Mobile grain driers
Mak
Which make is the best? Opico seem to have the name, like JCB or Hover, but people are telling me
Mecmare are very good.
Should we be looking at LPG or Diesel fired? Which is the cheapest to run?
I seem to recall some legislation coming up concerning the contamination of grain fumes from driers
which favored LPG. Any one know anything about this?
Mak
Charles
We have a Mecmar and with it's little cleaner and the polishing effect
of rotating the grain it can clean up the worse sample you've ever
seen - can vouch for that this year. Ours usually adds at least five
points to a bushel, however can be more sometimes. We've modified ours
a bit to make it better to load and currently site it next to shed and
dump grain through a removed sheet on the shed. I think we also put in
a bigger jet on the burner. Ours is diesel, however LPG is suppose to
be a better, more efficient burn.
Not sure about other mobile driers but also consider an old combine
engine as a donkey engine, as having tractors with semi-poor cooling
systems sat for hours on end in a dusty environment is not good news.
We've had a few attempts at over-heating tractors driving the drier.
Self build old combine engine and gearing means you can design a good
cooling system for it, etc.
Charles
Field Track
www.fieldtrack.com
Thirsk, North Yorkshire. UK
UK Business Agriculture User Directory & FAQ:
http://www.ukagriculture.free-online.co.uk/
Alistair
Mak <mak@keeping_low_profile.co.uk> wrote
> Looking at mobile grain driers and would like to know peoples
thoughts.
>
We bought a used Opico 380S just before harvest - approx. 9 tonne model
fuelled by LPG.
Loading and emptying was fine although it did break a main bearing on
the main auger early on. That was fairly easily replaced though and the
bearing was only around £15.
Gas use was probably a bit heavier than we expected. We used the red
propane cylinders with 46 kgs (92 litres apparently) in them. Drying
from about 18-19 down to under 15 seeemd to use about 4 cylinders linked
together to do 4 batches (say approx. 7 tonnes wheat actually in the
drier). Cylinders were about £24.50 each.
However once we got into 22%+ we used a lot more gas. Three batches per
group of 4 cylinders was good going. Overall I think we used about
£6/tonne on gas and I allowed £10/tonne depreciation so I believe we
were about £16/tonne to dry the grain.
This figure will be artificially high though as we are fairly low volume
users and so depreciation has to be carried by "not a lot" of tonnes.
Alistair
Mak
>We bought a used Opico 380S just before harvest - approx. 9 tonne model
>fuelled by LPG.
We hired a similar LPG machine last year to put our peas and beans through, and were very impressed
with the way it could, not only dry, but turn a crap wet sample into and excellent one by nature of
it circulating the grain all the time, and having the cleaning screen in the auger to filter the
rubbish out.
We were initially after a second hand Opico. We tracked down some reconditioned warrantied ones for
not much less than a new one. Since then I get the impression from people that their are better
driers about for similar money. I hope to look at an ex demo 15 ton Mecmar this week. With more than
half as much capacity again as the Opico and still maintaining its road legal mobility, it seems
like a good tool. It's diesel fired though.
Dose anyone know if the Mecmar has the cleaning screen in the auger?
Mak
Alistair
Mak <mak@keeping_low_profile.co.uk> wrote >
>we were very impressed
> with the way it could, not only dry, but turn a crap wet sample into
and excellent one by nature of
> it circulating the grain all the time, and having the cleaning screen
in the auger to filter the
> rubbish out.
>
When assembling the machine and fitting the top part of the auger on, I
dropped a socket which spiralled down the auger but did not appear
anywhere at the bottom. It took a bit of investigating before we
discovered that there was a screen half way up the auger and it had a
large hole in it which the socket had dropped through. It was about £30
to replace this with a new one.
Alistair
Charles
>Dose anyone know if the Mecmar has the cleaning screen in the auger?
Yes, it's half way up (well that's relative I suppose). Half way up
the auger in the inner heating area. Sod to change for rape and back
to wheat but yes it has one.
Oz
>
>This figure will be artificially high though as we are fairly low volume
>users and so depreciation has to be carried by "not a lot" of tonnes.
It is usual to cost driers on total tonnage.
Generally this is about fair.
--
Oz
Charles
Further things to watch for with the Mecmar drier:
When you change the cleaner filter, clean any rubbish that settles to
the bottom right of the burner tube. There's a ledge where a few
bearing and cogs reside and after dirty crops like peas, it builds up
with stuff that fires. The drier always fires at this location and you
can see a fire because it starts smoking through the grain just below
and to the right of where you take samples.
