Crust Buster Breaks Up Chunks Of Grain From Outside Bin

Crust Buster Breaks Up Chunks Of Grain From Outside Bin CROP STORAGE Grain Storage 19-1-32 An Iowa farmer and his three sons came up with a low-cost way to break up chunks of wet grain at the bottom of their bins by simply turning a handle outside the bin. "It lets us break up chunks of wet grain at the auger inlet from outside the bin. It's much safer than climbing up on top of the bin," says Robert Rottinghaus, who has made "crust busters" for seven different bins. Most versions of Rottinghaus's "crust buster" are mounted below raised bin floors. Rottinghaus cuts a small hole in the wall of the bin just under the floor and cuts another hole into the floor next to the auger inlet. A 1-in. dia. steel pipe runs under the floor and welds into place, then a 7/8-in. dia. greased steel rod is inserted into the pipe. Each end of the rod is then bent at a 90 degree angle. Turning the end outside the bin causes the bent end of the rod in-side the bin to rotate back and forth and break up the crusted grain. "I usually bend the rod about 12 to 16 in. from the end and leave it long enough so that I can also push or pull it about 1 ft. It breaks up wet grain over a 2-ft. wide, 1-ft. long area. It isn't necessary to use a pipe under the floor, but if a pipe isn't used some kind of bearing support is needed to keep the rod rigid when it's moved back and forth. "In bins without raised floors I simply lay a 7/8-in. dia. hot rolled rod on top of the floor and use some kind of bearing sup-port to keep it in place. The sweep auger goes right over the rod." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Robert Rottinghaus, 4121 S. Canfield Rd., Jesup, Iowa 50648 (ph 319 827-1311).

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