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Alton, Ia | There are a lot of interpretations on what "in-bin" means. KDD's post is ~100% about the stirring system. I don't consider a bin you fill and then dry that batch a drying "system". It's just a glorified bin. The only advantage to adding a stirator is you bring down the entire bin's moisture, when the corn is wet you have to or it will get funky before the drying front gets through. I don't know anybody who "loves" theirs. We will never put one in.
Cliff's post mentions all the moving parts are in the bin or on the roof on a Shivvers system. That is not true either. We have a grain spreader at the top, which you would have in any bin. The grain removal auger is driven by a motor located on the discharge auger, ground level, right by the control panel. In the bin is one gearbox, an undergrain sweep auger and a vertical auger. That's it. One gearbox, one. Then you have a transfer auger to the storage bin, and a spreader there. Same as you'd need with a dryer. When you compare moving parts, there are ALOT more with a dedicated dryer. Don't know how you can get much simpler.
As for downtime with a full bin, it's really not a big deal. Since they are simple, odds are with you. But let's say disaster happens. Until the season end, you shouldn't have more than a few feet in there, but let's say it's even 100% full. You take out two 3/8" bolts from the drive sheave, only the discharge auger will run, you empty the bin as far as it will go. You probably can get to the gearbox then, if not go rent a grain vac. Couple hundred bucks for that. Ours is 10 years old, never have a problem with it, we have talked to lots of others, neither have they. Having to empty it is in the 1% probability range. We spend about 1 hour/year on annual maintenance. You remove a couple plates over the gearbox, couple shots of grease, replace plates. Again, pretty simple.
The biggest drawback to Shivvers type is managing the grain depth. Using a holding bin gets rid of that, and if you go with a dedicated dryer you'll need a holding bin, anyway, so that's a poor reason. | |
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