Setting up used bin, any advice?

It is a smaller one, supposed to be 1800 bushels but I think it is a little more, like 2000. I want to add a ring or 2, it is 18' diameter, I also want to add an air drying floor, or tubes or some thing as it came with a nice big fan from another bin. Any advice on as to what it may cost me, what nbot to do, or what to make sure I do? I also want to add an unloading auger. Not a real big farmer, but hopefully will grow, would like to be able to use the bin during harvest asd a place to unload to keep the gravity wagons moving, and be able to fill the semi's when they are available, but dont want to get caught with moist corn in it and no way to circulate it. Will be full when harvest is done to store. I have one more coming and want to have a plan as they will be getting erected and finished up in may.

Try to find a get close to the make of bin dealer in your area. Cousin has Brock bins, some of them are pretty old and the local dealer has been most helpful with parts and advice. Study up on bin management especially where grain drying and corn storage are concerned before you fill that thing next fall. Improper bin management can ruin corn and make it non-marketable at the elevator. We have a neighbor who lost about 5K bushel of corn a few ago due to this - a very expensive mistake.

Well to start you have to pour the floor. If you use a raised drying floor, it will be much easier to pour, as you wont have to make or otherwise come up with forms for the air.
Now when you start to assemble the rings you will need a sealer for the joints in the sheets both vertically and horizontally. The old sealer will need to be removed first.
The rings vary in thickness so you will want the thinner one at the top and so on.
Now with this done you will set the first ring on the floor and bolt together then place the top center opening ring for the peak on a tire or top of a ladder, bolt 4 sheets on at quarter turns apart then finish the roof no sealer needed for the roof.
Then just keep adding rings as you raise the bin up. This time of year you can probably rent or borrow some jacks for that.

If you are going to put in a unload auger, go with a 8" system, truckers don't want to sit and wait to load out when they are busy in the fall. I have seen complete drying floors for 18' bin for about $975, thinking about getting one myself. You said it came with a fan, how about a heater? A fan will dry corn under 20% if it's warm out, but if it gets cold, don't count on air drying. I'm not sold on stirators, they do help dry the corn, but with age, they can be a real pain to keep running. Just a few of my thoughts, Chris

Forgot to add, if you are going to ad some rings to the bin, you should seriously consider adding bin wall stiffeners. Chris

Unless you have two different crops to store I would put up one 4000 bu. rather then two 2000 bu. Be much cheaper to do and easier to load and unload. Only need one unload auger one fan one stirater and so on. If you do need to put up two be sure and have 6 ft. between floors. You need that much room to get mower through and to carry ladder through and sweep auger. If you only need 4 ft to get mower through, you will need 6 ft. to get your next mower through.

Air tunnel in the concrete is not much good- way better to get a complete floor, even for aeration. Need a full floor if you ever want to make it a dryer bin. Regarding unloading systems- the common 8 inch angled system has only a 6 inch under the floor. I"m switching two of my bins this summer to the 8 inch under floor. 6 is ok for a grinder/mixer, but too slow loading a truck. Reason I have an automatic batch dryer is because I had a bin dryer and stirator system first. Too much babysitting the stirator- they don"t handle wet corn very well, especially with only one down auger. Adding rings- make sure the rings are heavy enough to add to your existing bin. Compare literature of mfgrs for wall gauge per height. Some criticize Sioux for thin sheets, but mine have had no problems in over 30 years, one is the dryer bin. Dryer bins also need insulation or liner panels, storage bins do not. Add permanent curved screened roof vents to eliminate climbing and opening the covers when running the fan. Spreaders are a good investment- even with them, "core out" the bin after filling and run it back in to control fines. I like the MFS construction best. Also have Lindsay. Butler has a good rep for a heavy bin.

Amen to the Wall stiffeners ,, Number rings before disaasssembly IMPORTANT put the heaviest guage Steel at Bottom .. My Old 3200Bu< > goverment storage bin Did not have a floor ,, back in 1987 I spent$4550 For , concrete, NEW BOLTS ,New floor , New dryer fan ,$1000 was agreed LABOR cost if I helped .. Brother has a bin I wish (and He does TOO ) was on my place ,, cant justify the expense to move it , OUR kids have no interest to help and to carry on legacy ...