Hydraulic Power Unit Drives Grain Bin Augers

Hydraulic Power Unit Drives Grain Bin Augers GRAIN HANDLING Augers (4) 18-3-6 Steve Harms, Davenport, Neb., uses a portable hydraulic power unit to drive a pair of 8-in. dia. bin loading augers as well as all the other unloading augers and sweeps he uses in his grain handling setup. A 6-cyl. Ford engine, mounted on a 2-wheel trailer, direct-drives a pair of 30 gpm hydraulic pumps. One pump powers a hydraulic motor mounted on a 25-ft. long auger that delivers grain out of a 600-bu. pit into an 68-ft. long auger. The 68-ft. auger, powered by another hydraulic motor, swivels to deliver grain into five bins arranged in a semi-circle. Unloading augers, each powered by a hydraulic motor, are used to unload corn from bins. Hydraulic motors are also used to drive sweep augers in each bin. "Hydraulic power lets us vary the unloading auger speed out of each bin so we can more accurately blend wet corn with dry corn," says Harms. "We can vary auger speed from 0 to 500 rpm's per minute. Pto or electric-driven unloading augers have to run at a constant speed. I used the engine to power the pumps be-cause my tractor doesn't have enough oil capacity to handle both augers at the same time. Also, we have single phase electricity and I couldn't find an affordable electric motor that was big enough to operate both augers at the same time. I mounted oil pressure gauges and safety switches on the power units so if the pit runs empty or an auger plugs up, the engine will automatically shut off. "We bought the pumps used which helped hold down the cost. When we're done using the augers we use the engine to pump water for our furrow irrigation system." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Steve Harms, Rt. 1, Box 87, Davenport, Neb. 68335 (ph 402 365-4187).

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