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Blowing cold wheat with warm ambient air

Grass And Grain

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Yorks
Wheat in store is 5 degrees C and 15.8% moisture.

Is it ok to blow it now with ambient air (about 15-20 degrees), as i want to bring the moisture down to under 15 if possible.

Just worried if it might cause condensation in the heap? Or will it be ok?
 

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
It will be fine, but will keep for less time though the reduction in moisture will help & I guess you want to sell it soon anyway. How will you do it? You'll need a fair amount of air flow to dry it and prevent the moisture condensing in the upper layers.

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ZXR17

Member
Location
South Dorset
What is the humidity ? It is very high here at the moment , 90 % , so you wouldn't dry it without a burner to bring the humidity level down. I think it needs to be 65 % or lower if I remember correctly.
 

Grass And Grain

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Yorks
Thanks guys. Brisel, you're so helpful posting all your tables and diagrams, don't know where you find them all from.

Just got pedestals, which can either suck or blow.

They took 1 percent of moisture out of the heap in late summer, but didn't have many nice dry days available after harvest before the autumn weather set in.

I understand that it is more difficult to get that last percent out to take it below 15.

Maybe I should try ventilating when ambient is say 10 degrees to try and slowly raise the temp of the heap before hitting it with mid afternoon temperatures.

No artificial heat, as just got the pedestals.

Didn't want to suck, then get condensation in the bottom of the heap and have a disaster.

Edit. Think I need to get myself a hygrometer.
 

Pan mixer

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Near Colchester
Looks like blowing is best if your pedestals are close enough.

I emptied my wheat store this afternoon looked perfect (no customer though - it just goes into the mill here) vents were osma pipes with slots at the bottom put in after the shed was filled (you suck the wheat out of the centre with the vacuum cleaner as you push them in - another great bit of advice from @Practical Farm Ideas many years ago. Our grain was dry though.
 

eagleye

Member
Innovate UK
Location
co down
all depends on humidity, higher temperture and humidity into cold grain will cause condensation but as brisel says as the air churns thru the fan u get a small temp rise which will lower the humidity anyway. the main thing is plenty of airflow
 

Grain Buyer

Member
Location
Omnipresent
Wheat in store is 5 degrees C and 15.8% moisture.

Is it ok to blow it now with ambient air (about 15-20 degrees), as i want to bring the moisture down to under 15 if possible.

Just worried if it might cause condensation in the heap? Or will it be ok?

why don't you just sell it with moisture claims? What part of the country are you in?
 

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Webinar: Expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive offer 2024 -26th Sept

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On Thursday 26th September, we’re holding a webinar for farmers to go through the guidance, actions and detail for the expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer. This was planned for end of May, but had to be delayed due to the general election. We apologise about that.

Farming and Countryside Programme Director, Janet Hughes will be joined by policy leads working on SFI, and colleagues from the Rural Payment Agency and Catchment Sensitive Farming.

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