I must say it.Zach, you are so fortunate to work with your father.For some of us, that opportunity is no longer available. You ought to honor him and simply narrate his history in one episode!
In my career as a process engineer dealing with solids such as corn starch or dextrose, when I had vessels or machines that had irregular surfaces (uneven distribution of the solids) I was able to use a laser-based level sensor. It actually electronically scans the surface of the material and calculates and average level for the surface. The wavelength of the laser is not affected by dust and the lens of the laser can have a substantial dust coating before being attenuated. The sensors cost around $1000 and can be battery powered and wireless. Since you only need to measure occasionally (also programmable intervals), the battery life is not an issue.
Zach, for that fuel pressure issue on the semi try replacing the check valves in the fuel filter housing. It keeps the fuel from running back into the tank when they sit overnight. Sometimes they will get trash in them and stick open. Can’t tell you how many I’ve replaced on c15’s that were having that same issue.
I worked for a Sawmill and our sawdust bins had a sensor in them to keep track of how full they were. Displayed on a monitor. Showed in percentage of how full the bin was. Can't get any dustier than dust and it work really well. I don't know where it would be made at but there are systems out there.
An old timer taught me how to gauge a tank in an oil refinery when its level gauge became inoperative. Throw a round river rock at the tank. The impact sound above the level rings like a bell, below the liquid level the sound is a dull thud. Use about a 2” smooth surface river rock so the impact won’t damage the coating. Accuracy is as good as your throwing arm.
I have to say it…how blessed you are Zach to be working with your dad…some of us don’t have that opportunity any more. You really should do an episode of just telling his history and honoring him!
Hey Zach, Illinois farmer here. What’s frost? Lol. If you want the real Illinois grain farmer experience, you should have been headed to Florida about yesterday. Congrats on a successful harvest!
A tetherball on a really long rope on a pulley dropped in from the top. Just have to remember to pull it up so it doesn't get buried. There's also pressure sensitive tape with sensors every foot. There's camera's with a rotating lens cover with a built in wiper. There lasers that have flip down dust covers, they used to measure distance. Maybe a customized fish finder with a remote screen.
Being a now retired farmer, I love watching a good day with no breakdowns. It fuels a really good vibe. I too enjoy the last day with the combine. Now you know what you’ve got.
In New Zealand, the Dairy industry use a milk silo monitoring system from a company called Halo. The system monitors the level of any tank ,silo with the use of a light beam, and reports to your phone.
Ultrasonic level detectors would work really well for bin levels detection. I worked at a coal fired power plant as an instrument technician and that’s what they used for coal bin levels and they are pretty much foolproof. They would get power from a central panel in your moisture testing shed. Around $1k each probe plus panel.’
Hey, cement plants have glass narrow sight windows in the metal bins that store the the powder cement so they have three or four of them they're just long like 3 ft Long Tall rectangular Windows you can see the level of the material in the container if they could do it with that they can do it with grain
Looks like a once in a lifetime harvest as far as weather is concerned,even here in Scotland we have had our best weather of the year over past month a few showers but no heavy rain Ground still wet as been cloudy and not much wind as it has been very wet all year till a month ago ,now we have hard frost down to minus 8C last few nights some place have had snow but not us
Moline with a straight stack - priceless. Did you wall mount the ol’ bent one? Thank you ALL who continue to provide food, fiber, and shelter to the world. Also, a toast to those thumbless creatures.
Best wishes from south-eastern Australia. It's sheep country around here, but also some cattle and wineries. And, kangaroos and other native critters, of course. I'll watch ANYTHING and everything you post. Thank you!
Zack Corn Silage in Vermont was the same thing. dry ground 1 month of dry weather and NO MUD! Very different for sure!! It went quick easy, and painless... WAY Different than last year.. Cheers!!
You could get a Vega radar system. I have installed hundreds of them for other applications. But I know they would work on grain. Radar starts around $350. Display relay module maybe another $400.
