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E-Z Lift Door Opener For Gravity Grain Wagons
"My wife always had trouble opening end gates on gravity wagons when she hauled corn. It took too much energy to get them up because of the pressure of corn against the side of the wagon," says Sanborn, Iowa, farmer Sid Jiskoot. "Even the guys at the elevator have problems sometimes."
So two years ago Jiskoot solved the problem by designing a fulcrum-like device that provides a little extra "oomph" when the gate is first lifted. Jiskoot's patent-pending invention works so well it has become a standard feature on all Demco gravity wagons. Plus, the company offers kits for retrofitting its wagons with the device.
"He brought it over and showed us and we bought the rights," says Tom Sheffield of Dethmers Mfg. Co., Boyden, Iowa, maker of Demco wagons. "It really works."
Called the E-Z Lift Door Opener, Jiskoot's invention basically consists of two metal bars bolted to the top lip of the grain door. The bars are hinged in the center so they can be pulled upward by a roller chain on a sprocket when the door's opener wheel is first turned. The upward motion in the center of the bars pushes the ends down against two metal "stops," thus applying extra pressure to help open the door.
"It uses a crowbar effect that opens the gate 1 1/2 in. on the first turn of the wheel," Jiskoot explains. After that, the gate simply works normally. The opener automatically resets itself when the gate is closed.
Kits for retrofitting Demco wagons with the E-Z Lift Openers are available from Demco dealers for $61. Call 1 800 543 3626, U.S. and Canada, for the dealer nearest you.
Meantime, Jiskoot's deal with Dethmers Mfg. permits him to retrofit other wagons with E-Z Lift Openers. He's modified about 30 wagons over the past two years. For most makes, that costs $70, he says.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Sid Jiskoot, 5858 360th St., Sanborn, Iowa 51248 (ph 712 757 4609).


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1994 - Volume #18, Issue #5