Looked at grain bins today!

Went to look at these bins today. Guy kept them painted. They are 18' diameter and approximately 3500 and 3000 capacity. Just about right for what I want to do and I can add a ring to the smaller and make a matched set. Both are Brock bins. Full aeration floors with unload auger and center pivot for a sweep. He does not have a sweep. They come with the 220 volt unloading head pictured on the one bin. The electrical boxes and circuit breakers also come with. Good ladder inside and out. These are extremely solid, clean bins. I have to take them down but I have unlimited time to do so. All of the fasteners are clean and look like they will spin off easily. I made a tentative deal with the fella to take both pending an agreement on the price. Wondering what y'all think as to value and anything else? Hope the photos upload...should be two, one of each bin.

Forgot...they both have 110v fans. You can see one almost in the first picture. Orange blower type fans.

I gave away one about twice as big as those, only condition was he had to take everything, propane tank, heater fan, concrete blocks under the floor, everything. Wanted someone to get some use out of it, rather than it just sitting.

Dave, they look nice. However, it is hard to judge the roof with the white stuff on top!

Brock is a good company. If you should need to replace something, you can probably get it... including an extra ring for the one to make them the same.

They look small enough to move in one piece??

How many acres do you do? Are these large enough??? Remember, if the last 20% doesn't fit, you are back to where you were this fall again. It is murphy's law- when the bin is full, the elevator is too.

There's one on sheridans December consignment auction right now. Might give you an idea of value.

Were Butler bins and Brock bins built by the same company?

These sure look my butler bins. The door, the roof hatch and the orange fans are the same as my butlers. Not the matters really. If I were moving them I would split in the middle with a couple of rings with the roof and load both halves on trailers with a crane. Spliters are needed on the bottom half. Tire thru the lid on the top half. We have moved several that way on smaller bins like these. Saves most of the bolts as well.

Unless your going a long distance.

Gary

Those bins look nice. Brock is a good well built bin and great company to deal with. Even with them being smaller I would not miss anything under $2500-3000 each if they where closer to me. Your not going to dry corn in them but you can put 18-19% corn in them when the temperature is under 40 degrees and keep the air on them until it is real cold. Then empty them in the spring before it warms up or over the winter when you have time.

A neighbor moved mine with a trailer that could be set upright on end and tied it down with two cables. I think he also put a cross inside for a stiffner and pulled them right over. We only had to go 3 miles. To go under high line wires, he used a 2 X 4 so the ground wire would not catch on the roof. I had pads already poured. He backed up to the pad and unhooked it from the tractor. Then took the loader and raised it up to sit right on the pad. I have 3 with floors that I wish someone else owned. They are a pain. I don't want anything smaller than a 36'.

They look like my Butler bin, too.

Sorry! They are both BUTLER bins! I have a Brock bin here...cone bottom, holds about 300 bushels and a bagger on the bottom. Just got my mixed up in my head!

They are a good size for me and for what I want to do. I can fit any number of this size between my equipment shed and the fence behind the farmhouse. Anything larger is going to need to be elsewhere and would eat into crop ground. So this will get me started, give me some versatility and fit into the space I have allotted. I hate to go to a 24' bin and have to cut into the field next to the shed. They are Butler by the way...I was confused.

They look like nice bins hopefully you don't have to move them far. We have done several and took them down to the top ring or two and hauled on a Donahue trailer. The bolts to put them back together are not cheap but won't kill you either. The unloading auger looks like a nice unit. Are the doors in good shape and easy to close up? I have a few here that need some tarpaper on the inside to seal the doors. If you are going to add a ring be sure it's a heavy bottom ring not a light upper ring cause they will crush the rings. If in doubt you could put stiffeners up the sides.

Dave with them being Butlers than I would move the number down to $1500-2000 each. If you mess up anything your out of luck for new parts other than what you can find. Also some of the Butler side sheets are a different corrugation than is common. It makes matching sheets tough.

With the floors, fans, augers and elec. I think they might be worth $1000 each. If they are close you can move them in one piece but if you have to take them apart don't pay to much because if he won't take your offer you can go down the road farther and get some. Once you have them apart and on the trailer it really don't matter how far you have to drive.

Butler not Brock, my brain was still frozen when I typed that! What you stated is exactly what I want to do. Plus still run some up to the elevator when they have availability. The two bins gives me the footprint I need plus allows me to park some beans while I work on corn, etc. Should make life a lot easier for me! Appreciate the input!

