Planning Future Blogs

I hope to have future blogs — in no particular order and I am putting this out there to perhaps get an idea of what I should do first:

  • Aeration — a useful tool to get ahead of the game, and lower risk.  Combine the grain tough, you can better manage the grain in the bin as opposed to in the field.
  • Tips on storing your grain, including the above, start the fan right away, keep the fan on for the first day, keep the grain as cold as possible, take out a load to get an inverted cone, put the toughest grain at the bottom by starting each new day, when the grain is tough with a new bin, and of course fan control strategies.
  • Using the new calculator http://planetcalc.com/4959/
  • Comparing the new calculator results with those of actual bin drying.
  • The first day, why it is so important  ie get the grain cold to be safe.
  • The ultimate control,  use the OPI moisture sensor, when the fan is off, calculate the moisture in the air around the grain, and when it is greater than the moisture in the outside air, then turn the fan on.  And to turn the fan off, check the moisture in the discharge air, as opposed to the outside air.
  • A list of control strategies depending on what you have:  no sensors,  temp sensor, temp and relative humidity sensor.
  • Diurnal Cycle
  • How fast does grain warm?
  • How fast does grain cool?
  • Cooling is drying?
  • Safety, is a factor of dry grain and cool grain, and the formula that provides  a measure of safety quantitatively.
  • Why the old way of using EMC of the air does not work, along with examples of actual data to show why.
  • Why using mean daily temperatures is misleading.
  • Why does grain dry in the bottom of the bin first.
  • Correlation of actual drying, with fan on only when grain temp > air temp.
  • Correlation of actual drying with calculator threshold RH results
  • How much should grain cool, when energy is used to evaporate the water in it.
  • Condensation on the roof, why does it occur, when does it occur, how to prevent it. Using the calculator to detect conditions for condensation. http://planetcalc.com/4959/
  • This year’s runs on all six bins.
  • Organizing all these topics and items into a more cohesive organized document.

So, I have a lot to do, and as the colder weather sets in, I will have more time to get at this.  Of course your comments and questions are a good source of inspiration and motivation.

 

 

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