A Minnesota inventor has designed a new remote control auger "shut-off" that lets you shutoff up to three grain augers at a time by pushing a single button on a hand-held remote transmitter.

"It lets you finish leveling off your truck without having to climb down to shut off augers," says Bryon Kittleson, of Welcome, noting that the remote receiver works from up to 150 ft. away.

The heart of the system is a control box that wires into each auger being controlled. It's equipped with motor starters and shut-off controls for each auger. Turning a key on the control box starts the augers simultaneously and it receives the signal from the remote transmitter to shut them down. In addition, the control box can be equipped with a time-delay relay that automatically shuts off the truck fill auger a few seconds after the bin unloading auger shuts off, allowing time for the truck fill auger to clean out.

Time delay can be set for up to 3 minutes, but 10 or 12 seconds is usually adequate.

The control box can be permanently mounted on the bin or used as a portable unit. "The key on the control box is a safety feature," says Kittleson. "Removing the key prevents someone from starting the augers while you're around them. Starting all of the augers by turning a single key is also more convenient than having to start them individually."