A precise level indicator is a simple one, and several methods could be used, the lowest cost is laser based, less than 50 dollars per bin ( parts), interfacing with a camera can be done with no less than a camera reading values. Of course there is always the plexiglass / tempered glass windows on each ring.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, ideas and videos. Always look forward to the greeting with the dogs, I think it’s my favorite part of every video. Have to second the idea of some type of sonar or radar system, a rotating lens cleaner might also work on a camera system, similar to the ones you see on ships bridge windows. I believe AVE adapted one to his automated milling machine a while back so he could look thru the observation window while it was being splashed with cutting fluid. I’ve also seen the turn key systems for monitoring water level in large tanks. Might be able to make something off the shelf like that work. Long story short, I bet you will likely make the climb so many times setting up and testing something like that that you might have less climbing with your current system. 😂 Wishing you and your family the best.
There‘s a company out there named Vega that has metering devices to check the levels grain bins and different types of tanks. I’m pretty sure they can be tied into a monitor next to your dryer controls. Used them before for liquid. It worked pretty well.
I can recall a few Falls where we had to have a tractor in the field to pull trucks out because of too soft ground in central Indiana back in the 90's. NOT fun!!!!
the best system i ever saw was sight glasses you can see when the grain is on the glass but that is about all i have seen that works reliable but i have not seen all systems
Ohmart make industrial level sensors that would do that job. Have used them in wood chip silos, steamy effluent tanks and all manor of industrial uses. They have a small Cs137 isotope in them that can be spanned across various widths and angles. Works on the principle of emitter and beta particle counter. Not cheap but 100% reliable and will work in any condition hot cold dusty steamy or wet. Used a lot in pulp and paper industry which is my background. They have a life span of about 30 years and are very safe to use when all safety considerations are followed. Cheers
Work in a grain depot back in 🇮🇪 in 2011 we had probe/sensors on a little rod down the inside of the top cap on bins similar to yours!! When it claimed to be full we’d go check and more often than not you’d squeeze just a little more in!! Nowadays a lot of grain in 🇮🇪 is stored in MASSIVE warehouses with single span roofs and they’d have conveyers dropping grain from the centre of the roof….. very easy to empty too!!!
If you have compressed air at the bin site, you could run some tubing to blow off the camera lens when it gets dirty, just put a valve on the line at ground level.
I work on boats, and I agree. This was the best winterize season that I have been apart of, as far as weather. I’m in southeast Wisconsin. Happy living!
Thanks for the dry humor, and the always entertaining content! There are a lot of us who live in the burbs, that would love to be on the farm!I hope you are thankful for the life that God had given you!Have a great Thanksgiving!
I worked at a pharmaceutical plastics molding facility. We had silos for the plastic resins. 1/8" pellets. We used bindicator measurement instruments. Basically a ball on a string lowered to the material and gave us a digital readout how full the bin was. Lasers and sonics wouldn't work to measure the pellets similar to the corn and soybeans.
Many good ideas on how to measure the bin, are in the comments. Mine would be simple. - A pressure plate up the bin side that reacts when grains are pushed onto it. - Just a small white plexiglass every few feet, and a light source on the inside. Giving you the ability to manually see from the outside how much grain there is in the bin, by the shadow on the white plexiglass. And by having it white you avoided direct sunlight onto the corn.
I’m a manager at an elevator in eastern ND and sonar sensors are a lifesaver. Shows you the percentage of the bin. Our newer bins we have lights that come on by the manhole cover when it gets to a certain level as well.
Former electrician here that did a fair amount of work in a mod-sized MO feed mill. We used hard wired, contactless proximity sensors with pretty good success.
I work as a summer laborer on a local dairy farm when I was a kid. They used to use ultrasonic sensors for seeing how much was in their feed bins but those bins were way smaller than your bins. Back then those sensors just output a signal which showed on a meter and you read that meter 0 - 100%. You had to calibrate those sensors several times a year and the boss always said the meter was more an estimate than a measurement. This was before smart phones though
Its funny. for the first time in like 8 years i have had snow in november here. Tables have turned it seems like. Congrats of making in through harvest without any major incidents
Haha, Illinois farming is good, but we get the weather of anything from Arizona heat to Alaska winters. It's stupid very stupid, but welcome to the Midwest I guess.
