TMR Mixer Made From Underground Tank

1997 - Volume #21, Issue #4, Page #09

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After pricing out conventional TMR mixers, Gary Lisowe, Gillett, Wis., decided to build his own out of an old underground fuel tank. He mounted it inside a two-story feed room that he added onto one end of his dairy barn.
The upper floor of the feed room houses a divided steel bin. The mixer is below the bin. The bin holds protein in one hopper and ground ear corn in the other. Slide chutes at the bottom of each hopper open up to fill the mixer below. Lisowe uses a small loader tractor to load haylage from his bunker silos directly into the mixer.
Feed is mixed together inside the mixer by a pair of 12-in. dia. augers, one mounted above the other, and by a 4-ft. reel (similar in design to a Knight Reel Auggie). A 5 hp electric motor belt-drives a jackshaft which chain-drives the top auger. The top auger belt-drives the bottom auger which belt-drives the reel. Lisowe loads feed out of a slide chute on the mixer into a feed cart which he uses to feed his 30 milk cows.
"I spent about $150 to build the TMR mixer. A comparable commercial model sells for about $8,000," says Lisowe. "It's a simple set-up that eliminates the need for expensive augers, belts, and conveyors to load and unload the mixer. I got the 560-gal. fuel tank free from a neighbor in the petroleum equipment business. I used a Sawzall to cut off the top of the tank and had a ma-chine shop convert the cut-off section into the housing for the unloading auger. I mounted the mixer on wooden blocks so I can load directly into my wheelbarrow with-out the need for an elevator.
"The bin holds about three tons of feed and was built from 16 ga. galvanized sheet metal riveted together with 3/16-in. pop rivets. A weigh scale mounted on the back side of the mixer allows me to mix feed ingredients accurately. I also mounted a magnet on the mixer slide chute to remove metal objects."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gary Lisowe, 5461 Klatt Road, Gillett, Wis. 54124 (ph 414 855-6127)

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TMR Mixer Made From Underground Tank LIVESTOCK Feeding Equipment 21-4-9 After pricing out conventional TMR mixers, Gary Lisowe, Gillett, Wis., decided to build his own out of an old underground fuel tank. He mounted it inside a two-story feed room that he added onto one end of his dairy barn. The upper floor of the feed room houses a divided steel bin. The mixer is below the bin. The bin holds protein in one hopper and ground ear corn in the other. Slide chutes at the bottom of each hopper open up to fill the mixer below. Lisowe uses a small loader tractor to load haylage from his bunker silos directly into the mixer. Feed is mixed together inside the mixer by a pair of 12-in. dia. augers, one mounted above the other, and by a 4-ft. reel (similar in design to a Knight Reel Auggie). A 5 hp electric motor belt-drives a jackshaft which chain-drives the top auger. The top auger belt-drives the bottom auger which belt-drives the reel. Lisowe loads feed out of a slide chute on the mixer into a feed cart which he uses to feed his 30 milk cows. "I spent about $150 to build the TMR mixer. A comparable commercial model sells for about $8,000," says Lisowe. "It's a simple set-up that eliminates the need for expensive augers, belts, and conveyors to load and unload the mixer. I got the 560-gal. fuel tank free from a neighbor in the petroleum equipment business. I used a Sawzall to cut off the top of the tank and had a ma-chine shop convert the cut-off section into the housing for the unloading auger. I mounted the mixer on wooden blocks so I can load directly into my wheelbarrow with-out the need for an elevator. "The bin holds about three tons of feed and was built from 16 ga. galvanized sheet metal riveted together with 3/16-in. pop rivets. A weigh scale mounted on the back side of the mixer allows me to mix feed ingredients accurately. I also mounted a magnet on the mixer slide chute to remove metal objects." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gary Lisowe, 5461 Klatt Road, Gillett, Wis. 54124 (ph 414 855-6127)

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