Home-Built Silo Gas Exhaust System

Home-Built Silo Gas Exhaust System SILOS Silos 22-6-36 "We wanted a way to suck gases out of silos before we had to go in," say Max and Vicki Lass who designed and built a silo exhaust system that pulls poisonous gases out of the silo through the chute. "After thinking about such a system for a number of years, we finally came up with a workable design and put one together last year," says Max. The New Hamburg, Ontario, farmer and his wife's system consists of a commercial 3/4 hp, 12-in. dia., high-speed aeration fan from a feed bin, a commercial adapter to attach ductwork to the bottom of the chutes on their silos and 25 ft. of industrial ductwork. The fan sucks gases out of the silo and blows them away before workers enter. They use the one system on all four of their 70-ft. tall by 20-ft. dia. structures. "We use it twice per silo, once as they're being filled and once as they're being leveled," Max says. "The first time I flipped the switch a big cloud of orange chlorine gas was drawn out so I knew it worked. It takes only about a minute of operation to clear the silo of gas." The Lasses already had the aeration fan, which cost about $300 (Canadian). They purchased the commercial flex adapter and ductwork for $100 and $120, respectively. Max's cousin, Doug Mueller, of R. Mueller Heating, helped locate and obtain the other components (Box 38, St. Agatha, Ontario, Canada N0B 2L0; ph 519 747-1333). Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Max and Vicki Lass, R.R. 1, New Hamburg, Ontario, Canada N0B 2G0 (ph 519 662-2226).

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