2017 - Volume #41, Issue #4, Page #31
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Simple Grain Cleaner Pays For Itself
David Treharnes of Northhamptonshire, got tired of being penalized for dirty grain. He wanted to be able to clean his own grain, both for sale and to keep for seed. So he mounted 2 custom-built augers inside an old grain drill box to make a low-cost, portable grain cleaner.
The grain cleaner rides on 2 wheels and has a hitch at one end. The box is angled upward at a 30-degree angle, which can be adjusted by jacking up the hopper end.
Grain is loaded into a hopper at one end of the machine and pulled by a pair of belt-driven augers through perforated metal tubes. Small seeds and rubbish drop through the perforated tubes, leaving the grain cleaner than when it went in. The waste material is dropped onto the ground.
The augers are belt-driven by an electric motor and a big pulley off a washing machine, mounted at one end of the drill box. They can run 25 to 30 tons of grain through the cleaner per hour, adding about $15 per ton to their sales price.
When cleaning grain for seed the machine has less capacity at a little more than 1 ton per hour. If there’s a lot of dust and the grain needs further cleaning, it’s passed through a 3-phase fan and aspirator.
The machine’s wheels and axle came off the drill’s transport trailer.
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