Lots of questions on grain air pump systems?

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Lots of questions on grain air pump systems?

deereman

Posted 8/20/2009 10:24 (#817910)
Subject: Lots of questions on grain air pump systems?

NE SD

Thinking of putting in a 5" air pump system and got a bid from my local sukup dealer and custom built pnuematics from Blue Earth MN. Custom built is somewhat cheaper but not as much cheaper as I originally thought and it is using rebuilt airlock and blower. Custom built does not include a control panel which Steve there claims I do not need. Sukup does include a control panel. Custom built has some sort of air bypass to re-circulate the blower air to maintain proper velocity to help with grain quality. Sukup does not have this re-circulating system but claims quality will be fine if I use cyclones. Sukup uses steel piping throughout and Custom built uses aluminum on everything but the elbows where he uses carbon steel. Custom built also uses some sort of pressure switch so as to shut off the dryer unload for a few seconds if system overloads. This gives it a chance to clean out quickly and then turns on again. Sukup does not have this which may be a nice feature. Custom built is using 2-10hp single phase motors and Sukup claims 1- 15 hp is enough. My furthest bin is 110' to the center and a peak height of 48'. I have a FF270 dryer now but may upgrade to next size up in the future.
Somehow I am leaning towards the used system from custom built because this Steve guy seems very, very sharp on these systems but just wondering if anyone else on here has the sukup system or just wondering does anyone on here have any advice or questions that I should be asking these guys because I have never been around a pnuematic system at all.
Thanks for any comments

Edited by deereman 8/20/2009 10:30

Fred

Posted 8/20/2009 10:40 (#817934 - in reply to #817910)
Subject: Re: Lots of questions on grain air pump systems?

south east SD

I don't know anything about the air thing either and would love to learn!!! So keep us up to date with what you have learned. Maybe picture if possible, before and after!! How much does it cost?? I have a spot that I would love to try it on but my brother owns it. The only thought I have is if this Steve guy is as smart as he sounds he would be the way to go!! Just remember it's service, service, service...........I would pay more for it in the long run!!

Edited by Fred 8/20/2009 10:42

dave morgan

Posted 8/20/2009 11:34 (#817978 - in reply to #817910)
Subject: RE: Lots of questions on grain air pump systems?

Somerville, Indiana

Number one in my opinion would be to ask about grain quality after going through the air system. We have always had 5% broken kernals in the first 3000 bu out of 36 ft bins. Elevator blamed it on air system. Said augers were second in grain damage and long tubes from elevator legs third, the long tubes being at fault by high speed of falling grain. Air system also moves grain at high speed in the tube, but also keep in mind the grain has to flow through the air lock. Air system flow tubes with bends will wear faster than we realize and might be one of the main factors in grain damage also. A main point being when that angle tube wears through it will not be when we are standing there watching the operation and that will always be at the top of a bin.

The remains from 5% broken kernals make it much harder to cool the center of bins, making it a necessity to core the bins as soon as possible.

I would consider the pressure switch a necessity. Remember an air system is much like a water pump. Closer to the grain source the better it works.

I would much rather have 2-10 hp motors starting in sequence as 1-15 hp motor starting at close to full load. As a huge added bonus, motor life could be expected to be much longer, probably limited by life of the bearings.

Doubt one could expect Steve to be much cheaper than a factory built unit, as best and cheap seldom occur at the same time.

Edited by dave morgan 8/20/2009 11:41

Mike G

Posted 8/20/2009 19:48 (#818383 - in reply to #817910)
Subject: Re: Lots of questions on grain air pump systems?

Contact us to discuss your requirements of diaphragm pumps applications. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

Additional reading:
Top 7 Wire And Cable Manufacturers in The WorldCould you post the phone number from the place in Blue Earth, I am in the middle of installing a 6" DMC system right now, I am interested in putting mufflers on the air pump and my dealer wants $5000 for two mufflers, has to be a mistake but he says no deereman

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Posted 8/20/2009 19:58 (#818390 - in reply to #818383)
Subject: Re: Lots of questions on grain air pump systems?

NE SD

Steve @ (507) 526-2490 sport

Posted 8/20/2009 20:42 (#818425 - in reply to #818390)
Subject: Re: Lots of questions on grain air pump systems?

nebraska

I had steve from blue earth look at my system last year he drove 6 hours just to consult me. I was very impressed and would defenatly consider what he says compared to my local guys. dave morgan

Posted 8/20/2009 22:15 (#818561 - in reply to #818383)
Subject: Re:I think Chris in Tenn made a muffler or two

Somerville, Indiana

Maybe he will post here. He's always busy though, either playing Roy Rogers or working. :) vvv

Posted 8/21/2009 13:38 (#819185 - in reply to #817910)
Subject: RE: Lots of questions on grain air pump systems?

West Central MN

We've had a 5" Sukup Air System since 2003. I'll try to answer your questions in order.

Control Panel is probably not necessary as the Sukup panel does not really "control" that much. You really could wire the system up to a few breakers directly and it would work okay. I assume that is something how Custom Built would do it.

We do not have an air bypass like you are talking about. We do have a gate valve which can be adjusted to allow some air to bleed off which would slow down the speed of the grain and reduce damage. We do not use it. We just let her run full blast as I would rather have a little more grain damage versus plugging the thing up. We do have cyclones. We do get a fair amount of FM but we have never been docked because of it at either West-Con or Poet Big Stone. I should mention that before we put this system in we had a shivvers dryer with roof augers. So we had grain with almost zero FM. We put in a continuous flow dryer and the air system in 2003 and our FM did increase noticeably. But I'm not sure how much has to do with the higher temps. of the continuous flow dryer and how much has to do with the air system. A couple of years ago we filled one entire bin with 16% corn from the field. It did not pass through the dryer but did go through the air system. If I remember correctly the FM seemed to be pretty minimal. Biggest issue with the FM is to make sure and core the bin after filling in the fall.

Piping should be fine either way as it is the elbows that wear. We have not replaced any of our elbows yet and we have about 1.2 million bushels through the air system. Actually have done zero repairs to the air system since installed.

We have never plugged our system so the pressure switch shut off thing might not be necessary??? We have a 30 HP three phase motor although I think the recommended motor was 20 HP. Wasn't much price difference going from 20 to 30 so said what the heck. Our farthest run is about 170 feet horizontal and 60 feet vertical and it can still handle our 20 foot dryer pretty easily although we will get really close to maxxing out the motor amps if we are only taking about 5 points out.

Hope this helps and good luck with your decision. Getting rid of the roof augers is one of the best things we did around here.

To shock every body: YES YOU CAN USE WATER PUMP TO PUMP AIR OR TO VACUUM.

The key is your pump needs to have water in its chamber of the propeller only.so you can use some tools that maintain the water there so you can suck air or in my usage acids and alkali material INDIRECTLY but efficiently. They are called priming tools.

The centrifugal pump works when the propeller is in liquids like water. So if you just make the housing full it can prime it self.

Then if you want bigger volumes of air to be sucked or pushed you can use a sealed container as the liquid storage. Search for self priming pump principles Then search liquid ring vacuum pump and compressors.

For more information, please visit aodd pumps manufacturer.