Fert Bins

[just_wondering]

Who makes the best fert bin?
Powder coated or liquid paint?
Skid or cement
roll opener or lever action
high end low end?

looking at buying 5 100 tonne bins no fan or fan holes
1 man hole, 1 poke hole,
sight glass on top no top inspecton door
what else should I be asking about?

[seedsman]

Not sure if there is much difference between manufacturers and features. I have some different makes, but they're similar.

Buying a bin with a steel skid will be cheaper, and allow you to move it some time in the future if you're not totally sure you want the bin located there for ever. Concrete is nicer but more difficult to move if you change your yard in the future.

I had a number of hopper bins on skids, until I built a new bin area, and then moved the bins onto concrete. I have a couple of fairly new steel skids available for sale, if you are interested.

[just_wondering]

How big are the skids we are thinking 100 tonne bins but possibly 120?
We went to the West steel plant in Warmen last week looked real good and I like the idea of buying local but is not the main point.
Also the paint seems to be a big deal the powder coat is supposed to be a harder paint and better warranty but at Flamens yard there was a bit of rust on some edges where the prep work was not done properly if the other guys would lengthen out warranty that might sintch the deal.

[poorboy]

Be carefull of tall bins on skids. I find that on my soil the tall bins will shift around a lot because they are so narrow. I have removed all the topsoil and packed in 2 feet of 1.5 inch road crush and my bins still need to be releveled every 2nd year. If I did it again I would put it on cement the first time.

My shorter bins are fine on skids.

I would be careful about putting the sight window at the top. I find that corrosion will start there first.

[seedsman]

Skids are double row of tubing that were under Grain Max 3000 bins. They are for 8 legs, and I thnk 16 foot diameter bins. Located in Southern Alberta.

[mustardman]

An idea for skids that has worked well for us is to cut old galvenized bin panels into 3 strips. Then bolt together around skid base and fill with small crushed rock.

This keeps the rock from pushing out,looks very neat and makes it easy to cut grass around bin.

It seems to keep bin from settling in like it did before using this system.

You should have 2 feet larger diameter on your galv "dam " than your bin diameter.
We have 6 or 7 4800 bushel hoppers on this system on heavy clay soil (which shift like crazy) and they haven't moved yet.
You could sc**** any topsoil off site first and pack the base .