We bought one in 2014. Did a major renovation in 2017. Don't know how we would get along without it now.

It was built new in 1975. A BTO bought it in the late 90s and added more storage and a modern dryer by the time we bought it from him.

We bought it right after some storm damage took out one bin, slammed it into another, then landed it partially on a warehouse roof. We got it going enough to receive dry grain the first three years, while we plotted our next moves.

I won't say it's been cheap to restore drying, upgrade wet receiving, new dump-through scale, etc. But it hasn't been much more than we anticipated spending to upgrade our older (1990s to 2000s) grain setup on the home farm, plus we have a lot more capacity than we were planning on at the farm. (It is now beans only, while the elevator is corn only.)

Overall, it has worked very well. We weigh everything in and out, and measure MC, so that takes time. I gave up my seat in the combine to run the elevator in the fall. My brother keeps the trucks moving in the winter. Another consideration is climbing -- you should have someone in your operation who doesn't mind hanging on to a turn-head at 150 feet. Old elevators will have old electrical parts, so some knowledge of electricity (and likely 480V) is a plus. We have now replaced just about everything that has caused trouble, electrically. (Actually, I will take a 1975 Allen-Bradley contactor over a modern electronic sensor.)

We would do it all again. Just be realistic on cost -- and labor requirements.