Vacuum Silage

Agrifool · Feb 3, 2021

Reading through some of the facts surrounding vacuum silage. The weighting of the top sheet doesn't happen for a few days til the carbon dioxide is released and sealed. Is it practically possible to cover silage pit with tyres etc the same day as cover is put over the clamp?
If not , vacuum silage wont really be suitable for larger pits whereby you have to transport tyres up the pit as its covered. I'm quite interested in the process but I'm also worried about the practicalities of using strip seal in windy conditions. How easy/hard is it to attach strip seal in the wind , would the wind pull the sheets apart as fast as your sealing it? My biggest pit is 60 feet wide.
Would a generous overlap between sheets weighted down on top with a double or triple run of tyres/sidewalls/gravel bags be enough to withstand the vacuum?

Agrifool · Feb 3, 2021

Sleufsilo afdeksysteem - Kornet Beton Balk

Het Sleufsilo afdeksysteem van Kornet Beton Balk is een innovatief afdeksysteem voor op uw sleufsilo. Het afdekken van uw Sleufsilo's ging nog nooit zo snel

kornetbeton.com

Sides might still need attention for vacuuming. but check out this dutch system of covering pits.

Bury the Trash · Feb 3, 2021

Agrifool said:
Sleufsilo afdeksysteem - Kornet Beton Balk

Het Sleufsilo afdeksysteem van Kornet Beton Balk is een innovatief afdeksysteem voor op uw sleufsilo. Het afdekken van uw Sleufsilo's ging nog nooit zo snel

kornetbeton.com

Sides might still need attention for vacuuming. but check out this dutch system of covering pits.

looks ideal but costly no doubt.

their pits aren't very deep
definably cant go above the sides much at all the that system.

som farmer · Feb 3, 2021

most of us go higher than the sides, sometimes stupidly higher, and yet we all know the shoulder waste, caused by inability to roll the sides, and not having enough side sheet, for the 'higher than expected' silage height, quite certain the attention paid to get the proper seal in the vacuum, if replicated on big pits, would achieve less wastage.

CDavidLance · Feb 3, 2021

Agrifool said:
Reading through some of the facts surrounding vacuum silage. The weighting of the top sheet doesn't happen for a few days til the carbon dioxide is released and sealed. Is it practically possible to cover silage pit with tyres etc the same day as cover is put over the clamp?
If not , vacuum silage wont really be suitable for larger pits whereby you have to transport tyres up the pit as its covered. I'm quite interested in the process but I'm also worried about the practicalities of using strip seal in windy conditions. How easy/hard is it to attach strip seal in the wind , would the wind pull the sheets apart as fast as your sealing it? My biggest pit is 60 feet wide.
Would a generous overlap between sheets weighted down on top with a double or triple run of tyres/sidewalls/gravel bags be enough to withstand the vacuum?

These sheets do need to be controlled with weights as they are sealed and during the Carbon Dioxide response. Strip-seal is pretty strong once it has been clipped on the sheets. If sheets catch the wind they are more likely to tear and shred than open the Strip-seal. If you want to open it to let out CO2 you can't do that by pulling the sheets, you need to find a join or an end.
There is no problem with weighting the top sheet or cover sheet the same day that loads finish coming in. The two days that I delayed applying the final weight was because I virtually buried my clamps and I would have lost the ability to monitor and release CO2 once that had happened. Also, my silage was all but fully pickled in two days. Both of those things are different in conventional clamps. I did use small weights to stop the sheet blowing around in the wind, which is essential.
If you fully seal a bulk clamp and you put all tyres on straight away, you may find the tyres bobbing around on a cushion of CO2 for a few days. In practical terms you need to wait for the CO2 response to settle down before the final weighting is sorted out. If you have a protection sheet over your top sheet then it should be fine to walk on the clamp and sort out tyres if they have pinged out of place on the cushion. Finally, there needs to be a way of driving the gas bubble to an outlet when the final weighting goes on. I used to drive it into one corner by adding weight from one side and let the last of it out as the soil went onto that last part.
Our contributor Richard III is the man to ask about overlaps instead of Strip-seal. He is the only one that got an observable Carbon Dioxide response without using Strip-seal. I think he effectively used at least 2 or 3 metre overlaps from what he described. Even his approach would probably not have allowed for vacuum extraction. You do need Strip-seal for that, or a continuous perimeter weighting of some sort.

CDavidLance · Feb 3, 2021

Agrifool said:
Sleufsilo afdeksysteem - Kornet Beton Balk

Het Sleufsilo afdeksysteem van Kornet Beton Balk is een innovatief afdeksysteem voor op uw sleufsilo. Het afdekken van uw Sleufsilo's ging nog nooit zo snel

kornetbeton.com

Sides might still need attention for vacuuming. but check out this dutch system of covering pits.

These covers appear to be heavy enough not need further top weights. Any information on machinery and set-up costs?

