Bin Cover Openers Open From Ground
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Ohio farmer Gene Ditmer created a clever way to open and close his grain bin covers. He removed the original covers from three bins and installed them inside 16-in. car rims, then reinstalled them on a king bolt hinge and custom metal frame. Now, using two lengths of 3/8-in., nylon rope, he can open and close the covers from the ground without crawling up a ladder 24 ft. to the roof.
“I’m over 80 years old, and I got tired of climbing up those ladders a couple times a day to open and close the covers,” Ditmer says. “I don’t want to leave the auger in the hole overnight because rain can get in the grain, and that’s a big problem. One day, I had the idea of building a swivel lid that I could open and close from the ground, so I drew up the plans, and sure enough, it worked.”
Ditmer cut the center out of a 16-in. dia. car rim and installed the bin cover in the opening. He says the rim provides plenty of support and weight to hold the cover in place. On one side of the rim, he welded a 26-in. by 28-in. rectangular frame made of 2-in. angle iron. He mounted a matching rectangular frame to the top of the bin, then attached the bin cover to the frame. The cover opens and closes by sliding and rotating on a king pin. It nudges against a stop pin when fully open.
To open and close the cover, Ditmer welded 12-in long metal “arms” to opposite corners of the frame, then attached a nylon rope to each arm and tied them off at the base of the bin.
“Now I can open the cover from the ground by pulling one rope, then close it by pulling on the other,” Ditmer says. “The first one worked so well I made two more just like it for my other bins.”
To prevent the metal from rusting, Ditmer primed the metal pieces and painted them silver to match the bins. “They look just like they’re part of the bins,” he says. “They provide a moisture-tight seal and save me a lot of trips up and down the ladders.”
Ditmer says he wishes he would’ve thought of the idea many years ago but adds, “I guess new ideas can pop up in your mind anytime if you think about the problem long enough.” Each opener cost him about $45, with most of the cost in the nylon rope and the steel frame plates. Ditmer keeps his auger about 6 in. to 8 in. above the frame opening so he can easily open and close a cover without raising the auger.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gene Ditmer, 10710 W. Frederick Garland Rd., West Milton, Ohio 45383.
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Bin Cover Openers Open From Ground CROP STORAGE Grain Storage Ohio farmer Gene Ditmer created a clever way to open and close his grain bin covers He removed the original covers from three bins and installed them inside 16-in car rims then reinstalled them on a king bolt hinge and custom metal frame Now using two lengths of 3/8-in nylon rope he can open and close the covers from the ground without crawling up a ladder 24 ft to the roof “I’m over 80 years old and I got tired of climbing up those ladders a couple times a day to open and close the covers ” Ditmer says “I don’t want to leave the auger in the hole overnight because rain can get in the grain and that’s a big problem One day I had the idea of building a swivel lid that I could open and close from the ground so I drew up the plans and sure enough it worked ” Ditmer cut the center out of a 16-in dia car rim and installed the bin cover in the opening He says the rim provides plenty of support and weight to hold the cover in place On one side of the rim he welded a 26-in by 28-in rectangular frame made of 2-in angle iron He mounted a matching rectangular frame to the top of the bin then attached the bin cover to the frame The cover opens and closes by sliding and rotating on a king pin It nudges against a stop pin when fully open To open and close the cover Ditmer welded 12-in long metal “arms” to opposite corners of the frame then attached a nylon rope to each arm and tied them off at the base of the bin “Now I can open the cover from the ground by pulling one rope then close it by pulling on the other ” Ditmer says “The first one worked so well I made two more just like it for my other bins ” To prevent the metal from rusting Ditmer primed the metal pieces and painted them silver to match the bins “They look just like they’re part of the bins ” he says “They provide a moisture-tight seal and save me a lot of trips up and down the ladders ” Ditmer says he wishes he would’ve thought of the idea many years ago but adds “I guess new ideas can pop up in your mind anytime if you think about the problem long enough ” Each opener cost him about $45 with most of the cost in the nylon rope and the steel frame plates Ditmer keeps his auger about 6 in to 8 in above the frame opening so he can easily open and close a cover without raising the auger Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Gene Ditmer 10710 W Frederick Garland Rd West Milton Ohio 45383
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