 and have had 2 fires.

The first one was after the dryer had shut down. One of the solenoid valves didn't close completely. Maybe it had some crud in the oriface or something. Anyway, without the fan running,it got really hot in that chamber. It mostly just discolored the sheet metal. Luckily someone was walking by and caught it.

To remidy this issue, NECO installed 2 solenoids in series. I installed a dead man valve. It is a solenoid valve that must be manually reset. I have it wired that whenever a blower fan or the unloading auger shuts off, it kills the gas to the entire dryer. You have to manually reopen the valve to restart it.

The second fire was last year. I had run about 400k bushel through at the point it happened. There was a fair amount of cob material coming in. In one of the corners about half way up, they kind of rose to the top of one of the inverted V's. The floating on top eventually got hot enough to start smoldering. Thankfully it was during the day and a truck driver noticed it. I was able to empty it, clean a little and go back to work.

My standard procedure is to fill it in the fall. Climb inside to the top and sweep all the corn/fines down to the ground. Once it is up and running I check every level inside at least once a week. Didn't notice the trash build up this year so I didn't empty and refill. If I notice it again, I will probably empty items refill.

As for moisture changes, yes it takes a little time. My dryer holds 3000 bushels and often takes 1.5-2 hours for the incoming corn to exit. You will notice dryermaster round the corners a little. If it see's wetter corn coming in, it will start to slow down over drying the corn for a bit in anticipation of the wetter corn.

As for parts/service. I've never had a service tech on the farm aside from some of the early updates they did the first couple years. The dealer making the sale should have a bigger effect on service than the mothership.

As for parts, virtually 100% of the electrical and burner control parts are standard industrial HVAC parts, that I can source locally. Although I haven't change any since the first couple years.

I did replace a moisture sensor last year that got water in it. Now I pull the moisture sensors/bin switches off in the off season. The sensor was in a warehouse 45 miles from the farm.

Overall I am happy with it. The commander control has only gotten better in the last 7 years. There are vary few changes I'd make to it today.

redfarm

Posted 12/23/2017 07:37 (#6448310 - in reply to #6448085)
Subject: RE: Guys with Neco Dryers....is this true?

N. IL

We looked pretty hard at the NECO a few years ago. I talked to several that had fires (not everybody). It seemed to be linked to higher moisture corn, which is in the dryer for a longer time. These dryers hold more bushels and have less CFM per bushels vs a screened dryer. I liked that idea for efficiency, but you do have the risk of retained heat with corn and fines being in there longer.

I'm not advocating for or against them.

nhermanson

Posted 12/23/2017 08:07 (#6448384 - in reply to #6448310)
Subject: RE: Guys with Neco Dryers....is this true?

Central, IA

I should also add that I was running it hotter that year. This year I kept the top at 200 and the rest a little lower.

bleedred

Posted 12/23/2017 09:47 (#6448607 - in reply to #6448384)
Subject: RE: Guys with Neco Dryers....is this true?

East Central Ia

nhermanson - 12/23/2017 07:07

I should also add that I was running it hotter that year. This year I kept the top at 200 and the rest a little lower.

I have never run mine over 200 in the top chamber I should note. I usually have them set between 180-160.

My dryer is oversized for my current needs and typically drying moisture. But it’s sure nice to have room to speed it up if needed!

I think I ran mine up to 190 for several days this year but I am limited to about 1800bph with my wet setup feeding the dryer so there is no point in me pushing it harder atm.

nichodnefield

Posted 12/23/2017 08:37 (#6448453 - in reply to #6447426)
Subject: RE: Guys with Neco Dryers....is this true?

Lakefield, MN

First year with our NECO 24150. I only noticed a small buildup of fines at the back of the plenum right in front of the door. I cleaned these out every couple days. Not sure it was actually necessary, but it took all of five minutes to clean the little pile out. The rest of it stayed very clean. I started the Brock SQ20E we had before on fire once due to fines in the vacuum cooling plenum.

Brock forces you to call your dealer with any issues and won't even talk to you, NECO company guys will give out their business cards. I would still buy based on the dealer though.

As far as the Dryer Master control, I was impressed vs the Quantum we ran last year. The quantum seemed to always have quirky software issues that they said they updated but I wasn't so sure. Both systems now have in and out moisture sensors so I never noticed a difference in reaction time to moisture changes. Both got to the same place in the end.

Cornhusker89

Posted 12/23/2017 10:16 (#6448669 - in reply to #6448453)
Subject: RE: Guys with Neco Dryers....is this true?

E Central NE

nichodnefield - 12/23/2017 08:37

I would still buy based on the dealer though.

I have a Brock dealer about 12 miles away and Neco dealer about 15 miles away, but I’m concerned about service from both dealers. Have a dealer about 60 miles away that sells both Brock and Neco, but think service would be exceptional. Not sure the Neco is worth $15,000 more, but I have no experience with a continuous flow dryer, so I’m not sure which way to go.

nichodnefield

Posted 12/23/2017 11:09 (#6448818 - in reply to #6448669)
Subject: RE: Guys with Neco Dryers....is this true?

Lakefield, MN

What sold it for us in the end was capacity vs height. We didn't want to go to a leg yet and we could load a 24ft NECO with an auger. Ours is also set up to expand in the future where we can stack another fan on top. We liked that option that other screen dryers really can't do very easily.

No screens is nice but I think that is a bigger deal the further north you go.

I don't know how they come now, but if you go with a brock don't let them put the output moisture sensor right under the conveyor. The conveyor wears through the face of the sensor and you are replacing it every couple years.

Cornhusker89

Posted 12/23/2017 14:40 (#6449202 - in reply to #6448818)
Subject: RE: Guys with Neco Dryers....is this true?

E Central NE

nichodnefield - 12/23/2017 11:09

I don't know how they come now, but if you go with a brock don't let them put the output moisture sensor right under the conveyor. The conveyor wears through the face of the sensor and you are replacing it every couple years.

Good to know. Thanks

Cornhusker89

Posted 12/23/2017 14:41 (#6449206 - in reply to #6447426)
Subject: RE: Guys with Neco Dryers....is this true?

E Central NE

Thanks for all the responses. Much appreciated.

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