Agrifool · Feb 3, 2021

The covers in the link have sausage tubes down into the cover. Once the cover is enrolled water is pumped into the tube system to weight it down. There will be a tube tight to the wall but not sure how well it would seal. I will try get more information.

Agrifool · Feb 3, 2021

I have also seen dutch farmers using an umbilical like pipe to weigh down pit sides and pumping in water. Pipes were laid ontop of standard cover

Will Wilson · Feb 17, 2021

Cant believe I missed this thread! I think a lot of the problems mentioned here can be solved with better silage clamp design. Exciting!

CDavidLance · Feb 21, 2021

Strip-seal update.
Thank you for your patience whilst we wait for details of Strip-seal availability. I am getting a steady trickle of contacts about availability and information should be coming soon.
Not long now, as the New Zealand sheep shearers say.

Will Wilson · Feb 24, 2021

David - perhaps you might consider using our silage sheets in this system - unlike the majority of conventional sheets they are a true Oxygen barrier = as good as 0 oxygen porosity. They are also very tough. Worth considering I think. https://arkagriculture.com/silage-protection/oxy-seal/

CDavidLance · Feb 24, 2021

Will Wilson said:
David - perhaps you might consider using our silage sheets in this system - unlike the majority of conventional sheets they are a true Oxygen barrier = as good as 0 oxygen porosity. They are also very tough. Worth considering I think. https://arkagriculture.com/silage-protection/oxy-seal/

How thick are your sheets in micrometres? I am thinking about compatibility with Strip-seal.

Will Wilson · Feb 25, 2021

90 Micron (from Google this looks like the same as a micrometre) -there's more to it than thickness though as the sheets has more flexibility than standard black plastic (see pic)

The Oxygen Barrier is less than 2cm3/cm2/24 hours.

I am intrigued by the Strip -seal this looks like a great idea! especially for temporary in field clamps.

Keen to see how you get on with this let me know if we can help anymore.

d williams · Feb 25, 2021

DavidJLance said:
Strip-seal update.
Thank you for your patience whilst we wait for details of Strip-seal availability. I am getting a steady trickle of contacts about availability and information should be coming soon.
Not long now, as the New Zealand sheep shearers say.

Would this silage be like the towers that was a thing in I’m guessing the 70,s ???

Wisconsonian · Feb 25, 2021

Supposed to be better than tower silage. The top never gets compressed that well on a tower, and the top unloaders will usually be leaky concrete block with leaky doors, and the bottom unloaders will allow some small amount of air as the silage settles as unloading. Plenty to go wrong with an upright silo too.

mealman · Feb 28, 2021

Will Wilson said:
90 Micron (from Google this looks like the same as a micrometre) -there's more to it than thickness though as the sheets has more flexibility than standard black plastic (see pic)

The Oxygen Barrier is less than 2cm3/cm2/24 hours.

I am intrigued by the Strip -seal this looks like a great idea! especially for temporary in field clamps.

Keen to see how you get on with this let me know if we can help anymore.

View attachment 943521
[/Q

Will Wilson said:
90 Micron (from Google this looks like the same as a micrometre) -there's more to it than thickness though as the sheets has more flexibility than standard black plastic (see pic)

The Oxygen Barrier is less than 2cm3/cm2/24 hours.

I am intrigued by the Strip -seal this looks like a great idea! especially for temporary in field clamps.

Keen to see how you get on with this let me know if we can help anymore.

View attachment 943521

Is that the same as the clear cling film type products? Does it need a protective top coat?

Will Wilson · Feb 28, 2021

No its that’s a single sheet that does the job of two sheets. Not to be confused with a sheet that separates. We get good feedback.

mealman · Feb 28, 2021

I understand this may be a stupid question but how would you go about building a clamp on top of the plastic sheet without damaging it and also leaving it so that can be sealed?

davidroberts30 · Feb 28, 2021

mealman said:
I understand this may be a stupid question but how would you go about building a clamp on top of the plastic sheet without damaging it and also leaving it so that can be sealed?

Only a stupid question if you dont know the answer
The vacuum principle you basically lay a sheet on the floor then tip a load of grass on top,seal then vacuum
If you try it in a walled pit you will damage the sheet against the concrete with the buckrake
Personally I dont think a floor sheet is necessary in a decent concrete pit but good wall sheets with floor overlap and plenty of top sheet overlap is a must

mealman · Feb 28, 2021

davidroberts30 said:
Only a stupid question if you dont know the answer
The vacuum principle you basically lay a sheet on the floor then tip a load of grass on top,seal then vacuum
If you try it in a walled pit you will damage the sheet against the concrete with the buckrake
Personally I dont think a floor sheet is necessary in a decent concrete pit but good wall sheets with floor overlap and plenty of top sheet overlap is a must

Thank you for your reply.I was thinking of trying to make a clamp on part of a disused runway.There is also a small earth bank silo which might be useful.Would just be using a tractor and buckrake

Vacuum Silage

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

0 %

Up to 25%

25-50%

50-75%

75-100%

100% I’ve had enough of farming!

Share this page