Better Farming - December 2016

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RISING ELECTRICALCOSTS
We started drying corn and
other grains on Ontario
farms in the 1960s, primar-
ily to avoid elevator lineups at harvest
time. At that time, most farm electri-
cal services were not large enough to
power the most common standard-
type batch grain dryers. These
relatively small, usually round batch
dryers were frequently powered by
the PTO of a farm tractor.
In rural areas, propane (liquid
petroleum gas or LPG) was most
often used to heat the drying air. Two
additional items were regularly
included in these drying systems. A
plywood- or tarpaulin-type enclosure
was placed around the tractor to add
the tractor heat (but not the tractor
exhaust) to reduce propane used by
the dryer. The other item was a set of
Murphy gauges which were installed
on the tractor to shut it down if the
oil pressure dropped or the engine
overheated. The extended air intake
around the tractor to collect heat also
had the benefit of reducing the entry
of “red dog” into the dryer and
significantly decreasing the risk of fire
in the dryer plenum.
The dried grain, primarily corn,
was stored in small 2,000 – 5,000
bushel steel bins to feed livestock or
for later sale.
In the 1970s, higher amperage
services became available on most
farms. Thus, up to a 25-horsepower
(soft-start) or a 15-hp regular motor
could be used on a single-phase
service. The soft-start motors, which
provided a lower startup torque,
could easily start dryer fans. Hydro
was relatively cheap, and this concept
worked very well for most on-farm
systems. Many farms did not have
three-phase power available that
would allow them to exceed that
25-hp limit.
Customers were billed once their
total electrical demand exceeded 50
Electrical energy for grain drying
by RALPHWINFIELD
THERE IS NOSUCH THINGAS
A LEMKENRESISTANTWEED!
This large engine/generator (alternator) system effectively and
efficiently powers a high throughput screen-less dryer.
On-farm options for corn drying have evolved significantly in the past 50 years. Now, due to high
electricity costs, some farmers opt for combination systems.