Overhead Feed Bin Built From Gravity Box

Overhead Feed Bin Built From Gravity Box LIVESTOCK Feeding Equipment “I built an overhead feed bin out of an old center dump gravity box It’s easy to use I just drive my flatbed truck under it and load feed into a hopper on back ” says Steven Kreitman Bassett Neb Kreitman bought the 10-ft long gravity box used It sets on a 12-ft high steel frame made from 4-in I-beams and 4-in dia pipes off an old Valley center pivot Kreitman made clamps out of angle iron and 1/2-in bolts to attach the box to the I-beams The box is covered by an Ag Topper clamp-on steel lid ph 888 310-1265; www toppsmfg com The company custom builds steel lids to fit gravity wagons fertilizer spreaders tender trucks or any other box as a permanent alternative to a roll top The box came with an 18-in sq opening and a slide gate that was opened and closed by turning a wheel on one side of the box Kreitman’s hopper only holds 500 lbs so he used 1/8-in thick sheet metal to partially cover the opening then made 2 small openings that are covered by slide gates By turning an 8-ft long metal rod he can open and close an 8 by 12-in opening from the ground to fill the hopper The other opening is only 6 in sq and is used to “top off” the load Kreitman climbs onto the pickup’s flatbed to open and close it “It holds about 9 tons of feed ” says Kreitman “I paid $750 for the Ag Topper cover and another $750 for the gravity box The I-beams came from an old beam-type scale I thought I would save money by building it myself but my cost per ton of storage was almost equal to commercial-built units that hold 20 or more tons “I really like the Ag Topper all-weather lid I can partially open it from the ground by pulling back on a lever which makes it easy to fill “The only limitation is that the box’s sides aren’t angled steeply enough so all the feed doesn’t always run out At the end of the season I have to climb inside and shovel out any leftover material I placed a ladder alongside the box so I can climb to the top ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Steven Kreitman 45128 WPA Rd Bassett Neb 68714 ph 402 684-2201

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