2013 - Volume #37, Issue #4, Page #29
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Overhead Feed Bin Built From Gravity Box
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Kreitman bought the 10-ft. long gravity box used. It sets on a 12-ft. high steel frame made from 4-in. I-beams and 4-in. dia. pipes off an old Valley center pivot. Kreitman made clamps out of angle iron and 1/2-in. bolts to attach the box to the I-beams.
The box is covered by an Ag Topper clamp-on steel lid (ph 888 310-1265; www.toppsmfg.com). The company custom builds steel lids to fit gravity wagons, fertilizer spreaders, tender trucks or any other box as a permanent alternative to a roll top.
The box came with an 18-in. sq. opening and a slide gate that was opened and closed by turning a wheel on one side of the box. Kreitman’s hopper only holds 500 lbs. so he used 1/8-in. thick sheet metal to partially cover the opening, then made 2 small openings that are covered by slide gates. By turning an 8-ft. long metal rod he can open and close an 8 by 12-in. opening from the ground to fill the hopper. The other opening is only 6 in. sq. and is used to “top off” the load. Kreitman climbs onto the pickup’s flatbed to open and close it.
“It holds about 9 tons of feed,” says Kreitman. “I paid $750 for the Ag Topper cover and another $750 for the gravity box. The I-beams came from an old beam-type scale. I thought I would save money by building it myself, but my cost per ton of storage was almost equal to commercial-built units that hold 20 or more tons.
“I really like the Ag Topper all-weather lid. I can partially open it from the ground by pulling back on a lever, which makes it easy to fill.
“The only limitation is that the box’s sides aren’t angled steeply enough so all the feed doesn’t always run out. At the end of the season I have to climb inside and shovel out any leftover material. I placed a ladder alongside the box so I can climb to the top.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Steven Kreitman, 45128 WPA Rd., Bassett, Neb. 68714 (ph 402 684-2201).
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