How to dry wet beans?

[Brisel]

It shouldn't if you let them equalize for a while

Does that require air flow to help the process?

 

[yellow belly]

Does that require air flow to help the process?

You will need to keep them cool

 

[Matthew Britton]

I have a lovely mecmar drier, if you took that off my hands it would stop me wasting time thinking about how to move it here

I sold mine to a chap from Poland just before I left. He dismantled it into 3 bits and hauled it off. Shouldn’t be too bad to move but when would you need it here?

 

[czechmate]

I sold mine to a chap from Poland just before I left. He dismantled it into 3 bits and hauled it off. Shouldn’t be too bad to move but when would you need it here?

Exactly.
For circulating as I add water too moisten it up?

No mainly as a cleaner, storage bin, bug remover.
Have you found out the magnitude of the problem with friggin beetles here yet?

 

[Matthew Britton]

Exactly.
For circulating as I add water too moisten it up?

No mainly as a cleaner, storage bin, bug remover.
Have you found out the magnitude of the problem with friggin beetles here yet?

No I have left that pleasure to SicaBB co op. No storage here and won’t be while I am here. May be when we can move to our own place I will look at it but the hassle of storage is something i don’t miss!!

 

[czechmate]

No I have left that pleasure to SicaBB co op. No storage here and won’t be while I am here. May be when we can move to our own place I will look at it but the hassle of storage is something i don’t miss!!

It’s certainly a hassle here.
Harvest it in the sun and the grain is 40 degrees and no night time temps below 22 degrees, how you supposed to get it cool?

 

[goodevans]

4 at farm sales in the last month I know too south of Shrewsbury@farmerm,

 

[Andrew K]

Brisel

I would hire in a Farrell trailer drier if you can. We used to hire ours out for £50 per hr plus fuel as a guide when we ran one four yrs ago.
For beans set it around 85 deg and give it 2 to 3 hrs with the three augers going.
Then moisture test and finish off in your own drier.

The damage to beans should be minimal compared to an Opico type drier but it wont clean the sample as well.

 

[Brisel]

Brisel

I would hire in a Farrell trailer drier if you can. We used to hire ours out for £50 per hr plus fuel as a guide when we ran one four yrs ago.
For beans set it around 85 deg and give it 2 to 3 hrs with the three augers going.
Then moisture test and finish off in your own drier.

The damage to beans should be minimal compared to an Opico type drier but it wont clean the sample as well.

Thank you. I think that’s what the merchant we store for is about to do. We haven’t got time to spend weeks messing about with it so will just chuck the beans at them. We’ve lifted 700 potted Christmas trees already this week and that side is about to get busier...

 

[ajd132]

Get rid sent them to somewhere like wild grain or a commercial store. All that faff for wet beans sounds horrible

 

[Clive]

Well, we have circa 300 tonnes of spring beans still to cut and our whizzy continuous flow drier setup hates anything over 25%. Even clean samples just don't want to go through the pre cleaner & up the elevators, plus it's at least 3 trips around the drier if we don't want to split what has so far been a good quality sample. I can't see us cutting much under 30% moisture this week and then the weather turns wet again afterwards. What are my options?

Mobile batch drier?
Rent a drive on floor with gas burners?
Trailer drier??

we use our CF dryer as a batch dryer for very wet beans - fill it and direct output back into the top so they go round and round until dry

low heat

works well and is no hassle

 

[glasshouse]

Well, we have circa 300 tonnes of spring beans still to cut and our whizzy continuous flow drier setup hates anything over 25%. Even clean samples just don't want to go through the pre cleaner & up the elevators, plus it's at least 3 trips around the drier if we don't want to split what has so far been a good quality sample. I can't see us cutting much under 30% moisture this week and then the weather turns wet again afterwards. What are my options?

Mobile batch drier?
Rent a drive on floor with gas burners?
Trailer drier??

Buy an alvan blanch

 

[Brisel]

Get rid sent them to somewhere like wild grain or a commercial store. All that faff for wet beans sounds horrible

This is what we’re going to do. We store a lot of grain for a regional merchant so they are hiring a trailer drier as they have the same problem.

we use our CF dryer as a batch dryer for very wet beans - fill it and direct output back into the top so they go round and round until dry

low heat

works well and is no hassle

How do you get them into the system in the first place?

 

[Brisel]

Buy an alvan blanch

Good drier, not really appropriate for our system. We will look at a small batch drier for the odds & sods we get sent though.

 

[glasshouse]

This is what we’re going to do. We store a lot of grain for a regional merchant so they are hiring a trailer drier as they have the same problem.




How do you get them into the system in the first place?

My alvan blanch setup could dry anything, but very wet peas or beans would play havoc with the intake elevator.
They would get behind the belt and force it out agsinst the sides so you had to stop
Plan B was a rubber belt potato elevator direct into top of drier
Plan C was bucket them into the top bed of the drier, which was left open for this purpose

 

[Renaultman]

Get rid sent them to somewhere like wild grain or a commercial store. All that faff for wet beans sounds horrible

I've been told it would cost £50t to dry from 20some percent to 15. I can stand a bit of horror for that.
I would have to get them cut first though. These are contract farm beans and think I will leave it in the hands of the agent. Desperately need a dry week before we can do anything.

 

[Brisel]

I've been told it would cost £50t to dry from 20some percent to 15. I can stand a bit of horror for that.
I would have to get them cut first though. These are contract farm beans and think I will leave it in the hands of the agent. Desperately need a dry week before we can do anything.

Ouch. I was working on around £40 to get them from 30% to 15%. Once they are in a batch drier, it's just a bit more time & fuel for the extra %. I did ring Master Driers who hire out machines. They have a couple of electric drive machines coming back from Scotland. They also gave me a few phone numbers of local customers who might be able to help. £50 sounds excessive but this depends on the terms of your agreement. Give me a ring & I'll share the details of the locals who have these driers.

 

[czechmate]

Thank you. I think that’s what the merchant we store for is about to do. We haven’t got time to spend weeks messing about with it so will just chuck the beans at them. We’ve lifted 700 potted Christmas trees already this week and that side is about to get busier...

What kind of tool dries Christmas trees?

 

[czechmate]

Thank you. I think that’s what the merchant we store for is about to do. We haven’t got time to spend weeks messing about with it so will just chuck the beans at them. We’ve lifted 700 potted Christmas trees already this week and that side is about to get busier...

More seriously, surely if they are “potted Christmas trees”, you, erm, just pick them up?

 

[Brisel]

More seriously, surely if they are “potted Christmas trees”, you, erm, just pick them up?

No, they are buried in the ground. The root hairs extend far beyond the pots. Nordmann firs have wide roots, Norway Spruce have deeper ones. It does seem to vary between plants though.