Gravity Box Handles Bulk Seed And Pro Boxes
“I get soybean seed in pro boxes and super sacks but didn’t have a good way to handle both of them together,” says Indiana grain farmer Lester Graber. “So I came up with my own solution.” Graber modified a 20-year-old 150 bushel Parker gravity box by adding a center divider so it would handle two types of bulk seed. Then he made special rails for the top of the gravity box so it would carry two pro boxes placed side-by-side. His custom-made tender is just another example of necessity being the mother of invention.
“If I want to, I can go the field with 4 different types of seed at one time,” says the inventive Graber. “ I just have to make sure the varieties I want to plant first are in the tender hoppers. I do that by dumping a sack in either side of the center divider, then load full boxes on the rails.” The tender is also large enough to hold 4 super sacks without any pro boxes on top.
Graber says it took him less than a week to build his customized seed tender and he probably has less than $300 invested into the new steel he used for the divider, the rails and new door slides. The center divider is made of 1/8-in. sheet steel that’s held in place by angle irons bolted to the insides and bottom of the gravity box. Two pieces of 3-in. wide by 3/8-in. thick angle iron extend across the top and center of the box. Those rails support the divider and provide a sturdy base for one side of the seed boxes. The other base rails are angle irons mounted on top of the old gravity box in the front and back.
“The 3-in. wide angle iron really stabilizes the top frame of the tender and provides a solid surface for the seed boxes,” Graber says. “I only haul full boxes on top when there’s seed in the wagon below. The 7-ton running gear with 15-in. tires is very stable, so I’ve never worried about it being top-heavy or tipping over.” The base of the seed boxes is about 5 ft. off the ground when they’re loaded on the tender.
Graber rigged up special doors so he can unload beans from both compartments of the tender at once or from each one individually. “I made an 8 by 10-in. metal door out of flat steel for each compartment,” Graber says. “I drilled 4 holes in each door and put a big thumb screw for each one on the outside of the main door. To unload one of the compartments I just tighten that screw so it holds the inside door when I lift the main door handle. The other one is loose and stays closed.”
A cupped auger powered by a hydraulic motor moves seed from the tender to the planter. Graber can use either tractor hydraulics to run the auger or a self-contained hydraulic pump that sits in his pickup. Graber made that setup using parts from an old IH Cyclo planter and he runs it with a 10 hp Briggs engine. He says it works great and plans to use it to run other augers in his grain setup.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lester Graber, 16868 Cty. Rd. 28, Goshen, Ind. 48528 (ph 574 533-2945).
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Gravity Box Handles Bulk Seed And Pro Boxes WAGONS/TRAILERS Miscellaneous “I get soybean seed in pro boxes and super sacks but didn’t have a good way to handle both of them together ” says Indiana grain farmer Lester Graber “So I came up with my own solution ” Graber modified a 20-year-old 150 bushel Parker gravity box by adding a center divider so it would handle two types of bulk seed Then he made special rails for the top of the gravity box so it would carry two pro boxes placed side-by-side His custom-made tender is just another example of necessity being the mother of invention “If I want to I can go the field with 4 different types of seed at one time ” says the inventive Graber “ I just have to make sure the varieties I want to plant first are in the tender hoppers I do that by dumping a sack in either side of the center divider then load full boxes on the rails ” The tender is also large enough to hold 4 super sacks without any pro boxes on top Graber says it took him less than a week to build his customized seed tender and he probably has less than $300 invested into the new steel he used for the divider the rails and new door slides The center divider is made of 1/8-in sheet steel that’s held in place by angle irons bolted to the insides and bottom of the gravity box Two pieces of 3-in wide by 3/8-in thick angle iron extend across the top and center of the box Those rails support the divider and provide a sturdy base for one side of the seed boxes The other base rails are angle irons mounted on top of the old gravity box in the front and back “The 3-in wide angle iron really stabilizes the top frame of the tender and provides a solid surface for the seed boxes ” Graber says “I only haul full boxes on top when there’s seed in the wagon below The 7-ton running gear with 15-in tires is very stable so I’ve never worried about it being top-heavy or tipping over ” The base of the seed boxes is about 5 ft off the ground when they’re loaded on the tender Graber rigged up special doors so he can unload beans from both compartments of the tender at once or from each one individually “I made an 8 by 10-in metal door out of flat steel for each compartment ” Graber says “I drilled 4 holes in each door and put a big thumb screw for each one on the outside of the main door To unload one of the compartments I just tighten that screw so it holds the inside door when I lift the main door handle The other one is loose and stays closed ” A cupped auger powered by a hydraulic motor moves seed from the tender to the planter Graber can use either tractor hydraulics to run the auger or a self-contained hydraulic pump that sits in his pickup Graber made that setup using parts from an old IH Cyclo planter and he runs it with a 10 hp Briggs engine He says it works great and plans to use it to run other augers in his grain setup Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Lester Graber 16868 Cty Rd 28 Goshen Ind 48528 ph 574 533-2945
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