Low-Cost Way To Self-Propel Grain Augers

Low-Cost Way To Self-Propel Grain Augers AUGERS Augers (29B) 22-4-37 Moving a 37-ft. long, 6-in. dia. auger around by hand can be a tiring job but commercial, add-on self-propel kits are not cheap. Hugh Gamble, Codette, Sask., used an electric motor off an old Massey combine to inexpensively add power to his auger. The battery-powered motor chain-drives a small wheel mounted on front of a steel A-frame bolted to the auger's axle. A 2-ft. long steering handle mounts next to the wheel and is equipped with a toggle switch that's used to move the auger forward or backward. A 2-way winch off a row crop cultivator mounts on a 6-ft. high steel pole above the drive wheel. A chain runs from a sprocket on the winch up over the top of the pole and down to the auger tube. Turning the handle on the winch one way raises the end of the auger off the ground, and turning it the other way raises the wheel off the ground, allowing Gamble to pull the auger behind his pickup for transport. ""It works as good as commercial self-propelled auger kits that cost about $3,000. I spent less than $100 to build it," says Gamble. "I use it mostly for loading grain out of my bins and into my truck. I can drive the auger right up to the bin without having to lift the auger at all. I used rectangular steel tubing that I already had to build the frame. I paid about $80 for electric wire and the switch. "I think the same idea would work on any size auger, although a bigger one would probably be too big for a battery and would have to be hydraulically operated." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Hugh Gamble, Box 248, Codette, Sask., Canada S0E 0P0 (ph 306 277-4235).

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