If it fires switch the burner off but keep the fan going and dump the
grain out. A fire on a freshly started batch is OK but a fire on grain
nearer it's end cycle is not so easy. Keeping this section of the
drier clean is important and needs checking nearly every time you
change crops. Barley, rape and peas are the worse (importance of
checks in the reverse order).
The weak link on the Mecmar is the shear bolt on the main drive in,
underneath the main auger. It's a tiny bolt and there's no way to
attach a breaker circuit. We have the donkey engine wired to the
electronic, so if it overheats and the like, the fuel is cut and the
drier stops. If we could link this to the shear bolt, it would help,
however we've only ever had one fire because this bolt broke and the
grain stopped rotating but the burner and fan kept going - combine
finger got stuck in the auger.
These things don't last forever, so maintain the main belts and
consider replacing the central auger every now and again. The main
tube can be patched but the day will come when a new auger, that fills
the tube is required. Peas wear out the auger quite quickly.
We've add rubber extensions to the intake auger and removed the grill
to quicken tipping. We also added about six inch of extension rubber
to top and also a couple of board across the top to stop wind blowing
the grain, as it drops out of the main auger. To help with loading we
added a pressure switch at the top, so after most of the harvest and
the driers covered in crap, this switch lights up a flashing light at
eye level near the tipping auger to tell you it's full - worth more
than any price for a pressure switch believe me.
With most of these mobile driers that lower, check the two augers mesh
when erecting it. Keep all cables tight, as there's a stirring bar in
the Mecmar and if this catches the top auger cable you'll be sorry.
One thing we haven't done yet but I would also suggest removing all
electronics off the drier and cable them to somewhere off the drier.
The vibration, dust and whatever means the electronics don't last
forever and are expensive to replace.
Mak
Charles
Looks as though you have plenty of experience with working your drier.
Thanks for all the thoughts, but the big question is. Would you buy another?
What model is it?
Nobody has much to say about the Opico, carn't believe nobody has one in newsgroup land!
Mak
Charles
>Would you buy another?
Yes we are thinking about it. if we can get one for £3K - 4K we might,
as it would increase our workflow when needed. We are thinking about
it.
>What model is it?
Good question. Not sure as to model number, as I sit here but it's a
9-10 tonne one. I'll get back to you about model number.
Mak
>>What model is it?
>
>Good question. Not sure as to model number, as I sit here but it's a
>9-10 tonne one. I'll get back to you about model number.
Been to look at an ex demo 3 month old 15 tonne Mecmar today. Must say that we were very impressed.
The chap was not joking when he said that an Opico was a toy when compared to this.
Please to see that the screens are all stainless steel, and galvanize on the well and loading
hopper.
Also very impressed with the telescopic screens and hinged auger which makes transport no problem at
all.
Quite centrifugal fan, and with its own fuel tank and on board 3 phase generator for running the
burner and control panel make it totally self contained. It evern has the ability to run additional
electric augers and conveyors for servicing it, which is a great help also.
The only down side to all this is that it requires 50 hp at the pto, so that counts the average yard
tractor out, so we need a bit more cheap power to turn it.
All we need to do now is see if we can do a deal!
Did ask the bloke if he would take 200 tonne of wheat in payment, but he was not very keen. <vbg>
Mak
David White
>Did ask the bloke if he would take 200 tonne of wheat in payment, but he
was not very keen. <vbg>
Errr, was that wet or dry wheat ;-))
David W.
Gerald L R Stubbs
I'm unfamiliar with the names of mobile grain dryers.
I was down in Kirriemuir, in Angus, a little time ago and needed the
services of a decent agricultural blacksmith. A phone call to a mate who
is a farm manager in the area pointed me to a certain Sandy Cochran
who farms near Kirriemuir. Alongside his farming activities he runs
a very well-equipped fabrication and blacksmithing shop, employing a
couple of chaps who are 100% at their job. First class.
Whilst I was there, a day and a half, I was watching a grain-drying
operation in progress using a mobile drying trailer. The grain was being
reduced from 30% to 15%. I got into conversation with Sandy, and it
turns out that he is the Scottish agent for these dryers and had at the time
three of them out on pretty-well permanent hire this year.