I am not good with electricity or electronics. The key to developing a bin fill system using proximity sensors that are not optical for the last 3 rings. Anytime you get the Moline out, it makes me remember my uncle who farmed with M&M’s up thru the ‘80’s with first a U and the a 670, I believe. Lastly, I have avoided sharing this since I started watching, but I physically remind me of your Dad. Same body type, same gray hir, and dress similarly. But, he is, by far, better looking. Cheers to the rest of your season and the forthcoming holidays. Thanks for keeping this ol’ boy entertained.
I've seen ultrasonic parking indicators used to indicate when its getting close to the top of the bin. They are unlit until it gets close to the top it turns green, yellow when its closer to the top and red to tell you its full. Visible from the ground. You can adjust the heights on the sonar too.
You could use a high pile indicator it hangs from a wire when pile reaches the indicator it lays on its side and sends high pile alarm easy to install and never fail. We use them off stacker conveyors in hard rock mining so radial stackers know to move themselves.
Take Quonset huts for instance; the construction of those bins is very similar. On my Quonset shed, I have sections of fiberglass to let natural light in there. When you walk in, so you can see what your gonna trip over. Sukup could do some RnD and make a translucent top section. Not all the around, just like a small 30degree piece. But I don’t know if sunlight would degrade the product or introduce condensation🤔
@MillennialFarmer I would just rig up some very light weight braided steel cable or heavy fishing line on a reel on the outside of the bin. Run it up the outside of the bin, and over a pulley setup on the top, attached to a steel weight on the inside. Leave the weight at the top of the bin, drop the weight down to measure height of the grain in the bin until full. It should be easy enough to mark the feet to the top on the line. I assume you are only really concerned with the top 10' or so, so you could easily enough mark the outside of the bin 10-15' and put a flag/marker secured with a crimped piece on the cable when the weight is at the top of the bin as zero. When it drops down to touch the grain, where the flag falls on your measuring board on the outside, you know the height. To be completely honest, I am surprised this doesn't exist already, and I am shocked I am giving someone else a product idea that is probably pretty profitable.
Zach, as you are pointing out, every harvest is different. Next year probably won’t be as quick or easy. I’m reminding myself of this also. Stay safe and happy holidays.
Hi Zack. Two years ago you had a video where you and Jim were installing clear round disks into the sides of your grain trailers so you could see how full they were. You could check if they make a similar item on the top three panels on your bins. Would work if the manufacturer made the clear disks approx 12 inches in diameter. Would should be able to see if you stood back from the bins.
We put an eye bolt in a soft ball and attached a para cord to it. Then we passed it thru a hole on top. Let the ball drop until it hit the grain and measure the rope. All done from the ground. Congratulations on harvest 2024.
Next year you may be in the mud, snow, rain and breakdowns. It’s never the same every year. Where I’m at it was dry as a bone for 3 or so months. Rained a couple times in the end just enough to keep the grass from dying all together but now it’s cold, wet, windy and behind on getting things done for the winter. Forecast doesn’t look good for the next ten days either. Would be wonderful if it was weather on demand.
As of November 20th here in Wisconsin we just got our first snow it's only enough to stick to the cold spots of ground and grass but I'll take that as a win
In the plastics industry, we use level sensors in our silos. One system that is common is from a company named “Bindicator”. That uses a mechanical device we called a yo-yo. When filling the silo, you simply raise it all the way up. When you want to check the level, the yo-yo lowers until it touches the material, then gives you a level reading. (In ft) Other systems I have used utilize sonar technology to measure the feet of product inside the silo. The plus is no moving parts, or risk of someone leaving it down while filling the silo. The downside is it can be finicky reading some black colored plastics. It should have no issue with grains except dust may be an issue? Not sure.
