Another grain bin question

Actually, asking for opinions. I will eventually get around to calling on new bins for comparison but, realistically, what is a good used bin worth? I am talking about a couple sizes here. Say 3000 and 5000 approx bushel capacity. If it has a full aeration floor, unloading auger, fan and is in pretty decent shape and I have to take it down...what should I expect to pay? I hear a lot of talk about older small bins going from free to a few hundred dollars. I'm not thinking the average guy with a good bin like I described is going to let it go for that. Or am I wrong? I will be looking at these all winter. If I find a good one, I hate to pass it by because I think it is too much money...only to find out later it was a good deal. I just have no clue as to value on these. Need input.

Dave, I have bought/got a few over the years. Most 2500-3500 bu bins with out a air floor can be had for few hundred bucks to nothing , just get them gone. When grain prices are high everybody could use an extra bin or two. When the prices are like they are now is time for buying. Lots of guys bailing out or just plain short on cash. Small bins have little value. Scrap is low, this helps also. Throw an add or two on craigs list and you may be surprised what you find. I have a 3500 I would trade for a small Harvestore silo. These too are Cheap/ free if you know where one is. Any in your neighborhood?? Al

A good bin that is complete and is a model that was well built to start with can easily bring $.50 a bushel. Meaning a 5000 bushel bin can easily bring $2500. The ones guys are talking about getting for $300-500 are usually smaller bins (2000-3000) with out a air floor or even an unloading auger system. There was a lot of government grain bank bins built in the 1950s and 1960s that where around 2200 bushel and had no air floors or unloading systems. These often bring low prices but you not getting much either.

A new unloading auger with the sump and all can easily be $2500. IRC A new air floor for a 24 foot bin is around $3000 installed. So getting a complete bin package make the value change quickly.

Another thing to think about is the value of a new bin verses used changes with size. Meaning a 20,000 bushel bin used may bring 50% of new while a 5000 bushel bin might only bring 20% of new cost.

I think you will find new out of your price range quickly. The basic needs for a bin are not much different for a 3000 bushel bin compared to a 10,000 bushel bin. The electric service and concrete cost are not linier. Meaning the larger the bin the lower the cost per bushel new is going to be. I think a 5000 bushel bin fully equipped is going to run $4-5 per bushel while a 50,000 bin would be under $2 a bushel. This would be totally setup cost. You doing nothing.

Dave, I am not a very big crop farmer but I have good yields some years. I do not have a grain bin because it is not cost effective but I did look into getting one sometime back. Yes the smaller bins are cheaper but they are not much help if you have a large crop. If your yield is only 100 bushels per acre you will have 5000 bushels to store on only 50 acres. In some places that yield could double and you are right back where you are now. In my small operation I have gone over 10,000 bushels a few times.

I also considered the cost of drying the crop so that it could be stored without spoiling and that helped me decide against the bins. Now I use other methods to keep my crop when it can not be shipped, including two grain carts that hold over 1000 bushels and 5 gravity wagons that hold another 1000 bushels. My trucker hauls with a trailer that holds 1000 bushel that he can put under cover for a few days.

Yes, I sometimes think that it would be nice to have bins for storage but then I consider the problem of loading and unloading one and the cost of maintenance and I let that thought pass. Good luck and happy farming.

We got a couple 5000 bushel bins for a $1000 about 2 years ago. One was equipped with floor fan and heater but the other one only had the floor with no supports. Took one day to move them home and another day to set on pads. Just keep looking and you will find what you need

One thing I have not seen mentioned is how many acres you have and how many acres you might have in a single crop of corn and beans. If you only have 50 acres total that you would want to split between corn and beans the answers would be entirely different than if you had 5000 acres like it seems some are answering as if you had. I am guessing you have possibly a 80 to 120 acre farm with half either in your oats, hay and non crop land. I still think more of smaller bins is best as you can diversify the crop into different types.

Are you in an area that corn needs little or no drying most years? Northern states don"t have that option.

I learned long ago that if something is cheap enough, I can always figure how to get it home...google "grain bin moving trailer" for some ideas. Once I rented a trailer that had removable wheels on the back, with a roller mounted under the trailer...jack the bin up a few inches, slide the trailer under, and reattach the wheels on the rear. Others I split the bin horizontally, wrapped the lower rings in a bit, and lowered the upper half down to the trailer. Small ones I moved whole. Recently I sold two 3200 bu bins for $1000. When looking at used, buy one new enough that it is new enough to have hex head bolts, not round head, if you"re going to dismantle anything.

OK, thanks! That gives me a base line to work with. Obviously, some are going to be better than others and prices are going to fluctuate with quality. On my side location also comes into play. I think I can figure out what to do now.

Actually, there is one down the road a bit. Not sure what they do with it. We are talking one of those blue ones, right? Not sure that is the answer for me though. I have an auger, gravity boxes, etc. Regular bin seems to make sense here.