I am damned if I can remember the name of them, but they are made in
Co. Cork. I spent some time watching his dryer in action, and although
I have nothing to compare it with I was most impressed with its operation.
Sorry if I am describing something that everyone knows about, but it
operated as follows:
It is a large open-topped, high-sided trailer (they come in various tonnages,
the one he was operating was a fifteen tonne job) which is filled to the top
with a loader. It is taken to where it is going to operate, somewhere
outside to avoid the barn being filled with chaff, and the tractor is set at
the required rpm and the burner lit. The tractor pto drives an alternator
which provides power for the burner, the centrifugal fan, and the motors
that drive the agitators.
The agitators stir the grain and are mounted vertically in the
trailer. Whilst
they are operating they move both across the trailer and along its
length, thus
in a diagonal pattern. There are two burners on the rig, one constant, the
other intermittent, the latter regulating the temperature of the draft of air
through the grain, the whole thing controlled electronically.
To see the clouds of steam coming out of the top of the thing was nothing
short of awe-inspiring !
When the grain was dried the tractor pulled the thing back into the barn
and tipped it out of the back. Reload.
My friend who put me on to Cochran later told me that he had hired one
of the rigs in one year to dry OSR. He said that as it burned gas-oil it was
quite expensive to run, compared with his fixed-plant gas-fired drier.
Given the noise that the burners were making, I can believe him.
That said, it was doing the job, and notwithstanding the expense and low
grain prices, Cochran's owned machines are working flat-out this year,
presumably because the northern harvest has come in so wet that it's a
salvage operation.
Does anyone know which machine I am describing?
All the best,
--
Stubbsy stu...@zetnet.co.uk
<:<<<<<><
><>>>>>:>
Charles
Gerald L R Stubbs <stu...@zetnet.co.uk> wrote...
>Does anyone know which machine I am describing?
Yes but I don't know the name. They are blue and can probably be seen
at events like the Grain/IT event.
Not sure as to how good they are but they don't have any cleaning, or
probably polishing effect, so what goes it at a low bushel will
probably come out at a low bushel. It's an area of drying I'd be sure
to make sure I had - some form of cleaning, no matter how small, makes
a difference after an hours drying. And can add to the economics of a
drier. Our drier more than pays for itself every year. Can't remember
when we got it but it was many moons ago now. To my knowledge it paid
for itself within one to two years. It's probably the only thing on
the farm actually making money :)))
One neighbour/contractor has one of these trailer driers but to be
honest I'd question their legality with regard weight. 15 tonne needs
a very special tractor and with the added weight of the extras that
these trailers have, I'd question the legal side of running these down
the road, as folk do.
The idea is good, as you can de drying the first combine tank load and
it won't be far off by the time the next tank wants tipping. By the
time you get back to the shed you might not be far off having a dried
load of grain, however just not quite, so you'd have to have some
other trailer to keep the combine going and help out IMO.
They look damn big trailers!
Not sure on price but you'd be hard pushed to find anything
secondhand, or a 10+ year history about them. These days it's nice to
know what you are buying into with prices as they are.
Charles
Mak <mak@keeping_low_profile.co.uk> wrote...
>What model is it?
No idea, as any stickers, or plates have long gone. It's a 9 tonne
affair and probably one the first imported ones, as we've had it years
and years. Before many folk had driers in fact.
Mak
>No idea, as any stickers, or plates have long gone. It's a 9 tonne
>affair and probably one the first imported ones, as we've had it years
>and years. Before many folk had driers in fact.
So who do you deal with for service and parts?
The chap importing at the moment is Stuart Mc Arthur at Gunthorpe between Epworth and Gainsborough,
who is where we have found the one we are looking at.
Mak
Mak
>
>Gerald L R Stubbs <stu...@zetnet.co.uk> wrote...
>
>>Does anyone know which machine I am describing?
>
>Yes but I don't know the name. They are blue and can probably be seen
>at events like the Grain/IT event.
The name your are looking for is Farrell Machinery. from Suffolk. Don't know if they build them, or
just distribute, but the only ones I have ever seen have been Farrell.
Mak
Charles
Mak <mak@keeping_low_profile.co.uk> wrote...
>So who do you deal with for service and parts?
We originally bought it off Sewards, however they've gone belly up to
my knowledge, so couldn't tell you. To be honest we've not needed
anything in a long time and things like belts and bearings aren't an
issue, as general ones do. As far as the electronics go, we had a few
problems with the LED gauges, however we now fix them the best we can
ourselves and they can be tweaked inside for correct readings - one
pot does the temp readout and the other pot does the cut-off point.
these boxes are expensive and to be honest the whole box wants taking
off the drier so it doesn't vibrate, etc.
