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Old Silo Blower Turned Into "Feed Thrower"
"We use it to throw feed for storage into a lean-to alongside our free-stall barn," says dairyman Glen Schweppe, Syracuse, Neb., who converted an old Allis-Chalmers silo blower - equipped with an 11-ft. long conveyor - into a "feed thrower".
Schweppe's lean-to is located at one end of his barn. He uses a skid st
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Old Silo Blower Turned Into "Feed Thrower" SILOS Silos 27-1-11 "We use it to throw feed for storage into a lean-to alongside our free-stall barn," says dairyman Glen Schweppe, Syracuse, Neb., who converted an old Allis-Chalmers silo blower - equipped with an 11-ft. long conveyor - into a "feed thrower".
Schweppe's lean-to is located at one end of his barn. He uses a skid steer loader to scoop feed out of the lean-to and dump it into bunks inside the barn. The problem was that he recently bought a Schuler vertical mixer wagon to replace his older Ryan feed wagon, which was equipped with an endless conveyor and had been used to dump feed into the lean-to. However, the new wagon is too tall to fit inside the barn.
"We back the mixer up to our feed thrower conveyor and use tractor hydraulics to power a hydraulic motor that we installed on it. We can make the pile as big as we want by using a crank to change the angle of the conveyor. It'll throw feed up to 10 ft.," says Schweppe.
He bought the silo blower at a farm sale for $22. He removed the blower and narrowed up the wheels and axle, then moved them under the center of the conveyor. He also built an undercarriage for the conveyor and added a crank-operated cable so that he can change the angle of the conveyor. He mounted a hydraulic motor at one end of the conveyor and a hitch at the other end, allowing him to pull the unit behind his tractor or 4-wheeler.
"We built it last winter and started using it this spring with no problems," says Schweppe. "The conveyor was originally equipped with a flat belt which wasn't able to move enough feed at the angle we used the conveyor. We replaced the flat belt with a new diamond belt which we bought for $300. The conveyor is so well balanced that we can pick it up and move it around by hand.
"The feed that we deliver into the lean-to is a mix of corn and hay silage and dry hay."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Glen Schweppe, 1355 S. 32rd, Syracuse, Neb. 68446 (ph 402 269-2602).
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