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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

Air drying corn question

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super99

10-06-2007 18:18:08




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I have heard people talk about it, but never have done it yet. Corn is 17 percent. Can I put it in the bin and just run air on it and it will dry? It should, but how long will I need to run fan and how much can you put in the bin to do this. It's a 21ft bin with a Shivvers setup in it. Don't know if it's worth renting a LP tank and buying gas or just wait for a couple of weeks. The bin holds 4500 bu up to the top of the center upright auger, and then you have about a ring and the peak left to fill when corn is dry. Do you shut off the air at night and just run it in the daytime or run fan all the time? Looks to me like the humidity at night would put moisture back into the corn. Any body doing this? Chris

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RLH

10-07-2007 03:15:20




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 Re: Air drying corn question in reply to super99, 10-06-2007 18:18:08  
im in wc ind and have done this for years run fan while filling to blow out a lot of red fuzz also run when humidity is low and all night after it cools off freeze it first chance you get sell in first of year turn fan on often and smell it often start at less than 20%



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Lee in Iowa

10-06-2007 21:14:17




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 Re: Air drying corn question in reply to super99, 10-06-2007 18:18:08  
Spent all day helping FIL shell 3000 bu. of natural air dried ear corn. I'm too old for this $h*t. The old JD #6 only needed one custom made 19 tooth sprocket for 80 chain to get the job done. Lee



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IaGary

10-06-2007 20:11:14




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 Re: Air drying corn question in reply to super99, 10-06-2007 18:18:08  
I dry 30,000+ bu a year with just air.

Anything under 21% is pretty easy to do.

24 is tough to get dry.

But a lot also depends on the weather after you put it in the bin.

About half the time I finish drying the corn in the spring,but I freeze it up for the winter.

Gary



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msb

10-06-2007 18:42:51




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 Re: Air drying corn question in reply to super99, 10-06-2007 18:18:08  
Where are you located? In Indiana we would fill the bin and turn on the fan. With the hot weather we have ben having it will dry right down. I would turn the fan off after the corn dries down to 15%. When cold weather comes then I would want to get the corn as cold as possible.Then I would seal the fan and it would be good for a year or longer without any areation, with no worry about bugs hatching either.

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paul

10-06-2007 22:44:41




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 Re: Air drying corn question in reply to msb, 10-06-2007 18:42:51  
That is what I hear is best.

In warm weather, you need a lot of airflow. Will depend on what size fan he has on it.

Seems corn doesn't pick up moisture very much, not like beans, so it's not so bad to just leave the fan run?

Also, it is _real_ good idea to pull a load of corn out of the middle if the bin. all the fines are there, & doesn't dry down right.

If he doesn't live in a cold climate & can't freeze off the whole bin, takes a lot more watching.

--->Paul

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Dan-IA

10-06-2007 19:26:28




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 Re: Air drying corn question in reply to msb, 10-06-2007 18:42:51  
Dad taught me to use the rule of thumb that the fan runs if the humidity is under 60% to dry the corn, the corn on top is the wettest, and you want the grain all leveled off on top or it won"t dry evenly because the air will pass easier in lower spots. Run at least overnight once it gets cold.

He also gave me this chart he found online:



Equilibrium Moisture Contents of Three Grains (% W.B.).
----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- --
					 Oil
Relative     Wheat 	   Corn       Sunflower				
Humidity  ----- ----    ----- ----    ----- -----  %	  40°F  70°F    40°F  70°F    40°F   70°F
----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- --  20	   8.5   7.7	 7.4   6.4     4.6   4.2  30	  10.2   9.2	 9.3   8.1     5.6   5.0  40	  11.7  10.7	11.0   9.7     6.5   5.9  50	  13.2  12.0	12.7  11.2     7.4   6.6  60	  14.6  13.3	14.5  12.8     8.3   7.4  70	  16.2  14.8	16.4  14.5     9.2   8.3  80	  18.0  16.5	18.7  16.6    10.3   9.3  90	  20.4  18.7	21.7  19.4    11.9  10.7
----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -


hope that helps.

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