Use to have problems with the yellow block light coming on, however
this year it's never happened. it's usually because fuel filter
blocks, or crap builds up on the burner jet plate, or the magic eye
wants cleaning. Usually occurs after a bit of wet/damp days. Not sure
why it simply hasn't happened this year. We may have done something
with the fuel filter, as that needed cleaning a lot once over but now
runs well - could have been a factory update, or something - not sure.
We replaced the central auger(s?) once but I assume this was through
the dealer (who's gone bust). Welded up the intake and central auger
sleeve a few times but nothing major.
The first fire we had with it really wrecked it but with the insurance
money we basically fixed her up and she's cooking well now and we
learnt a lot from that experience, as you can probably tell. We
routinely fire it at least once, or twice a year now. Most times we do
well, however this year it fired at the end of it's burn cycle, so the
grain was crapped on that cycle. Still it's amazing how you can find a
home for it :))) Perfectly good grain, just has a few black, well
cooked, bits in it.
Apart from this there's not a lot that can go wrong with the thing to
be honest. Grease it up, watch all the cables are right and cogs
meshed and you'll find it pretty trouble free. Burner jets can be
cleaned easily and you might find you get faster drying with bigger
jets in - costs more in diesel, etc. Once you do a season you get a
feel for the thing.
No one year is the same, or grain sample, so record the moisture it
goes in at and record it out and then you'll be better prepared later
in the season to see how and where to set it. Generally if you want it
off at 14.5% the grain wants to be 1% above this when the fire goes
out, however this is only a guide, as reading moistures at 45C isn't
as easy as reading them at 30C. We generally take the third, or forth
reading than the first; i.e, press the moisture button four times.
We have in shed cooling, so usually dump grain at 32C, however this
depends how rushed we are, where the grain is going in the shed and
the time of night. If we have time we'll cool it further. if it's
running late and it's going to sit on the top of the heap all night,
we'll dump earlier.
The longer it's in the more bushel you'll gain, however it's very rare
for it not to bring a bushel up. Anything going in at 66 bushel will
easily get over 72 coming out, however again it depends on why it's at
66 in the first place. Going on this year, it's amazing how good it
can look coming out compared to what went in.
As to driving power you honestly can't beat a 100+ hp old combine
engine sat on a frame ticking over. Have a look around for cheap ideas
on this. Depending on your tonnage we simply knacker tractors doing
it. If you have to use a tractor I'd suggest running it 1000 speed, so
it's not working as hard. You use the volt/or whatever it is to gauge
the correct shaft speed going into the drier.
We also piped the main farm fuel tank into the drier tank and fed a
feed off to the donkey engine, thus is never needs filling up. The
only problem we've had with this is that the top of the drier fuel
tank cracks around the welding and we think it's because the tank is
full all the time and the constant vibration.
Personally I'd like to replace it with a 5+t/hour continuous affair,
so it doesn't require a man every hour++ to manage the thing. Instead
a continuous machine with a pit is what we want really. Saying this
the cleaning abilities of these driers probably takes some beating for
the price.
Mak
>
>Use to have problems with the yellow block light coming on, however
>this year it's never happened.
Probably the bulb has gone!
>We may have done something
>with the fuel filter, as that needed cleaning a lot once over but now
>runs well - could have been a factory update, or something - not sure.
I know, you through the filter over the hedge!
hehehehehehe.....
Anyway, Charles, thanks for all your advice and ideas on running your machine.
We have done the deal today on a 3 month old 15 tonne Mecmar, and hopefully when the chap gets all
the crap of it, it will look like a new one. When we went to look at it the other day it stood in
the dealers yard in the pile of crap that the last load of beans it had in it had left behind, and
it was pouring with rain and blowing a gale, so we did not see it in its best light, but it was by
far a superior machine over an Opico.
Hope to get it on farm early next week, then I have got 100 tonne of beans and 100 tonne of peas to
put through it, so we will not be long getting the shine of it!
Must get the diesel tank filled up before we hold the county to ransom again in a fortnights time!
Mak
Charles
Not sure about beans but with peas, you have to dry them halfway to
select grain temp and then let them cool and then set it off again.
