used stirrator

i called a guy about adding a stirrator to another bin for drying corn he says this one has 5hp motor with 4 belts to drive the 4 screws that do not go in and out only around would appreciate any info about these

They will really turn the corn. We have a 27" bin with a 6 augar setup. They take up space and you can"t fill the bin as full. If you put in wet corn too much at a time it can"t pull the load. If you let them run too long when the corn is getting dry it will grind the corn to powder. It has to be running as you fill the bin once you get the bottom ring or so full and you have to run them when you empty the bin too or it will pull it down too hard. If it sets too long without running you may need to start one augar at a time or turn them by hand without the power on as they get stuck in the corn. It will put all the fines to the floor. If somebody leaves a scoop on top of the corn...it"ll be on the floor too!

Well here are some good things: It will dry corn fast with heat and do an even job. It will mix the corn well too.

It seems all the bigger farmers have bigger setups and use a constant flow dryer and not a batch dryer as it takes too much time to empty out the bin and move the corn.

That's interesting. I've never heard of such a thing. My Sukup stirrer was new 23 years ago. Three augers which move in and out and around in unison in a 30' bin.
After three years of surplus crops, I put up more storage(and drying capacity). The dealer sells DMC stirrers. I looked at how complicated that was, and said NO thanks! I put up a top dry bin. Now with the drought I have all kinds of room !

I put up a drying bin in 1976 with a Sukup stirator. That brand rhymes with another famous word. To be fair, the dealer sold me a single auger unit, and a multiple auger unit would work much better. They are essential in a drying bin, but a DMC is a better brand. Headaches with that Suckup were the reason I went with an automatic Farm Fans dryer in 1988. Everything clodbuster said, I agree with- wet corn, grinding, mixing, etc. I"ve seen where mercury switches failed and the down auger came thru the bin wall- on mine it just dented it. Milking cows, picking corn, then babysitting the Suckup all nite gets old fast! I"d sit behind it, fall asleep, and wake when it quit running. Never had to worry about getting run over- it couldn"t make one turn without something kicking out. Three seasons like that was enough!

I would run from a Suckup stirrator. The old ones that had the screw that moved them in and out where a nightmare. I had Suckups and replaced them with DMC ones. I like them they are very simple to work on and maintain.

I don"t get what Bob below was talking about them being complicated. You have a motor on each screw. The out side one does have a ujoint in it to get it out closer to the out side. You have ONE mercury switch that controls the advance motor. It works on the fact that as it pulls the augers around the bin the corn will make them angle back the way they came from. The motion makes the mercury switch shut the advance motor off. As the stirrator augers catch up and work there way back to straight then the mercury switch starts the advance motor again to re-start the cycle. A very simple cable system moves the augers in and out as they rotate around the bin.

You do have to have a little common sense with them. You do not fill the bin and then turn them on. Put a few rings in and then turn them on as you are filling the bin. If the corn is above 20 percent than only fill the bin half way. Then dry that for a day and then completely fill the bin up the partially dry corn will mix with the wet corn and let the stirrators move it much easier. You will have better quality corn as you don"t have any hot/wet spots if you run them regularly.

They will finish cracking kernels that where cracked by the combine or heat from drying. The fine usually end up in the very bottom six inch or so of the corn. I just use this in my cattle feed.

I dried in the bin for twenty plus years with out much trouble. I got a good deal on a used tower dryer. It does work better but it would cost way more when new. It also depends on how much corn you are drying. If the one bin full is all you need to dry I would go with the stirrators and in bin drying. It is simple and not to high to install. IF you are drying a lot of corn than I would look for a good stationary dryer.

I would caution about dropping hot corn in a bin with out stirrators to cool and leave it there. You will get uneven moisture levels in the corn. The air flow is not uniform through the corn and you get wet spots that will spoil.