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Post by kevlar on Nov 10, 2022 14:52:53 GMT -6
Wet bin is empty, just emptying out the dryer now, today has gone as well as it always does when trying to dry grain after freezing rain and snow, that bit of ice makes life miserable. Good thing there isn’t more to do, would have to shut down for a day of maintenance if there was. The chain on both the wet and dry augers are pretty much toast by the sounds of it, and the gearbox on the dry auger has a bearing going and is down to just one belt running it, a few of the belts on the dryer are getting sketchy, fingers crossed it can all hold together for another hour 🤞🤞
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Post by northernfarmer on Nov 10, 2022 15:18:57 GMT -6
Sounds like a re creation of the Longest Yard, slow motion and very painful !.
I was wondering, the chains you refer to on the wet and dry augers, are those chains on the head of the augers and if so are they an open style chain as per just a cover over the chain ?. I don't know what most typically do with chains like that but for augers that I have with chains on the top ( don't have any for my so called dryer system, its all belts ) but I put grease on the chain of my self moving bin emptying auger and that seems to really hang in there and keep the chain lubed and I make sure to keep the cover on so no moisture gets on the chain nor finds its way into the head bearings.
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Post by kevlar on Nov 10, 2022 15:47:58 GMT -6
Ya the top drive chains, just the typical auger type. Have thought of trying to seal them up and put oil in them but more than likely that would just be a pain for several reasons. These have lasted quite awhile, likely three years now, and we’ve put most of our grain through them the last few years, so they don’t owe us anything. For the $10 worth of chain on each auger I should just change them every year, it’s not a pleasant job when everything is set up in the bin or dryer, the wet auger isn’t bad as long as the dryer is full and you can stand on the grain, if not we have to wiggle it out from between the dryer and wet bin.
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Post by northernfarmer on Nov 10, 2022 16:06:20 GMT -6
No doubt one of those self driving arm reaching style man lifts would be great to reach an end of an auger to do repairs or maintenance. A chain can only last so long for sure and running that much grain through is going to wear it out and hopefully yours didn't go too far as per damaging the sprockets. One of my augers with a chain has two grease nipples within the cover as the main shaft and the upper drive shaft have greaseable bearings so that needs attention as well as the chain. I was told by an engineer working for an auger company that while it seemed like a good idea to have a sealed up oil bath system, that tended to be neglected because its impossible to access easily and can leak etc so they claimed that it was easier in the long run to just have a chain with cover and of course someone maintaining it once in a while. Never had an enclosed head like the Farm King does or used to have to have experience with both.
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Post by meskie on Nov 10, 2022 17:43:55 GMT -6
Those chains at the top of the auger are a lot easier to change in august then now when you just want to get done drying.
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Post by OptimallyDismal on Nov 10, 2022 17:59:47 GMT -6
My pos Brandt has about a gallon of grease in the cover over the chain, I agree with the guy that said it is a major PITA to do anything with that. I had it off because my brand new auger had a knocking noise under that cover. Didn't find it, when it went in for one of the many warranty issues I asked them to check it, it is quieter now, but still there.
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Post by SWMan on Nov 10, 2022 22:32:52 GMT -6
My pos Brandt has about a gallon of grease in the cover over the chain, I agree with the guy that said it is a major PITA to do anything with that. I had it off because my brand new auger had a knocking noise under that cover. Didn't find it, when it went in for one of the many warranty issues I asked them to check it, it is quieter now, but still there. Brandt still making junk augers I guess. I still have PTSD from the 1035 I owned about 10 years ago, spent more time in the shop for repairs than running. Almost collapsed and killed me when the hydraulic motor screwed right off the winch! Tipped over regularly when going up an incline into a bin, all round terrible design and poorly made. Kevlar at least you aren't freezing a spout shut with 45% corn in mid December. Disassembling spouts in the wind at 70' to chisel out this crap is probably the reason I don't grow corn anymore...ha ha
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Post by kevlar on Nov 10, 2022 22:40:52 GMT -6
One advantage of living where I do is I will never have to worry about the possibility of freezing up a spout with 45% moisture corn!
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Post by SWMan on Nov 10, 2022 22:43:38 GMT -6
One advantage of living where I do is I will never have to worry about the possibility of freezing up a spout with 45% moisture corn! Never say never.
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Post by kevlar on Nov 10, 2022 22:55:47 GMT -6
I’m pretty confident, enough so I would be willing to bet the farm on it!
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Post by SWMan on Nov 10, 2022 23:04:15 GMT -6
You probably aren't growing dry corn, but any idiot can grow 45% corn...ha ha
All I did with the dryer this year was clean the bird nests out, yearly ritual.
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Post by kevlar on Nov 10, 2022 23:16:39 GMT -6
Would have made more sense if you had built your system in my yard and I would have stored it for you free of charge!
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Post by northernfarmer on Nov 10, 2022 23:18:26 GMT -6
Brandt still making junk augers I guess. I still have PTSD from the 1035 I owned about 10 years ago, spent more time in the shop for repairs than running. Almost collapsed and killed me when the hydraulic motor screwed right off the winch! Tipped over regularly when going up an incline into a bin, all round terrible design and poorly made.
So you experienced that delightful effect from garbage engineering as well then ( different brand auger but the mover was a wheatheart and that was the supplied winch, no doubt the same as yours ). In my case I was having issues with the winch shaft trying to back off out of the thread collar but what I did not realize is that the threads inside that collar were almost stripped out and as I was lowering it some as it sat over the truck and stuck into a bin it did something jerk wise to alert me that things were going to go bad fast but had not failed. I pulled the truck out from under the auger and I must have taken the auger out of the bin and emptied it, then one last little touch on the winch control and it stripped out completely and zing .... the auger came down until the roller hit the track end and I am sure it put a slight tweak into the auger tube at that spot where the stop is welded onto the tube. Very unsettling to say the least but could have been far worse and like you said so easily could have killed someone, the auger stop could have failed and the whole auger with the upper A frame could have hit the ground. It was then I found out that they were offering a totally different winch as in a real winch with a worm gear system so I promptly bought that. I was told though by some salesman, oh just buy a new threaded collar ... like really, yeah lets see what carnage or death we can do second time around since by fluke I avoided a complete disaster the first time !
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Post by SWMan on Nov 10, 2022 23:24:37 GMT -6
Would have made more sense if you had built your system in my yard and I would have stored it for you free of charge! You are right near the ethanol plant too, why was this not brought up 4 years ago. LOL Northernfarmer at least the stopper was engineered properly!
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Post by northernfarmer on Nov 10, 2022 23:27:44 GMT -6
Hard to say what would have happened if the auger had been full of wheat, it may have sheered the stop and flattened the auger to the ground with the tube bent over what would be left of the auger engine.
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