Peas spilt if heated, or cooled too fast. When cooling maybe stop them
halfway and let them sit for 1/2hour, or something. brother has better
knowledge than me on this one. If you your own use then it doesn't
matter.
Give it a good grease (including very top of auger - another area that
needs TLC, as it gets crapped up and needs cleaning, or you can't turn
the damn thing.
As with combines; put them away for winter dry and dirty - if that's
possible, unlike this year; so we washed it :)
We have a lot of experience with this type of drier - we have to push
our 9 tonne job, as it has 550 acre of wheat, 100+ barley and 50 rape.
no peas (usually). That was last year - currently not sure what we'll
have for next year at the minute :)))
Peas and beans aren't exactly a good starting area to learn how to use
a drier IMO, so watch yourselves and take it slow. Wheat and barley
can take a bit of stick. Peas will clean it but it could also fire it.
well they do if you do wheat after it. I suppose you'll be watching it
and you haven't a lot to do really. Takes a while for the 'chaff' to
build up and fire but peas have a funny fiery type of chaff.
One final tip:
Put some 3", or 4" drainage pipe on the cleaner shoot with a nail
through the hole to hold it and the pipe. Make it about 2.5 to 3 foot
longer. Then go get an old half tonne fert bag. In fact make that
three, or four (for peas), maybe more. Take out the inner plastic
liner and stitch up bottom with band - stitching quality is irrelevant
really - if you can just to say get your hand through it'll do. With
some band strap this on the end of the pipe and tie it to the nail you
used to stick the pipe on. Will save a lot of sweeping up and you'll
thank me after you've done one load of peas believe me :))
Enjoy.
Charles
Settings:
Peas I'm a little unsure about offhand but:
Peas:
Burner: 80
Grain: ??
Wheat:
Burner: 90 - 110 We usually do quality wheats at 90 and feed at 100.
use to run it at 110 but don't now - unless we really want it doing
quicker.
Grain: This can vary from year to year and of course moisture. You'll
have to fine your mark, as one gauge isn't the same as another. try 40
as a starting figure and watch it. When you cut it off that will give
you an idea.
Rape:
Burner: 80
Grain: As above
Barley:
Burner: 90
Grain: As above
Generally speaking and especially with rape, moistures go very quickly
when they go, as does the weight loss. Drying something down to 12% by
mistake isn't a big issue because the weight, for the most part, has
already gone.
Peas require watching for sure.
HTH
Gerald L R Stubbs
from Mak <mak@keeping_low_profile.co.uk> contains these words:
> The name your are looking for is Farrell Machinery. from Suffolk.
>Don't know if they build them, or
> just distribute, but the only ones I have ever seen have been Farrell.
> Mak
Dem's der ones. They are built in Co. Cork. The Sufflok crowd must
be agents or distributors.
I should have remembered the name as a good mate of mine has almost
the same name, and I mentally made a connection when I was looking
at the machine. Brains like porridge now and forgot until you came
up with the right name !
Mak
>
>Not sure about beans but with peas, you have to dry them halfway to
>select grain temp and then let them cool and then set it off again.
>Peas spilt if heated, or cooled too fast. When cooling maybe stop them
>halfway and let them sit for 1/2hour, or something. brother has better
>knowledge than me on this one. If you your own use then it doesn't
>matter.
You have made a good point about this. The peas and beans we put through the Opico we hired last
year dried down to 16 / 17 % from something stupid like 30% quickly, but getting the last 1 or 2 %
took for ever. In actual fact we never did get the beans down to a level to avoid a claim.
I didn't learn the trick until just recently, but I have been advised to dry them so far and chuck
them out and let them stand for a day or two, then put them through again to get them down to 14 /
15%. Apparently this lets the moisture from the center of the seed dissipate into the dry out side
area you have dried first time round. Probably half an hour standing time will be enough as you
suggest.
>We have a lot of experience with this type of drier - we have to push
>our 9 tonne job, as it has 550 acre of wheat, 100+ barley and 50 rape.
>no peas (usually). That was last year - currently not sure what we'll
>have for next year at the minute :)))
If you put all this through it, it sounds as though you have got some experience. Sounds like you
should treat your self to a new one and let the old one have a rest.
>
>Peas and beans aren't exactly a good starting area to learn how to use
>a drier IMO, so watch yourselves and take it slow. Wheat and barley
>can take a bit of stick. Peas will clean it but it could also fire it.