After some thought I should have written, a float resting on top of the grain with the float attached to a cable going up thru the top of the bin to a pulley and then a down cable outside the bin to an indicator at eye level on the ground when the bin is almost to the top of the bin. The next thing is to figure out a float that does not get buried in the grain. $50 for each one if I get a patent-😉
They have sensors that tell the level in sugar and flour tanks for commercial bakeries…. a probe put at several levels that lets you know how full it is.
As far a knowing the level of the bins goes, I would think there would be a way to put in a clear panel a few inches wide, where even completely dirty you'd still be able to see the grain if it was against it. Have them about every other ring of metal all the way to the top
Great to see you had a reasonably smooth harvest. Nothing wrong there for sure. The dogs are so cool and they have no idea that they get to spend there days in the presence of the celebrity Millennial Farm. Lucky dogs and they always get a lap back. Thank you.
Big fella. The only thing I know that reads level is x- ray. They use it in liquid can filling like beer and pop. Thank goodness as you could imagine if you got shorted. Keep doing what you do.
Take a gallon jug fill with rocks or dirt, tie a long rope to it, pulley on top of bin let jug down until you feel it hit the corn, mark rope, no climbing
You need to take some time over the winter and INVENT some type of "Sonar" unit that would attach to the top of the bin and shoot down a beam to tell how far down the grain is - it doesn't seem very hard to do. ( there a lot of "older" farmers who climb those steps, but SHOULDN'T !!! )
I must say it.Zach, you are so fortunate to work with your father.For some of us, that opportunity is no longer available. You ought to honor him and simply narrate his history in one episode!
Scroll down the video list a few years.
You can get sonar level detectors for the grain bins. Just a thought.
The sound of the gasoline Moline is sweet. I never get tired of that.
It does have that satisfying rumble to it, like muscle cars did back in the day.
Its that Waukesha engine. They all sound good.
In my career as a process engineer dealing with solids such as corn starch or dextrose, when I had vessels or machines that had irregular surfaces (uneven distribution of the solids) I was able to use a laser-based level sensor. It actually electronically scans the surface of the material and calculates and average level for the surface. The wavelength of the laser is not affected by dust and the lens of the laser can have a substantial dust coating before being attenuated. The sensors cost around $1000 and can be battery powered and wireless. Since you only need to measure occasionally (also programmable intervals), the battery life is not an issue.
I was just thinking something along that line
80ghz radar sensors would have been my suggestion
@@andywolf7750 $1000 for a sensor is ridiculous.
Many sensors are useless after a while.
I was thinking IR camera. The difference between the temperature of the corn steel should be enough
What if the camera inside the bin had a little windshield wiper?
Zach, for that fuel pressure issue on the semi try replacing the check valves in the fuel filter housing. It keeps the fuel from running back into the tank when they sit overnight. Sometimes they will get trash in them and stick open. Can’t tell you how many I’ve replaced on c15’s that were having that same issue.
Really put 5 million miles on ci5 never had an issue
I worked for a Sawmill and our sawdust bins had a sensor in them to keep track of how full they were. Displayed on a monitor. Showed in percentage of how full the bin was. Can't get any dustier than dust and it work really well. I don't know where it would be made at but there are systems out there.
An old timer taught me how to gauge a tank in an oil refinery when its level gauge became inoperative. Throw a round river rock at the tank. The impact sound above the level rings like a bell, below the liquid level the sound is a dull thud. Use about a 2” smooth surface river rock so the impact won’t damage the coating. Accuracy is as good as your throwing arm.
We had an auditor show up with a baseball to check bins, his company didn’t think it was safe to climb
Bin sentry. We use them for our feed tanks and they are amazing. Look in to them.
I have to say it…how blessed you are Zach to be working with your dad…some of us don’t have that opportunity any more. You really should do an episode of just telling his history and honoring him!
Congrats on getting your harvest in and everyone gets to go home safely ! And no injuries and a great crop ! Congrats
Hey Zach, Illinois farmer here. What’s frost? Lol. If you want the real Illinois grain farmer experience, you should have been headed to Florida about yesterday. Congrats on a successful harvest!
