Bean Shaker Saved His Crop

Bean Shaker Saved His Crop COMBINES Miscellaneous 29-3-20 Joseph Sharp's "bean shaker" saved his soybean crop last year after weeds took over the crop. The weeds slowed drydown of the crop and Sharp knew that potential spoilage in the bin from stems and green pods could also be a problem. "In a bin, all the pods go to the edge and develop hot spots," explains Sharp. To get the pods and stems out, Sharp built a low cost shaker using old fanning mill screens, including a couple of soybean screens. He built the frame and hopper box out of angle iron, steel plate and other parts lying around the farm. A gasoline engine powers the shaker mechanism. "At first, it shook too fast, so I had to gear it down," recalls Sharp. Using a gear reduction system put together by his late father, Sharp slowed the speed down from 400 rpm's to about 50 rpm's. Once it was operating at the right speed, Sharp set up his unloading auger to dump into the shaker. Pods and stems shook off to the side, while beans worked their way down through onto a tarp. An auger moved the clean beans from the tarp into the bin. "It slowed me down some, as it took about 45 minutes to clean 260 bushels," explains Sharp, who hopes to improve and possibly market the unit. One bonus of the shaker was getting a second crop from his soybeans. "I took all the stems and pods and ran them back through the combine," he says. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Joseph Sharp, Box 17, Beemer, Neb. 68716 (ph 402 528-3844).

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