>well they do if you do wheat after it. I suppose you'll be watching it
>and you haven't a lot to do really. Takes a while for the 'chaff' to
>build up and fire but peas have a funny fiery type of chaff.
Your repeated mention of fire concerns me quite a bit.
Where exactly do you mean its going to get alight. In the combustion chamber itself or in the plenum
chamber in the middle.
When I mentioned fire to the chap who is selling this 15 tonner, he apparently had no knowledge of
getting them alight, or he just didn't want to tell me.
Or are the new models different in some way.
Mak
PS. Do you know if Mecmar have a web site, because I will be dammed but I canr't find one.
Charles
Mak <mak@keeping_low_profile.co.uk> wrote...
>Probably half an hour standing time will be enough as you
>suggest.
It's always worked for us. We've never had to tip them and re-dry,
however many do I think. A few people talk about drying something more
than once but we've never had to do it. Peas like rape take a bit of
drying and it's not the time it takes but the fact that once the
moisture goes, it goes all at once - especially rape. Reas been bigger
will need time to dissipate heat for sure. Let them stand while
heating and again when cooling. Must say that we've never dried really
wet peas, as will probably be the case this year.
>Sounds like you
>should treat your self to a new one and let the old one have a rest.
Same could be said for a few things around here. Tractor was due for
replacement a couple of years back but decided to hold onto the money,
or more accurate not let the overdraft grow :) You can only do this
for so long though.
>Your repeated mention of fire concerns me quite a bit.
>Where exactly do you mean its going to get alight. In the combustion chamber itself or in the plenum
>chamber in the middle.
No it's not a worry but a fire is a fire and you need to well prepared
for it, etc.
The fire starts in the plenum chamber in the middle on a ledge to the
left and below where you get the sample out. Once you have the drier
you'll see where I mean when you have a look in the middle chamber.
Could be our's age and there's maybe a gap some place but that's where
it starts and if you were to never clean it out you'd be in trouble.
It's relatively easy to do and to be honest doesn't just happen, as
chaff and the like needs to build up. With a little work you could
probably fix a away so chaff doesn't hang around but we've never done
it.
A fire is VERY good to see starting, as it's thick low carrying white
smoke that pours out just below the grain sample shoot. It doesn't
matter how much white smoke comes off the rest of it, and it will
smoke if grain is wet, etc, a fire will always, without fail, show
itself at this point.
It's nothing to worry about but I'm making doubly sure you are aware
of it, as all fires are survivable if you catch them in time. Getting
the grain out is first concern and is easy to do. Just keep fan going
until most of the grain is out, otherwise the smoke and crap will come
back up the burner tube and make a real mess. Saying that, this
situation would a worse case situation due to leaving the drier
un-manned for a long time. We do this all the time and we still trust
it and don't worry about it really. I'm just giving you all the
details :)
As to the burner tube, the inner core can sometimes crack and may need
welding up at some stage.
Most of the info I've given you will probably be of no use for many
years. We had ours a long time before any of this stuff happened, so I
wouldn't worry yourself about it for at least 4 - 5 years :) It'll
make a good secondary manual for you. It's just you mentioned peas and
we always fire the damn thing shortly after doing peas because in the
rush to change we might not clean off the ledge as much as we should,
etc.
I'm not sure on the later models. I haven't seen one to tell to be
honest and I haven't a clue to a website. I'd be surprised if they
don't have one, especially as they are Italian, or otherwise foreign
thus need cheap advertising, etc. I also doubt a website, or brochure
would include detailed pictures of the insides to see any real
difference.
Only things I could find are (foreign language stuff, so you'll have
to translate <bg>:
http://www.agria.hu/acreklam/hevesgep/termek8.html
http://www.agribizchina.com/english/mecmar/90.html
http://www.agribizchina.com/english/mecmar/form.html
Best I can do. Maybe use the last link to get them to inform you of a
website??
Can't recall the age of ours but give it a good clean and disregard
the odd accident damage, it's as good as new and with near zero rust.
Not sure whether they altered the electronics but you use to be able
to switch off one of the burner switches, I think the lower burner
one, and it would stop the clock. We use to and still do hire ours out
and so we altered this so it clocked up time all the time, even when
cooling, etc. Might be of interest. How we did this I don't know -
brother will if you really wanted details. As is you can reduce the
hours it clocks by switching this switch off (I think you lose LCD
readouts, etc). Could improve secondhand value. Otherwise if you hire
it out you'll want it to clock up all the hours for billing, etc. I'll
have to get a reading of the hours ours has been running. Could even
get pictures of mods if and when you might be interested, etc.
