Many Uses For Conveyor Belting

2015 - Volume #39, Issue #1, Page #29

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Scott Ravenkamp kept the previous year’s residue out of his planter with pieces of used conveyor belt. The tough belting stood up well to tough stalks and protected vital parts before finally tearing in half along an old wear line.
  “If you are running a planter into standing stalks, protection is a must,” says Ravenkamp. “The belt stopped the damage stalks were doing to drives, wiring harnesses and fertilizer tubing.”
  Ravenkamp raises dryland corn and wheat in eastern Colorado. The marginal returns don’t justify rolling corn residue before planting.
  “If you can run with the combine, stalks aren’t as much of a problem,” he says. “With our 12-row corn head and 24-row planter, we are constantly running against cornstalks with half the planter.”
  Ravenkamp had been searching for a way to protect his planter when he ran across the conveyor belt at Repurposed Materials, a national leader in finding new uses for everything from salvaged wood to fish nets and fire hose (www.repurposedmaterialsinc.com; ph 303 321-1471). Heavy-duty rubber conveyor belt is available in widths ranging from 18 to 96 in. and lengths of up to 841 ft. Steel cable reinforced belting is also frequently available.
  “I tried metal pushers mounted with row cleaners, but I needed something for between the row units as well,” says Ravenkamp. “The belting worked real well. I just wired it ahead of the planter units and to the planter frame about every 18 in.”
  Since the first set of belting tore in half, Ravenkamp is working on a different mounting system. He is considering hangers to allow easy removal of the belting.
  “When we are planting into wheat stubble, we don’t need the belting,” says Ravenkamp.
  Ravenkamp also uses belting to protect aeration fans on his grain bins. He cuts a length to match the fan circumference and ties it in place.
  “The belting keeps the motors from ‘coasting’ when not in use and helps keep moisture out,” says Ravenkamp. “When we run the fans, we drop it to the ground and it stays there.”
  He has also found new uses for 55-gal. plastic drums. “We use them to make auger hoppers,” says Ravenkamp. “They work better than anything we can buy new and can be modified to fit different auger setups.”
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Scott Ravenkamp, 41376 County Rd. 26, Hugo, Colo. 80821 (ph 719 743-2529; scottrav@rebeltec.net).

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Many Uses For Conveyor Belting FARM HOME Miscellaneous Scott Ravenkamp kept the previous year’s residue out of his planter with pieces of used conveyor belt The tough belting stood up well to tough stalks and protected vital parts before finally tearing in half along an old wear line “If you are running a planter into standing stalks protection is a must ” says Ravenkamp “The belt stopped the damage stalks were doing to drives wiring harnesses and fertilizer tubing ” Ravenkamp raises dryland corn and wheat in eastern Colorado The marginal returns don’t justify rolling corn residue before planting “If you can run with the combine stalks aren’t as much of a problem ” he says “With our 12-row corn head and 24-row planter we are constantly running against cornstalks with half the planter ” Ravenkamp had been searching for a way to protect his planter when he ran across the conveyor belt at Repurposed Materials a national leader in finding new uses for everything from salvaged wood to fish nets and fire hose www repurposedmaterialsinc com; ph 303 321-1471 Heavy-duty rubber conveyor belt is available in widths ranging from 18 to 96 in and lengths of up to 841 ft Steel cable reinforced belting is also frequently available “I tried metal pushers mounted with row cleaners but I needed something for between the row units as well ” says Ravenkamp “The belting worked real well I just wired it ahead of the planter units and to the planter frame about every 18 in ” Since the first set of belting tore in half Ravenkamp is working on a different mounting system He is considering hangers to allow easy removal of the belting “When we are planting into wheat stubble we don’t need the belting ” says Ravenkamp Ravenkamp also uses belting to protect aeration fans on his grain bins He cuts a length to match the fan circumference and ties it in place “The belting keeps the motors from ‘coasting’ when not in use and helps keep moisture out ” says Ravenkamp “When we run the fans we drop it to the ground and it stays there ” He has also found new uses for 55-gal plastic drums “We use them to make auger hoppers ” says Ravenkamp “They work better than anything we can buy new and can be modified to fit different auger setups ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Scott Ravenkamp 41376 County Rd 26 Hugo Colo 80821 ph 719 743-2529; scottrav@rebeltec net

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