Silage pit end

[Nae bother]

Looking for some advice for putting an end onto my open ended silage pit,it has 2 shuttered walls at each side cement floor,(it's 12 metres wide the pit)
1 Do I go for the Moore self standing things quite easy to move in future etc are the strong enough?
2 Buy panels and put in stantions (not so flexible if want to make pit longer)
Any advice is much appreciated thanks.

 

[milkloss]

Not sure on the self standing things especially if you’re rolling the clamp with a machine. I would be interested to hear from someone that is doing just that without tying them into the concrete more permanently.

 

[mezz]

I used to help a neighbour cover his pit, who had movable L walls. They looked flimsy, but were actually iincredibly strong. The walls were 8 foot and the pit was always about 25 foot high made with a very large loading shovel.

The top of the L walls are only 3-4 inches wide and you can't have a safety rail, this means you can't walk along the wall, like you can a shuttered wall,and it's easy to fall off especially if the pit is much higher than the wall. He had scaffolding platform alongside it.

We have a 3 walled pit here and personally I would prefer 2, as rain water always pools at the back and finds it hard to get off.

 

[Wishful Thinker]

L walls work the best. Just need a sensible man on the buckrake. Need to get the weight on the L without pushing and that holds them in place

 

[yin ewe]

If the long toe of the L walls are below the silage then they wont move. Have seen side walls of silos done with them also with no issue. Sockets are cast into the back of them so that they can be pulled out from under the silage if you want to use from that end.

Some pictures in the links.

http://www.mjharrisonsupplies.co.uk/free-standing-retainer-wall.html
https://www.moore-concrete.com/agriculture/free-standing-retaining-l-walls/

 

[clem dog]

Would the L walls not leave it a bit difficult to feed out from? It would be a bit of a faff if each one had to be lifted away and stored somewhere else until filling again.
That said I like the idea of having a pit that can be extended or widened easily.

 

[yin ewe]

Would the L walls not leave it a bit difficult to feed out from? It would be a bit of a faff if each one had to be lifted away and stored somewhere else until filling again.
That said I like the idea of having a pit that can be extended or widened easily.

Yes I suppose they have to be stored somewhere, but they can be made with forklift toe recesses in the bottom for ease of transporting around the yard. I think in the OPs case they will be semi permanent as he wants to close one end of his clamp.

 

[clem dog]

Yes I suppose they have to be stored somewhere, but they can be made with forklift toe recesses in the bottom for ease of transporting around the yard. I think in the OPs case they will be semi permanent as he wants to close one end of his clamp.

It's not the transport it's the storage! Usually it's my silos that dot the storing!

 

[Nae bother]

So who has the best L shaped self standing walls?

 

[v8willy]

IF using L walls you could also run a chain or wire rope taught from 1 side to the other just below the top of them just for a bit of added safety?