Mounting Grain Bins on Screw Piles

[Mjolnir]

Has anyone here used screw piles for hopper bottom bins? I was thinking a pile for each leg on the hopper cone, would a ring or pad be needed or would that be sufficient? The rising concrete price has me looking for alternatives. Thank you in advance for any replies.

[cottonpicken]

Sure sounds like a good idea to me,a pile under every vertical leg?

[Mjolnir]

That's what I was thinking, was a pile for each vertical leg. The soil here is something else, heavy clay causes lots of problems with basements and concrete in general. Thought these piles might be a cheaper and quicker alternative. Another bonus is if you want to move the bin, auger out the piles and move to new location and put them back in the ground.

[ado089]

You'd have to get below the frost line.

[LEP]

Have used screw piles a few times.

They aren't cheap. We tried using used rig anchors with extensions, total depth ten feet.

The bins still have a skid on a compacted gravel base with a rig anchor under each leg. We did this under four dry fert bins and we still had one settle annually.

I also put screw anchors under a garage I was building in town, they were twelve inch fighting twelve feet deep, 350 each plus installation.

Likely better to put 14 inches of concrete and no skid under your bins.

[Oliver88]

What size of hopper bins?

The pilings sound very extreme but I am not familiar with putting bins on your soil conditions.