David White
Gerald,
>> The name your are looking for is Farrell Machinery. from Suffolk.
>>Don't know if they build them, or
>> just distribute, but the only ones I have ever seen have been Farrell.
See Profi Magazine December 1998 (page 48) for a review of the 25 ton!!!
model.
It may be available on www.profi.com I'm not sure.
David W.
Ilkka Valkila
> Only things I could find are (foreign language stuff, so you'll have
> to translate <bg>:
>
> http://www.agria.hu/acreklam/hevesgep/termek8.html
> http://www.agribizchina.com/english/mecmar/90.html
> http://www.agribizchina.com/english/mecmar/form.html
That's more than I found. Not much though.
Interesting driers, nothing like those available here. How much do they
cost in the UK?
Ilkka
Mak
A new 15 tonne model the same as we have just purchased would be around £17500
Mak
Mak
>>Sounds like you
>>should treat your self to a new one and let the old one have a rest.
>
>Same could be said for a few things around here. Tractor was due for
>replacement a couple of years back but decided to hold onto the money,
>or more accurate not let the overdraft grow :) You can only do this
>for so long though.
Having been in this situation with tractors, I can totally agree, however when you start to have
problems that cost as much as the annual finance bill for a new one, it comes to the point when you
carn't afford not to change them.
We certainly could not afford to stop as we were.
We took the plunge and traded two Masseys for a new JD before harvest. It was a big gamble relying
on just one tractor to do everything, but with our fist season more or less over now it has worked
very well. All you need to do is keep the wheels turning. The JD has impressed very much and has
been 99.9% reliable, with the 0.1% being down to the hand throttle leaver falling to bits. Not bad
in its first 450 hours!!!
>Only things I could find are (foreign language stuff, so you'll have
>to translate <bg>:
>
>http://www.agria.hu/acreklam/hevesgep/termek8.html
>http://www.agribizchina.com/english/mecmar/90.html
>http://www.agribizchina.com/english/mecmar/form.html
>
>Best I can do. Maybe use the last link to get them to inform you of a
>website??
Found the first link you list before, but not the last two. Looks as though that is as far as they
go (maybe). I will fill the request form in and see what happens.
Mak
Richard
<mak@keeping_low_profile.co.uk> wrote:
>The JD has impressed very much and has
>been 99.9% reliable, with the 0.1% being down to the hand throttle leaver falling to bits. Not bad
>in its first 450 hours!!!
Was the hand throttle disintegration due to it being too stiff, there
is a spring you can slacken off, a bit fiddly but you can just about
get a spanner on it.
Richard
Ilkka Valkila
> A new 15 tonne model the same as we have just purchased would be around £17500
Thanks, I thought it could have been more. I guess that is about the
same price as a Finnish mobile drier.
Ilkka
Mak
Richard
No the leaver was not tight, it was simply a case of the pin which is located in the leave its self,
just to the rear of the bolt and spring you talk about coming loose and falling out. This pin runs
in the cast aluminum slot you can see through the top cover, and should be an interference fit in
the leaver its self.
I fitted the new leaver myself, which is a bit of a fiddle more than anything else, because when you
take the bolt out which compresses the friction spring it all falls to bits and you need four hands
to hold it all back together again. Non the less, its all back together now and working fine.
If you have simply slackened the bolt you can see through the top cover, beware of it all coming
loose in the future, because it has two half nuts on the other side, which you can't get at unless
you take the side cover off.
Mak
Ps. Have you got all your wheat drilled yet? Beans still to go in here, but if it dose not dry up
just a LITTLE bit they will have to stop in the shed.
Charles
Our Mecmar has clocked up 4000 hours. Not sure how it rates an hour
but that's the clock reading.
Richard
All my wheat is planted and like you the beans still have to go in
sometime.
The Met Off forecast for November is not too cheer full
http://www.meto.gov.uk/sec3/sec3pg4.html
regards
Richard
Mak
>All my wheat is planted and like you the beans still have to go in
>sometime.
>
>The Met Off forecast for November is not too cheer full
>
>http://www.meto.gov.uk/sec3/sec3pg4.html
>
Your bloody cheerful!!!!!!
Think I might stop in bed tomorrow after listing to what is going on outside.
