During the summer and fall of 2010 a grain receiving system was built. The first component is a 6' by 10' dump pit to receive grain from belly dump, side dump, or end dump trailers. The next piece is a 30 foot long paddle (drag) conveyor. Last but not least is a 90-foot leg elevator. Inside the leg elevator is a rubber belt with buckets that carries grain up to the top where it is dumped into a distributor and then flows down a pipe into a storage bin. This particular distributor can fill 6 different bins.

The plate steel for the project was laser cut to size and formed into shape at a local metal shop. The rest of the steel work was done at the Luymes shop. This included building the ladder, safety cages, catwalks, and dump pit grate. Also, fitting and welding together the elevator trunking and flanges, the elevator head and distributor, and the paddles to the drag chain.  The elevator trunk sections, head, and tail section were sent to a paint shop to be powder-coat painted which increases weathering resistance over standard paint. The remaining pieces were primed and painted on site here.

 

Once the sections were bolted together forming two main pieces, a crane and crew was hired to hoist and stand the elevator upright. Support cables from the elevator to anchor posts keep it standing up. The finishing touches (down spouts and electrical work) were completed in 2011 and the system was put to work for the wheat harvest. The system can handle around 8000 bushels (200 tonne) per hour. This allows us to dump a 45 tonne trailer load in 13 minutes, saving precious time during harvest. See video below!

 

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