Portable Harvest Hopper Reduces Combine Downtime

Portable Harvest Hopper Reduces Combine Downtime COMBINES Miscellaneous When Bob Koerselman had to wait for a grain cart to arrive while combining he had a brianstorm What was needed he decided was temporary field-side storage Unlike most combine operators he could do something about it     “He farms but he also owns our company ” explains Ken Streff vice president Sales and Marketing Demco Manufacturing     Koerselman’s solution was Harvest Link a 3 000-bu holding tank on wheels The tank is 12 ft wide 133 in tall on the low side and 150 in tall on the high side The 56-ft trailer can be towed in transit with the front end carried on a 3-pt hitch When positioned for use the rear tandem axles are retracted hydraulically lowering the tank to the ground     “We’ve worked on it since 2012 trying different designs and concepts until we introduced the Harvest Link this past summer ” says Streff “Our biggest challenge was a design that would allow semis to park in one position and load without repositioning ”     The company’s answer was an auger with a 36-ft reach and both fore and aft motion Not only can it fill the length of a trailer but when parked alongside a road it likely can extend to trailers parked on the road     Operated by a tractor providing pto and hydraulic power the 333 bu per min auger can fill a standing semi trailer in less than 3 min Joystick controls offer immediate response     The control system automatically opens and closes grain flow doors in the Harvest Link according to load on the orbit motors that power the augers Capacity of trucks to be loaded can be entered into the on-board scale system When a truck arrives touching the pre-programmed weight on the control screen starts the process When Harvest Link has unloaded the preprogrammed amount it closes grain flow doors to empty the augers     The Harvest Link system communicates via radio frequency with the grain cart scale system The patent pending scale system tabulates a gross total field weight It allows a grain cart to unload into Harvest Link while it is loading a semi without loss of data     Streff says the company is taking orders for the 2016 season Two units were in place on farms during the 2015 season and both operated smoothly according to Streff     While farmer reception has been very positive he acknowledges that farmers who have seen Harvest Link in action have already suggested a need for a larger capacity     “The controlling factor for why we went with 3 000 bu is the constraints of moving from field to field ” says Streff “Even delivering anything bigger from the factory would have been difficult ”     The suggested retail price for Harvest Link is $200 000     You can see a video of Harvest Link in action at www farmshow com     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Demco Manufacturing Co 4010 320th St Boyden Iowa 51234 ph 712 725-2311 or toll free 800 543-3626; www demco-products com

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