Double Barreled Crop Dryer

Double barreled crop dryer ENERGY Wood Burners (65) 9-4-9 "We cut the drying bill on our 6,000 bu. drying bin by at least one-half," says Norman Laufer, pleased with the "doubled barreled" crop dryer that he built on his New Palestine, Ind., farm. The supplemental dryer consists of a 55-gal. drum barrel stove mounted inside a 275 gal. oil tank. Smoke and ash are channeled out of the stove by a flue while heat that collects in the space around the barrel stove is pulled off through a connecting 8-in. pipe to the 10-hp. drying fan. The system required no modification to the existing electric dryer. The supplemental drying air is simply mixed in with the drying air,cutting costs. "The system was easy to make. Even when there's a roaring fire inside the stove, you can lay your hand on the outside of the oil tank and not get burned," says Laufer. The first model Laufer built consisted simply of a 30 gal. barrel inside a 55-gal. barrel. He used it for 4 years until he needed more capacity. He currently burns only wood but plans to drip waste oil into the stove this season for extra heat. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Norman W. Laufer, Rt. 4, Box 135, New Palestine, Ind. 46163 (ph 317 861-4791).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.