The grain dryers are extremely advantageous machines for any farm and farmers, who need to dry their product in order to be able to store or sell it. When choosing a grain dryer, it is important to be careful to choose the machinery that best suits you in terms of features and efficiency, maximizing production and minimizing costs.
How to understand which is the most efficient grain dryer for each application? In this article, Mecmar offers you some information and advice for a conscious choice.
How to evaluate the efficiency of a dryer
To find the most efficient grain dryer you have to start from your needs. According to the type of use, in fact, it is necessary to identify where the costs have the greatest impact, to minimize them by choosing the most appropriate solution.
For example, a continuous cycle dryer for a customer could give maximum production and minimum costs, maximizing profits; however, for a customer who produces 50,000 tons per year, the same machine purchased by a small-medium farmer would risk becoming a cause of expenses and costs with no return.
Generally important aspects should not be overlooked, in any case. In order for a dryer to truly ensure optimal results, you must rely on a machinery built with top quality materials, durable and resistant over time: the longer the machine lasts, the sooner the investment made for its purchase will be repaid. The greater the reliability of the machine and the parts used to build it is, the lower the maintenance, downtime and related costs will be.
In addition, for maximum efficiency it is good to keep in mind four other fundamental aspects:
- Choice of the optimal drying air temperature based on the type of grain and the final purpose that follows drying;
- Correct balance of air flow;
- Correct calibration of the drying burner;
- Ability to customize the dryer with various options.
A dryer that allows easy adjustment of the drying temperature gives a double benefit: on one hand it allows you to treat each cereal with the right temperature, avoiding damage to the cereals and the consequent loss of quality; on the other hand, it allows a saving of energy and therefore costs, optimizing consumption based on the individual product to dry.
Even the air flow must be adequate to the level of heat, since not all cereals are the same.
Correct burner calibration is essential for balanced combustion: a flame that produces a lot of unburnt or too much excess air leads in any case to excessive and unbalanced fuel consumption.
It is also important to choose a grain dryer that can be equipped with different optionals: a customized solution, contrary to a standard one, will be able to better respond to every drying need, guaranteeing greater efficiency.
For each need its own type of dryer
There are two main types of grain dryers on the market: tower dryers and mobile dryers. In choosing the most efficient grain dryer, it is essential to be familiar with the differences between these two types, which suite different drying needs.
Mobile grain dryers are solutions characterized mainly by their mobility. These machines are equipped with compact structures and with wheels that make moving from one place to another and repositioning very simple and quick. These are dryers with discontinuous cycle operation, which begin and end a drying cycle on a specific volume of product, fully loaded and unloaded at the end of the process. Mobile dryers adapt better and guarantee greater efficiency with small or medium quantities of cereal to dry and for those who need to dry or several batches of cereals or batches of different types in the same season, avoiding to mix them.
Among the models of Mecmar mobile dryers we find, for example:
- NANO 6 and CPT 10 grain dryers, with small and easily transportable dimensions, perfect for farmers and small cooperatives that need to dry small quantities of cereal;
- D 20 grain dryer, larger in size, for users with growing drying needs who need a mobile but robust and efficient solution;
- SSI 28 grain dryer, for storage centres that need to dry even large volumes without sacrificing transportability.
Tower dryers are solutions designed for higher needs, as they are characterized by greater capacity and designed to dry large volumes of product, ensuring a higher hourly yield than discontinuous dryers. They are based on a continuous cycle operation, which also allows the recovery of heat from the cereal during the cooling phase, for less use of fuel. This type of dryer is ideal for storage centres and large farms.
Conclusion
Choosing the most efficient grain dryer for every need is a fundamental step to ensure flawless drying results that lead to a maximization of profits. For a conscious choice it is good to pay attention to:
- Drying needs (quantity, types of cereals) to choose the best type (continuous or discontinuous cycle dryer);
- Certified quality of the components with which the machine is made, to increase durability and minimize downtime and costs;
- Most convenient form of electricity and fuel (electricity / tractor, gas / LPG / diesel burner);
- Identification of the grain dryer that allows to dry the maximum possible quantities in the shortest possible time.
To find the most efficient grain dryer for your business, rely on the Mecmar team: specialists for more than forty years in the design and manufacture of grain dryers, both mobile and tower. For any curiosity, doubt or question, do not hesitate to contact us: our experts will be at your disposal!