Grain bin height

[Russell Moore]

I recently bought a grain bin to put up on my farm
It is a used bin 14’ in diameter
My question is the bin is 5 rings high now
can I add 2 more rings to it or will it be to high at that point for the footprint

Thanks for any input

 

[used red MN]

I recently bought a grain bin to put up on my farm
It is a used bin 14’ in diameter
My question is the bin is 5 rings high now
can I add 2 more rings to it or will it be to high at that point for the footprint

Thanks for any input

If your adding rings you will be dealing with a company to purchase the additional new rings I would ask them. Unless the rings you’re adding are also used. Do you know who manufactured the bin? That would be another source that could answer your question or a local grain bin erection company. I personally don’t think another 5 feet would cause an issue, but my warranty is equivalent to what you are paying for it.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

I recently bought a grain bin to put up on my farm
It is a used bin 14’ in diameter
My question is the bin is 5 rings high now
can I add 2 more rings to it or will it be to high at that point for the footprint

Thanks for any input

Bin diameters typically run 15, 18, 21, 24, and so on. Sheets are the same size, just different curvatures. 15 would have 5 sheets per ring, 18, 6 sheets, 21, 7 sheets, and so on. Sheets are graduated to be thicker towards the bottom of the bin. You can add more to the bottom of the bin as it's lifted with jacks, as long as you can find sheets which match your size. Sheets used to be 32 inches tall. Three rows of them giving you 8 feet. I don't know how much of this holds true anymore.

 

[rustred]

You have 5 1/2 rings already. Just guessing that’s already 2000 bu bin. I don’t even see a floor or cement under that bin. And it looks like it’s been sitting there for years , so that means get it home then decide on a floor of foundation before making it higher. And it’s an old bin as old as the hills so where u gonna get more rings ? And getting it moved would be priority number one. That tall bin has to be flipped over to mover it already if there is power lines in the way.

 

[rustred]

You have 5 1/2 rings already. Just guessing that’s already 2000 bu bin. I don’t even see a floor or cement under that bin. And it looks like it’s been sitting there for years , so that means get it home then decide on a floor of foundation before making it higher. And it’s an old bin as old as the hills so where u gonna get more rings ? And getting it moved would be priority number one. That tall bin has to be flipped over to mover it already if there is power lines in the way. There is cranes to hook onto the top to lift them up when farmers convert them to hopper bottoms. Then think of the long auger you’d going to need to fill the bin.

 

[Aaron SEIA]

If you can find another 14' bin to borrow sheets from, you can. Just make sure they are thicker than the ones above them. May also want to add stiffeners to it. You'll find it's a lot of work for a little storage, but if it meets your needs, go for it.
AaronSEIA

 

[caterpillar guy]

Most around here unbolt the rings to move them. So no flipping on their side nor fooling around with power lines and such. As for the rings those look to be the 44 inch rings like butler used to use for their bins. Looks to tall for just 32 inch rings. We have one of both a Butler with the 44 inch rings and a Stormor with the 32 inch rings. When placing I would pour a flat floor and plan on a full floor aeration much better air flow and no spoilage around the sides at the floor like with just the cement floor. Been there with both bins and now have full floors in both. Floor is easier to pour no ducts to form or pour around for air. Put the floor high enough to get the auger hopper under it without needing to dig a hole for it. Sucks in winter to have to clean out the frozen hole for the hopper to go under it. Also helps with keeping water away from the bottom of the bin during thaws in late winter to spring. Also consider the location of the load out and the air fan. Because you want the fan across from the unload auger for the air get evenly around the auger. I have been told the fan can blow the stands out from under the floor if ran when empty or close to it. If you put air on it .you will also need a transition for the fan to mount on that goes to the bin. I mad one for one of our bins and I guess at the price of them will need to make one for the other this winter/fall. We have been very happy with 8inch load out augers going into a 10 inch truck auger. I can load out a Train with 2000 bushel in about 60 minutes with it. So a set of doubles is close to or a bit over 2000 bushel. hey load the truck according to what they want we just shut off the augers. These are scale ticket weights with 55or 56 pound corn at 18-20 percent moisture.

