Silo tear down in progress

Philip d · Aug 27, 2019

This one was a 60x20? with about 500 tons capacity give or take. The unloader is a Val-Metal which is basically a Quebec knockoff of a Butler. It?s going to another farm about 15 miles from here. The other one is a 70x18? with roughly the same capacity but no useable unloader so it?s not worth all that much. It?s costing the new owner $35 000 to tear this one down and rebuild it at their place. Not bad for a weeks work and 4 guys. They are well setup and trained and they know how to work. They just started yesterday afternoon and if the weather holds they?ll easily finish tomorrow.

Philip d · Aug 27, 2019

They build this round staging that they keep adding center pipe as they go up to give them a safe platform to work off of.

bwillett · Aug 27, 2019

Are those Ribstone Silos? Mason and Lawrence? There is/was a manufacturing plant in the county seat where I work. Urbana, Ohio.....

greg oliver · Aug 27, 2019

Philip, You said a knock off of Butler do you remember Jamesway? When our Silo was built 18x45 with a Jamesway V11 unloader that was 1973. We put a V111 in the early 80?s. My neighbor was a dealer for Jamesway and I started helping him at 15 years old. I think I could still put an unloader together in my sleep and even as a kid I could see the decline in farming.

Philip d · Aug 27, 2019

Yes Jamesway is the same either as well or instead of Butler?

Philip d · Aug 27, 2019

It?s Northumberland Silo in Nova Scotia,I?m not sure if they buy the staves or pour them themselves?

greg oliver · Aug 27, 2019

I think Jamesway was first as they had many different farm related items . Windows with galvanized frames, swing Stanton?s, barn cleaners and more. I remember the Butler name showing up in the eighties.

Philip d · Aug 27, 2019

Ok ,the one we had looked like this one,this pic shows the power distributor in the fill position

centash · Aug 27, 2019

Yes, Jamesway, Butler and Valmetal were all the same. Very good unloader, I had several over the years.

Ben

Philip d · Aug 27, 2019

Yes they were,our first unloader was a Patz 98B surface drive. Just a fair rig,once in awhile a link would break off of the gathering chain and feed itself into the blower. Instant big usually expensive mess. We had a Supreme/Hanson ring drive in the other one. No where?s near as good as the Val metal but way better than the surface driven Patz.

1130Leo · Aug 27, 2019

We had two Smith Cement Stave Silos put up when I was a kid, I think the unloaders were Van Dale? They were red, I remember that much, after about 2 years, they were a constant pain in the rear, constantly climbing up, having to knock feed off the walls etc... Don't miss them at all.

Philip d · Aug 27, 2019

I remember cutting grids in 6? frozen corn with a chainsaw then pounding the frozen blocks off with a pick axe. I never let our kids climb those darn silos.

centash · Aug 27, 2019

I got pretty good at fixing Starline unloaders in the freezing dark....haha!

Ben

Bruce from Can. · Aug 27, 2019

Used to be everyone wanted a tower silo, now nearly no one wants a tower silo, including me. Bunks , pits , piles and bags rule. Silo unloaded are great for the folks that sell them, but just an expense and a pain in the backside to the farmers that have to work with them.

4520BW · Aug 28, 2019

Back in my younger days I helped take one down. It involved me busting the lower blocks with a sledge hammer and running. It was no where as near as tall as the ones in your pics. There are still pieces of it along the creek where we put it to stop wash outs.

Philip d · Aug 28, 2019

You?ve got that right Bruce,the farm it?s going to has already had one for over 20 years,I?m surprised and very thankful they wanted another one.

ztrmowers · Aug 28, 2019

that's one item on the farm I always hated,we went to pits, the old silo is now in a washout area doing a second life. today all animals are gone and home place is pretty well fallin in. I no longer have any control over it really sad.

in-too-deep · Aug 28, 2019

$35k? Couldn't you put up a pretty decent concrete bunker for that kinda money?

coshoo · Aug 28, 2019

I think you could get a good used Ag-Bagger for 35 large, and not have to put up with silo unloaders. You still see lots of concrete stave silos around here- they had a real active salesman in the '50's, when there were hundreds of small dairies in SW Washington. It was a little too "machine intense" for most guys (needed at least 3 tractors and operators), and they gave up on them in short order. Now its all pits and ag bags, and round bale silage.

Old Scovy · Aug 28, 2019

Greg Oliver. I remember the old man had 2 wood stave silos and he had 2 silo UN loaders me and my brother. No roofs and talk about frozen silage. Didn't have a chain saw just an axe a hay knife and a pick axe. Old man had the same barn cleaners me and my brother. This was back in the late 40's and 50's. Any wonder why I left the farm and took a job with a company in the teamsters union ? At least I was able to work setting on my a>>.

Philip d · Aug 28, 2019

You would think so,time he paid us and had the foundation poured plus electrical he?ll have a little over 50k into it.

Alvin 41 · Aug 28, 2019

Can' believe anyone would pay near that much for an upright silo now. I've got two 20x75 ribstones to give away but they are 1964 and 1972 models so the staves really aren't good enough for reusing. Both have single cable suspension unloaders. Bags are expensive ,but much easier to use with feed mixers and faster to unload if you are selling silage

Silo tear down in progress

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