Mak
sraw...@cix.compulink.co.uk
> The Met Off forecast for November is not too cheer full
>
> http://www.meto.gov.uk/sec3/sec3pg4.html
I think I prefer themonthahead! Just as bad bad but better graphics! :-)
Steve Rawlings
www.dexterbeef.co.uk
Mak
>As to driving power you honestly can't beat a 100+ hp old combine
>engine sat on a frame ticking over. Have a look around for cheap ideas
>on this. Depending on your tonnage we simply knacker tractors doing
>it. If you have to use a tractor I'd suggest running it 1000 speed, so
>it's not working as hard. You use the volt/or whatever it is to gauge
>the correct shaft speed going into the drier.
We have got 60 tonnes of beans through the new drier now, with another 40 or so to go when the
weather is right.
Going in at 19%+, we are getting them down to around the 15% mark in about three hours. I don't
think 5 tonne / hr taking 4% out is bad for beans. One thing that I have leant in the first few
loads is that cooling is just as important as getting them up to the correct heat. A lot of time and
fuel can be waisted by getting them to dry on the burn cycle. Getting them to around the 17% mark
while heating is sufficient to see 15% when they are cooled to 15 deg C.
I want to pick your brain about driving the drier with the above mentioned combine engine.
I have got my hands on a Perkins engine straight out of a combine, complete with radiator,
electrics, air cleaner, exhaust and the tail shaft with the pulley on it.
Have you driven the drier with belt drive of the original tail shaft pulley, and if so, where have
you driven to on the drier, or have you done away with the pulley and got a reduction gear driving
to the original pto?
Mak
Charles
>A lot of time and
>fuel can be waisted by getting them to dry on the burn cycle. Getting them to around the 17% mark
>while heating is sufficient to see 15% when they are cooled to 15 deg C.
Roger that. You never take it to dry on the burn. In grain going to
around 40C it will loose at least 1% when cooled back down to 30C. Of
course whether this is real, or imagined is something else, as
moisture gauges will probably become more inaccurate at these high
temps. Cooling is as important through. Cooling can also be fun some
days depending on weather. The drier will also work differently
throughout the day depending on time of day, humidity, etc.
As to the combine engine the drive comes out of the engine (or
flywheel housing) and goes through a wide belt to the side and onto
another pulley which houses a clutch system and then along a shaft
back along the engine to the radiator area (under the exhaust and air
cleaner). At this point we rigged up a PTO shaft. Using bought in PTO
ends that have sleeves that we both bolt and weld onto the end of this
shaft. Don't worry about it too much, as the damn things eventually
break off anyway, so making a perfect join isn't an issue because at
some stage you'll be bodging up with the welder :)
We also mounted the fuel tank on the axles as well (the whole thing is
on wheels). This eventually cracked with the vibration, so we rigged a
fuel line into the main feed into the drier. We placed the return pipe
further up the pipe of the incoming fuel and thus far that side of
things has been OK - you'll soon follow suit, as we *never* have to
fill either the drier, or the engine now - one less job, as they can
both eat fuel for breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper :))
Ours is just ticking over, so after the last load in the day we pump
the throttle and blow out some black smoke and give her as airing,
etc.
I'll try and sort out a picture (or two) of the engine for you....
(via email, etc).
On the radiator front, make yourself a screen for it and make sure
it's big, so even if it gets full it has a better chance to get air.
We created a box sticking out at least 7 - 8 inches and you'll be
surprised to know it sucks more air through the sides than it does
straight in the middle. The radiator screen gets clogged up quite
quickly and if anyone is passing the thing, they must always give it a
brush down. This year has been worse than most but I suggest making
sure everyone knows the rules about walking passed the drier, as once
clogged the thing can overheat quickly. Saying that they are hardy
engines. We've run ours to a stall without water and even oil once, or
twice and it's still going strong.
Charles
UK Business Agriculture User Directory & FAQ:
http://www.ukagriculture.free-online.co.uk/
"Computers are usually dumber than people..... but they are habitually smarter than programmers."
Charles
Another tip for you, specially with all the rain about. We got tired
of lifting the intake auger up to drain the water out, so we drilled a
small hole at the bottom of the hopper, just below the bearing.
Probably about 5mm, or so. Works a treat and is now self draining :)
Charles
UK Business Agriculture User Directory & FAQ:
http://www.ukagriculture.free-online.co.uk/
"Computers are usually dumber than people..... but they are habitually smarter than programmers."