 

[MSD]

Dad put up a new bin one time. It had an extra set of rings to it so it was taller than he ordered. The first season it sat full the grain settled and buckled the rings. He always thought that the extra rings should have been heavier.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

Dad put up a new bin one time. It had an extra set of rings to it so it was taller than he ordered. The first season it sat full the grain settled and buckled the rings. He always thought that the extra rings should have been heavier.

Indeed. I have the literature that came with my bins and they show charts of all of the possibilities. Like how many rings high they will go for each diameter bin, and a chart showing the thickness of each ring. My newest bin has taller, thinner sheets, but has an external framework supporting it, making most of my information obsolete, I suppose.

 

[ss55]

I recently bought a grain bin to put up on my farm
It is a used bin 14’ in diameter
My question is the bin is 5 rings high now
can I add 2 more rings to it or will it be to high at that point for the footprint

Thanks for any input

Some brands increase the metal thickness of lower rings as bin height increases.

 

[cjunrau]

I recently bought a grain bin to put up on my farm
It is a used bin 14’ in diameter
My question is the bin is 5 rings high now
can I add 2 more rings to it or will it be to high at that point for the footprint

Thanks for any input

that bin is as high as I would go. I have taken down and put up many of those used. I can't tell you how many I have seen buckle because they added a ring or two. I see some rust and damage on there already so use as is

 

[BillinCentralMO]

I recently bought a grain bin to put up on my farm
It is a used bin 14’ in diameter
My question is the bin is 5 rings high now
can I add 2 more rings to it or will it be to high at that point for the footprint

Thanks for any input

You also need to consider the site elevation. We had quite a bit of material hauled in to get it up out of the mud. Then the concrete base was poured.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

Lowry sold a hopper to go under them if you aren’t trying to dry anything works slick

 

[caterpillar guy]

IT must have a cement floor under it as there is an anchor bracket on the bin sheet splice to the left5 of the ladder. If it is a butler bin they had thicker sheets as they went up with thinnest at the top. We put a new ring in the bottom of one of our bins. The base ring bolts were rusted to a point and some we could not unscrew so we had to cut them off with the grinder to get the sheets apart. The new ring when I ordered it would have been like 14 gauge lets say I said can I get that in the next heavier he said sure so we did. Never looked back on that. I have liked the golden grain components like their air floor and they are much easier to sweep than those hatched floors and the ribbed ones too. I know there is a lot that don't like their products. I would buy one of their bins and just ask if they could make the rings one gauge heavier than normal for it . Keith seems to be pretty accommodating to me when I call him for information on things. Keith is in the KS office. Stiffeners can be added to any bin if needed they are just a vertical piece that goes on the outside and runs as far up as need be to do the job. I always wondered how they seal the bolt hoes for them since they usually are added on the outside of a seem.

 

[johnnmr]

The sheets on the bottom get thicker as the bin gets taller. You would have to do some research to find the right parts.

If you want to store more bushels I'd find a bigger complete bin to buy.

 

[used red MN]

The base ring bolts were rusted to a point and some we could not unscrew so we had to cut them off with the grinder to get the sheets apart.

Aren’t the bolts 5/16? Usually twist right off when you hit them with a 1/2” impact, much quicker.

 

[Russell Moore]

We sit the bottom half on the pad today
Still need to center and get it facing the right way
Once that’s done we can start putting the floor back in it

 

[Russell Moore]

Rings are 32” tall

 

[rustred]

So now I can see the reason for that first low ring. I presume the airation floor sits at that level. But what holds that floor up like that so the grain weight don’t colapse it.? Kind of a different set up. I move them bins all in one piece standing up but mine are not that high and 1650 bu bins. The high ones need to be tipped on the side and hauled by a professional mover.

 

[Russell Moore]

Cinder blocks under the floor