Its amazing how well the Moline lights off
Zach, Border View Farms put proximity sensors with light out side bin.
A tetherball on a really long rope on a pulley dropped in from the top. Just have to remember to pull it up so it doesn't get buried. There's also pressure sensitive tape with sensors every foot. There's camera's with a rotating lens cover with a built in wiper. There lasers that have flip down dust covers, they used to measure distance. Maybe a customized fish finder with a remote screen.
Being a now retired farmer, I love watching a good day with no breakdowns. It fuels a really good vibe. I too enjoy the last day with the combine. Now you know what you’ve got.
I'm still combining wth a JD6600 a 300 bushel truck and a couple gravity boxes. Watching the speed you can get stuff done is mind boggling.
In New Zealand, the Dairy industry use a milk silo monitoring system from a company called Halo. The system monitors the level of any tank ,silo with the use of a light beam, and reports to your phone.
Liquid is easy to gauge with a float device for tanks content
Solid isn’t that easy
Thanks for not sneezing on the camera today.
Ultrasonic level detectors would work really well for bin levels detection. I worked at a coal fired power plant as an instrument technician and that’s what they used for coal bin levels and they are pretty much foolproof. They would get power from a central panel in your moisture testing shed. Around $1k each probe plus panel.’
Hey, cement plants have glass narrow sight windows in the metal bins that store the the powder cement so they have three or four of them they're just long like 3 ft Long Tall rectangular Windows you can see the level of the material in the container if they could do it with that they can do it with grain
Think of all the propane you saved not having to run the (brand new) dryer so much this year. Good year!
The Millennial Farmer is an analog guy?
Luv the commentary about eating a burger or ribeye when observing cattle...
Looks like a once in a lifetime harvest as far as weather is concerned,even here in Scotland we have had our best weather of the year over past month a few showers but no heavy rain Ground still wet as been cloudy and not much wind as it has been very wet all year till a month ago ,now we have hard frost down to minus 8C last few nights some place have had snow but not us
I’m not a farmer, but I am really glad it looks like you guys are having a good year, getting done without rain or snow, wonderful 😊
And without a fire, despite the dry conditions.
Moline with a straight stack - priceless. Did you wall mount the ol’ bent one? Thank you ALL who continue to provide food, fiber, and shelter to the world. Also, a toast to those thumbless creatures.
Best wishes from south-eastern Australia. It's sheep country around here, but also some cattle and wineries. And, kangaroos and other native critters, of course. I'll watch ANYTHING and everything you post. Thank you!
Zack Corn Silage in Vermont was the same thing. dry ground 1 month of dry weather and NO MUD! Very different for sure!! It went quick easy, and painless... WAY Different than last year.. Cheers!!
You could get a Vega radar system. I have installed hundreds of them for other applications. But I know they would work on grain. Radar starts around $350. Display relay module maybe another $400.
A precise level indicator is a simple one, and several methods could be used, the lowest cost is laser based, less than 50 dollars per bin ( parts), interfacing with a camera can be done with no less than a camera reading values. Of course there is always the plexiglass / tempered glass windows on each ring.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, ideas and videos. Always look forward to the greeting with the dogs, I think it’s my favorite part of every video. Have to second the idea of some type of sonar or radar system, a rotating lens cleaner might also work on a camera system, similar to the ones you see on ships bridge windows. I believe AVE adapted one to his automated milling machine a while back so he could look thru the observation window while it was being splashed with cutting fluid. I’ve also seen the turn key systems for monitoring water level in large tanks. Might be able to make something off the shelf like that work. Long story short, I bet you will likely make the climb so many times setting up and testing something like that that you might have less climbing with your current system. 😂 Wishing you and your family the best.
Check out the cameras rock quarries use. We had them over crushers and belts. Dust didn't stick to them for some magical reason.
They're in the open fucktatd! Smghd
AGI has BinManager that should show your levels and grain condition. Welkers run that system I believe in their new bins.
