Bulk Feed Bin Made From Old Grinder-Mixer Tank

Bulk Feed Bin Made From Old Grinder-Mixer Tank LIVESTOCK Feeding Equipment 23-5-37 Old grinder-mixer tanks can be converted into low-cost bulk feed bins, says Todd Stern, Darwin, Minn., who used an 80-bu. capacity grinder-mixer tank to make a bin that holds up to 1 3/4 tons of feed. "I use it to fill 5-gal. buckets which I dump into bunks inside my barn for my sows and calves. I also use it to store bulk soybean meal for grinding. I got the tank free from from a neighbor so it cost very little to set up," says Stern. The tank is supported by four bolted-on 4-in. sq. wood legs that stand on cement block footings. A machine shop cut out a circle of metal, which he then welded into the bottom of the tank where the unloading auger had been. Feed gravity flows out through a 10-in. sq. opening fitted with a chute. A sliding door controls the flow of grain. The tank is filled by a grinder-mixer auger through a large opening at the top of the tank. He widened the original opening and made a hinged, 3-ft. sq. steel cover for the enlarged opening. The cover keeps feed from blowing around on windy days as the tank is being filled. He kept the tank's original ladder, which goes about half way down the side of the tank, and mounted more rungs below it on one of the posts. "It isn't fancy but it does the job. The weight of the feed is enough to hold the tank down. I've never had one tip over, even when the tank is empty. These tanks are slow to rust out because they're made from thick steel," says Stern, who notes that he has made a total of three feed bins from grinder-mixer tanks. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Todd Stern, 18061 655 Ave., Darwin, Minn. 55324 (ph 320 275-2823).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.