O.T. GRAIN SILOS

On my midwest tour this came up.. Must have seen over a thousand round concrest grain silos. Looke like almost all were early 30,s maybe in the 40s construction. was anyone on the board living or ever worked on builcing one of these. I suppose it was some kind of slip form that went up as the concrete was formed but what was used to lift the concrete. Now days we have pumps were they avl back then. coments welcomed to my e-mail.. thanks j.w.

2 methods for pouring those silos, slip forms as you mentioned and jump forms which is how our last set was poured 3 years ago.

A cable winch is used to lift the concrete bucket to the top of the form and dumped in concrete carts that distribute the concrete around the silo.

With that said,I've always wondered what went wrong with one on Alden Nash south of Lowell,near Alto Michigan. About the time I started hauling milk down there in the early 70s,one started going up. It might be 15-20 feet tall and they just quit. They went over a little ways and started over. Put one up probably 20x70. Last time I was by there,there was a tree growing up out of the one that was abandoned.

My Dad's first Silo for Corn Silage storage was a 10'x36' ,2"x6" Wood Stave Silo. These Wood Staves were Tongue and Grooved on the ends and sides and were interlocked together,standing vertical with Steel Compression Rings holding them in place.The next two were Concrete Stave Silos.Staves were about 12" wide and 24" long and stacked on top of each other and reinforced with numerous 1" Rods which were tightend together to keep the Silo round. About 1960 we started to see full Reinforced Concrete Silo's going up useing a slip form method of construction. Next was the Blue Glass Feed systems of A.O.Smith Corp,which was large bolted Fibreglass Coated Steel Panels which furnished an Oxygen free storage system. Now in the present era it is hard to find a Silo of any kind still standing and/or in use. LaSalle County ILL.Now is mostly Corn,Beans and Cancun or some other exotic Destination for the colder months.I know I am finding Wickenburg Az. very pleasant this time of year.JC

The one I watched was with a slip form. Continous pour 24 hours aday at a controled speed cause it had to set up enough to stand below the form as it when up. Specalty construchion company. Haxtun Colorado.
Kennyp

That wooden silo. Was your's 2x6s or were they 3x5s? A neighbor torn one down one time and they were 3x5 tongue and groove.

John C is right on the money about the construction methods.

Many of the grain elevators in Kansas were poured/constructed by the Borton Corporation with headquarters in Hutchinson, Kansas. A link is below. They are still in business.

They constructed the elevator and addition in my hometown of Utica, Kansas. As I recall there was a problem during the building and I tend to remember that the electricity went off for several hours. Not a good thing when working 24 hours a day. One local fellow got bumped off or fell off of forms and fell to the ground. Thankfully no permanent injuries. Don't know how high up they were at the time, but a fair distance.

I was told that the grain elevator at Healy, Kansas developed problems after having been built due to improper foundations or something else and began to lean. The story I was told to correct the problem they dug soil from under the high side in order to get it to settle back plumb. Guess it worked as it is still standing. Don't know the validity of the story.

One of the Borton founders believed in concrete construction so strongly that he had a concrete home built that of course still stands. Last I knew his widow still lived in it.

I expect you could tell the difference but many of the concrete appearing silos are concrete blocks rather than poured concrete. Of course they are the ones that have much banding around them.
Borton Corporation

My grandfather built his own back in the thirties, before my time fo course. He made his own jump forms and used a home made winch driven by a hit & miss engine for lifting the agregate. I never heard what he used for mixing the concrete. Still standing (but not used the last twenty years) today.

Areo

My uncle used to work for a place that went from farm to farm building silos.

Dad told about helping build a grain elevator in Sterling, KS (somewhere about 1948-52). The concrete was lifted in a bucket by a crane, just as you sometimes still see on construction sites. Since they use slip forms, I would guess that they used a very stiff mix that would be hard to pump.

Are you living in Utica still?

That is not to far away from me on Highway 4

No, the state fair city since 1982. Still own farm land out there though.

I didn't think to ask which direction from Utica you were. There weren't many Cockshutts out that way, but I seem to remember some in Ransom.

I am about a mile off the Smoky Hill River, out past Schoenchen. Kinda South of Munjor. You do see the occasional tractor, but mostly just old combines litter the scrapyards... I usually go through Ransom/Lacrosse if I take the long way home from the lake...

Well as I recall they were "about" 2"x6" but it was along time ago,I was very young,yes they could have been 3"x5" but 2"x6' is what my memory says but it is 72 years old so a little leeway for age damage is in order don't you think?

Probably a little too far east of the old gold mine on the Rush/Ellis line to have any on your place?

Wishful dreaming isn"t it?

Do your neighbors rodeo? I occasionally email them after getting acquainted via another forum.