There‘s a company out there named Vega that has metering devices to check the levels grain bins and different types of tanks. I’m pretty sure they can be tied into a monitor next to your dryer controls. Used them before for liquid. It worked pretty well.
LOL @ harvest in Illinois. We have it pretty rough down here too. It even rained unplanned during harvest 3 years ago.
😂
Hope the therapy sessions went well and you're over the PTSD from that tragic event.
I can recall a few Falls where we had to have a tractor in the field to pull trucks out because of too soft ground in central Indiana back in the 90's. NOT fun!!!!
Metallica, cause Nothing Else Matters! Hell yeah bruther!
No stunt double? Zach hitting the big leagues… Thankyou for another video. Be safe with all the weather heading your way.
It's nice to see you boys catch a break. Lord knows you deserve it. God bless
the best system i ever saw was sight glasses you can see when the grain is on the glass but that is about all i have seen that works reliable but i have not seen all systems
Ohmart make industrial level sensors that would do that job. Have used them in wood chip silos, steamy effluent tanks and all manor of industrial uses.
They have a small Cs137 isotope in them that can be spanned across various widths and angles. Works on the principle of emitter and beta particle counter.
Not cheap but 100% reliable and will work in any condition hot cold dusty steamy or wet.
Used a lot in pulp and paper industry which is my background. They have a life span of about 30 years and are very safe to use when all safety considerations are followed.
Cheers
Work in a grain depot back in 🇮🇪 in 2011 we had probe/sensors on a little rod down the inside of the top cap on bins similar to yours!! When it claimed to be full we’d go check and more often than not you’d squeeze just a little more in!! Nowadays a lot of grain in 🇮🇪 is stored in MASSIVE warehouses with single span roofs and they’d have conveyers dropping grain from the centre of the roof….. very easy to empty too!!!
If you have compressed air at the bin site, you could run some tubing to blow off the camera lens when it gets dirty, just put a valve on the line at ground level.
Congratulations on a safe harvest. Thanks for bringing us along.
7:17 w song choice, I love metallica
You have pressure sensors in the combine bin to tell you when it’s getting full. They must do something similar for bulk grain bins.
Those trailer sliding dump gate have really paid off, I remember you changing bearings on the old trailers last year about every other episode.
I work on boats, and I agree. This was the best winterize season that I have been apart of, as far as weather. I’m in southeast Wisconsin. Happy living!
I just last week finally got our boat winterized. Fantastic fall boating season
Come to Eastern NC to farm. Our harvest was so early that the volunteer corn that came up after harvest is silking
I can’t wait to see how full the new dryer is. Been waiting on that
Thanks for the dry humor, and the always entertaining content! There are a lot of us who live in the burbs, that would love to be on the farm!I hope you are thankful for the life that God had given you!Have a great Thanksgiving!
I worked at a pharmaceutical plastics molding facility. We had silos for the plastic resins. 1/8" pellets. We used bindicator measurement instruments. Basically a ball on a string lowered to the material and gave us a digital readout how full the bin was. Lasers and sonics wouldn't work to measure the pellets similar to the corn and soybeans.
Glad to see corn 24 in the books. Happy that you had such great weather for harvest.
Many good ideas on how to measure the bin, are in the comments.
Mine would be simple.
- A pressure plate up the bin side that reacts when grains are pushed onto it.
- Just a small white plexiglass every few feet, and a light source on the inside. Giving you the ability to manually see from the outside how much grain there is in the bin, by the shadow on the white plexiglass. And by having it white you avoided direct sunlight onto the corn.
I’m a manager at an elevator in eastern ND and sonar sensors are a lifesaver. Shows you the percentage of the bin. Our newer bins we have lights that come on by the manhole cover when it gets to a certain level as well.
Former electrician here that did a fair amount of work in a mod-sized MO feed mill. We used hard wired, contactless proximity sensors with pretty good success.
Congratulations on a great harvest, let's hope prices double.
What a great feeling to be done with harvest. Hoping it was a good year for yields.
