- Location
- North Kent, UK
I'm looking to build a new store for harvest 2016 under permitted development, so probably 80x60ft. I want to split down the middle and store 2 crops. We have plenty of combine capacity, so rarely harvest over 15% mc but may make a start at 16 when patience is running thin. Being in Kent, we tend to get a fairly early start and finish to harvest, so no need to burn the midnight oil. Our rape goes into storage at harvest (and will continue to do so), so only storing cereals and pulses.
We have one wooden, ventilated floor on another farm which is easy to load and unload, but rarely used for drying. The price of a new drive on floor is frightening, so am looking at other options. The best alternative I can see at the moment is the Martin Lishman Floorvent system with an automated box of tricks for cooling. The price is miniscule compared to the wooden floor and 'A' blocks can be used to divide the storage which mean less space lost compared to an air tunnel. The fans are attached at ground level on the outside of the shed, no lugging them up onto pedestals, but, may be vulnerable to thieves and the weather. The unknown potential downside is loading and unloading. We tip and then push up the pile with the loader, and bucket out to fill the lorries - so, bit concerned about working around the turrets which protrude from the floor. I know you can paint lines along the floor to mark them, but, we are talking harvest time, and sometimes we make mistakes!
I'm open to ideas at the moment, as said in previous threads, you can always hire in a mobile dryer if desperate, I just don't know if the wooden floor can be justified but it is very easy to use. Has anyone had first hand experience of the Floorvent system?
Nick
We have one wooden, ventilated floor on another farm which is easy to load and unload, but rarely used for drying. The price of a new drive on floor is frightening, so am looking at other options. The best alternative I can see at the moment is the Martin Lishman Floorvent system with an automated box of tricks for cooling. The price is miniscule compared to the wooden floor and 'A' blocks can be used to divide the storage which mean less space lost compared to an air tunnel. The fans are attached at ground level on the outside of the shed, no lugging them up onto pedestals, but, may be vulnerable to thieves and the weather. The unknown potential downside is loading and unloading. We tip and then push up the pile with the loader, and bucket out to fill the lorries - so, bit concerned about working around the turrets which protrude from the floor. I know you can paint lines along the floor to mark them, but, we are talking harvest time, and sometimes we make mistakes!
I'm open to ideas at the moment, as said in previous threads, you can always hire in a mobile dryer if desperate, I just don't know if the wooden floor can be justified but it is very easy to use. Has anyone had first hand experience of the Floorvent system?
Nick