The fans, unloading augers and floors/sweep are easily worth a couple of thousand dollars, anything beyond that would be free, Labour excluded. Good Score! Ben

Also Dave I would really consider getting a dryer to go with them. You can start picking earlier and then on rainy days you can haul dry grain to elevator. If you think having your own storage pays off you would really like how fast a dryer pays for itself.

Helped in laws move several, always painted numbers on inside of panels to get things back together easier. Rented bin jacks form local bin comp. Disassembled and reassembled one in one weekend, of course concert was pour before we started.

Make sure you make the foundations higher for adequate clearance with the unloading systems. Fans should be 220v for adequate flow volume. Would be easy to set a batch dryer nearby for dry and store.

In northeast Nebraska bins of that size would be sold for scrap if good or bad condition. To set a price you need to know how valuable they are for you. Can they generate income. What type of floor do they have? The steel plank type is much better than the pie shape sheets. What is used for floor supports, cement blocks or steel support, steel supports I think are better. If the fans are 110v, what diameter and air flow do they have? Should work for soybeans but might not have enough air flow if the corn is not close to being dry. I have moved a couple bin of that size many years ago and reused many of the bolts. I checked the washers and if they looked ok I reused them on the side walls and only bought new for the roof. This was 30 some years ago and have not had any problems. It is not to big of job to take them down and put back up if you have the jacks, also if close and you can leave the roof together on a ring or two. Wish you the best with the project.

OK, I don't get that part. Per the web, Butler bought out by Brock and a couple of companies are listed for parts. There is also a Butler website. Whats up?

The Butler Company sold it grain bin business to Brock in the 1990s. So Butler not longer makes grain buns. The old Butler bins used a different wave in the side wales than the Brock bins or even the newer Butler bins do. So Brock sheets might fit or they may not fit. It all depends on the age of the bins. The majority of the Butler bins around me are a longer wave of over three inches while the more common bin wave is around 2.5 inches.

I am just trying to tell you that you might have trouble if your trying to match sheets on a butler bin. Butler parts are hit and miss. Some are close enough to Brock parts they will work others are not close.

Look on craigslist for some pricing ideas. I would not give much like about 500 for the whole shooting match. there is a lot of work moving them and if you don't have help it will compound that. You will have to scrap all the old sealer off each sheet you take apart for the new sealer. If the floor is that chisel cut stuff it sweeps hard and doesn't like to sweep only 2 directions.
As for the rings I think Keith over at golden grain told me he can make either width corrugation you might need for adding a ring. We put on of their floors in an old bin and I like the way you can sweep any direction easily.
And as already said get the unloading augers up from the ground. Yup the fill and/or concrete will cost you some cash. You will thank yourself each time you load out from it. Or you will complain each time, you didn't have it higher. Dad played cheap on that aspect and now has wished it was up higher . Yup you can dig a hole then bail water out everytime you want to load out or chop ice in the winter, your choice. A tile will drain it for a while till it gets enough fines and the like to fill in with silt.
You do not want those bins to close to the house if you want to not hear fans all night. Lookat the possibility of loading semis when putting them in.
You might decide to load semis when harvesting so you can save time, instead of hauling yourself. Have plenty of room for maneuvering augers much easier to do with lots of room. No fences buildings and such. Also put your load outs close together saves work moving the augers to switch bins. Lots of things to think about. If there is a dryer in the future need room for that and the wet bin and the associated augers and equipment. I've seen bins tucked in by buildings and such then a pain to get to or during wet weather can't get to them to fill or empty. Rome wasn't built in a day but expansion is needed for these things.
Your welcome to look at our set up for food for thought. We are in Owosso just a mile and a half off M-52 east. 989 415 5684 if you want to call.

Dave the correct number should have been 989 413 5684.

I won't try to speculate on price as it's best to go by your local market. Used bin value is pretty well determined by the amount and condition of the augers, floor, etc. Unless you know the actual age and usage of the augers assume they are shot and will need replaced. Most bins are what I call "standard punch" and use either 4" corrugations or 2.66". One that I know is different is Golden Grain which has a sharper corrugation. The ones pictured appear to be 4" and have fewer bolts per seam (not a selling point, in my opinion). On most bins the most difference will be in the doors and roof. Most sheets will be pretty close to the same, given the corrugation width. Most of the difference will be in the bolt area. Some use 3/8", most use 5/16". Sheets are heavier on the bottom rings than the top. These are generalizations but will get you close. I have put up many grain bins and helped with many others. Mike

OK...now I understand. You know me....I'm gonna keep asking until it sinks in!!!