I work as a summer laborer on a local dairy farm when I was a kid. They used to use ultrasonic sensors for seeing how much was in their feed bins but those bins were way smaller than your bins. Back then those sensors just output a signal which showed on a meter and you read that meter 0 - 100%. You had to calibrate those sensors several times a year and the boss always said the meter was more an estimate than a measurement. This was before smart phones though
Its funny. for the first time in like 8 years i have had snow in november here. Tables have turned it seems like. Congrats of making in through harvest without any major incidents
SPL-200 Laser level sensor - 98 ft. maximum, Also BinMaster Level Controls
3DLevelScanner Multiple-Point Accuracy
Hey Brian knew theirs were full the other day when the fans were blowing corn out the vents on the top
Haha, Illinois farming is good, but we get the weather of anything from Arizona heat to Alaska winters. It's stupid very stupid, but welcome to the Midwest I guess.
I've been running out of case in fargo last couple weeks, you're right about the wind
I am not good with electricity or electronics. The key to developing a bin fill system using proximity sensors that are not optical for the last 3 rings. Anytime you get the Moline out, it makes me remember my uncle who farmed with M&M’s up thru the ‘80’s with first a U and the a 670, I believe. Lastly, I have avoided sharing this since I started watching, but I physically remind me of your Dad. Same body type, same gray hir, and dress similarly. But, he is, by far, better looking. Cheers to the rest of your season and the forthcoming holidays. Thanks for keeping this ol’ boy entertained.
I've seen ultrasonic parking indicators used to indicate when its getting close to the top of the bin. They are unlit until it gets close to the top it turns green, yellow when its closer to the top and red to tell you its full. Visible from the ground. You can adjust the heights on the sonar too.
You could use a high pile indicator it hangs from a wire when pile reaches the indicator it lays on its side and sends high pile alarm easy to install and never fail. We use them off stacker conveyors in hard rock mining so radial stackers know to move themselves.
Yes thank you been wanting some Moline action for a while thanks!
Take Quonset huts for instance; the construction of those bins is very similar. On my Quonset shed, I have sections of fiberglass to let natural light in there. When you walk in, so you can see what your gonna trip over. Sukup could do some RnD and make a translucent top section. Not all the around, just like a small 30degree piece. But I don’t know if sunlight would degrade the product or introduce condensation🤔
Harvest Home when it has been successful is always a lovely warm feeling. 😀👍
@MillennialFarmer I would just rig up some very light weight braided steel cable or heavy fishing line on a reel on the outside of the bin. Run it up the outside of the bin, and over a pulley setup on the top, attached to a steel weight on the inside.
Leave the weight at the top of the bin, drop the weight down to measure height of the grain in the bin until full. It should be easy enough to mark the feet to the top on the line.
I assume you are only really concerned with the top 10' or so, so you could easily enough mark the outside of the bin 10-15' and put a flag/marker secured with a crimped piece on the cable when the weight is at the top of the bin as zero. When it drops down to touch the grain, where the flag falls on your measuring board on the outside, you know the height.
To be completely honest, I am surprised this doesn't exist already, and I am shocked I am giving someone else a product idea that is probably pretty profitable.
Zach in Simply Safe ad: "I'm not a Rocket Geologist". 6:12 That's an interesting new one.🤣
Zach, as you are pointing out, every harvest is different. Next year probably won’t be as quick or easy. I’m reminding myself of this also. Stay safe and happy holidays.
Y’all got through just in time! Snow in the forecast Thursday!
Hoping you and your family are well.
It's obligatory Zach. There HAS to be video of oil being checked in every video posted. And an upholstery job on the Moline would be proper.
Enjoy getting done early this year. No telling what next year will bring. But it is nice to beat the snow and cold.
Im from Canada and I work in a feed mill we have sensors that run the whole length of the bin and they are pretty accurate
I'm not a farmer and I'm enjoying the not so bad weather here in northern lower Michigan.
Intella air makes a really good system for that extremely accurate and it’ll even show like a 3D bin and show the exact shape of the grain in the bin
Hi Zack.
