'Batch' floor drying system - hardwood or concrete?

Fat hen

Member
We are a 480ac farm with 5 or 6 crops. We have been using an old Opico for the last 20 yrs, which doesnt owe us anything but it is time and fuel hungry. I feel its time to enter the 21st Century!! We have a large concrete floor shed (50x40yds) which stores the grain pre and post drying.

To fill the shed with a drying floor doesnt make a lot of sense to me because of the number of crops and the relatively low farm size. We have a 120kw biomass boiler which I want to supply all/most of the heat.
The plan is to build in the shed a 60x30ft floor holding up to 200t at 6ft. Drying 0.5% per 24hrs. So having 1000-1200t of grain of different crops means the floor will need emptying 6-8 times annually. This is going to need a robust floor hence are about to go for a GFT concrete floor. The alternative is a Hardwood floor.
That apart we're going for concrete panel walling and the same to construct the tunnel.

Does anyone have experience of using either floor-type in a 'batch' fashion like this?
Do GFT hold OSR well?
Do the GFT floors chip? What can you do if the concrete floor chips?
 

Tom8400

Member
Location
oxfordshire
Gft concrete here and it's 20years old. Holds osr ok, a couple of places have a few slight chips one was a inch gap, so put a metal plate under the grid and it's now fine. If floor is existing concrete I'd say hardwood be cheaper. If starting a fresh I'd go concrete air.

What I would change is the design the lift out metal bungs or laterals call them what you will. Are probably fine for 10years but after you have lifted them out to clean under the floor they start to show as the concrete around edges gets a bit bashed. And you have to run tape along it.

Hopefully they have changed the design since then.


But generally they are bloody strong floors no cracks
 

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