Two years ago you had a video where you and Jim were installing clear round disks into the sides of your grain trailers so you could see how full they were. You could check if they make a similar item on the top three panels on your bins. Would work if the manufacturer made the clear disks approx 12 inches in diameter. Would should be able to see if you stood back from the bins.
🚜 Zach’s blend of humor and hard work is what makes farming so relatable! Love how he bridges the gap between farmers and consumers. 🌾👏
We put an eye bolt in a soft ball and attached a para cord to it. Then we passed it thru a hole on top. Let the ball drop until it hit the grain and measure the rope. All done from the ground. Congratulations on harvest 2024.
Next year you may be in the mud, snow, rain and breakdowns. It’s never the same every year. Where I’m at it was dry as a bone for 3 or so months. Rained a couple times in the end just enough to keep the grass from dying all together but now it’s cold, wet, windy and behind on getting things done for the winter. Forecast doesn’t look good for the next ten days either. Would be wonderful if it was weather on demand.
As of November 20th here in Wisconsin we just got our first snow it's only enough to stick to the cold spots of ground and grass but I'll take that as a win
In the plastics industry, we use level sensors in our silos. One system that is common is from a company named “Bindicator”. That uses a mechanical device we called a yo-yo. When filling the silo, you simply raise it all the way up. When you want to check the level, the yo-yo lowers until it touches the material, then gives you a level reading. (In ft)
Other systems I have used utilize sonar technology to measure the feet of product inside the silo. The plus is no moving parts, or risk of someone leaving it down while filling the silo. The downside is it can be finicky reading some black colored plastics. It should have no issue with grains except dust may be an issue? Not sure.
Nathan ,border view farms installed lights on his bins just has to look at the bins works great for him
Climbing bins gives you a good view of the farm. At least that is what I found.
So much helpful grain bin advice, and all worth the price of it! But you'll figure something out (if you decide you want to).
well done mr.scott.
A 'float' on a pulley riding on top of the grain with an external cable with an indicator on the outside of the bin might be the 'ticket'.
After some thought I should have written, a float resting on top of the grain with the float attached to a cable going up thru the top of the bin to a pulley and then a down cable outside the bin to an indicator at eye level on the ground when the bin is almost to the top of the bin.
The next thing is to figure out a float that does not get buried in the grain.
$50 for each one if I get a patent-😉
Akin to a boiler gauge glass, a plexiglass strip an inch or so wide the height of the bin up its side wall
Same here in N. Missouri cut all my stuff in 28 days straight. No rain break at all...
They have sensors that tell the level in sugar and flour tanks for commercial bakeries…. a probe put at several levels that lets you know how full it is.
As far a knowing the level of the bins goes, I would think there would be a way to put in a clear panel a few inches wide, where even completely dirty you'd still be able to see the grain if it was against it. Have them about every other ring of metal all the way to the top
Congratulations on getting it all off the fields. And now summer vacation starts too!
Great to see you had a reasonably smooth harvest. Nothing wrong there for sure. The dogs are so cool and they have no idea that they get to spend there days in the presence of the celebrity Millennial Farm. Lucky dogs and they always get a lap back. Thank you.
Yeah right. Come to Illinois and see what it’s like 😊
Big fella. The only thing I know that reads level is x- ray. They use it in liquid can filling like beer and pop. Thank goodness as you could imagine if you got shorted. Keep doing what you do.
Take a gallon jug fill with rocks or dirt, tie a long rope to it, pulley on top of bin let jug down until you feel it hit the corn, mark rope, no climbing
On the bright side you are getting good cardio going up the ladders. Just have to keep it up all winter long. Congrats on the harvest.
You need to take some time over the winter and INVENT some type of "Sonar" unit that would attach to the top of the bin and shoot down a beam to tell how far down the grain is - it doesn't seem very hard to do. ( there a lot of "older" farmers who climb those steps, but SHOULDN'T !!! )
For rock bins in the mines we use ultrasonic sensors.