Equipment

The information provided here is intended to be used by a qualified electrician to make electrical connections between BinManager and the fan and heater control units. Included you will find details on the following:

Typical Fan Control Wiring

Heater Control Wiring

Power Source

Control Box Wiring

It’s not enough to just fill your grain bins; you invest too much in your crops to run the risk of shrinkage or over-drying. BinManager is the industry’s leading grain bin management solution that conditions and preserves your investment until you are ready to sell.

In today’s market you can capture higher profits and premiums with well-conditioned, quality grain. BinManager is the only grain bin automation system that dries, cools and even re-hydrates grain to your targets with precision all while preserving the protein, oil and starch contents. Gain peace of mind when you have BinManager to protect, monitor and manage your stored grain.

What does this mean? YOU CAN...

MAXIMIZE PROFITS with proper grain bin management

• Keep your grain in peak condition until you are ready to sell.
• Achieve target moisture levels, AND preserve protein, oil and starch contents while in the bin.

IMPROVE EFFICIENCY with Grain Bin Automation

• Run fans, dryers and heaters only when productive air is present to save on run time costs.
• Monitors temperature and moisture levels in every sensor on every cable, providing a complete understanding of grain conditions allowing for proactive management.

INCREASED SAFETY of Your Grain Bin

• Grain-filled bins become zero entry to avoid risk of entrapment.
• No need to manually probe grain or climb bins for any reason, data is captured and reported directly to you.
• No part of our system requires entry for maintenance.

GAIN PEACE OF MIND with Your Grain Storage

• Access your bin data anytime, anywhere from a smartphone, tablet or computer.
• Critical bin data presented in an easy to understand 3D view for quick assessments.
• System alerts sent directly to you when issues arise allowing you to react quickly.

Interested in a quote?

BinCheck® allows you to monitor your grain while you are on-site, no climbing the bin to try to determine what’s going on inside. BinCheck uses the AGI Suretrack Bluetooth App to easily access your grain bin data while you are in-range of the bin.

BinCheck delivers accurate temperature and moisture readings through the AGI SureTrack patented 3G Plus™ Cables, taking multiple measurements throughout the bin for a complete look at the grain. BinCheck is a good solution for grain bins that don’t have fans and heaters to automate and are on-site so it’s easy to get readings when you need. (NOTE: If you have fans and heaters, check out the capabilities of BinManager® to maximize the full potential of your grain.)

What does this mean? YOU CAN...

ACCESS BIN DATA in Real-Time

• Complete grain bin details while you are on-site at the bin.
• No computer or internet access needed.

INCREASE SAFETY of Your Grain Bin

• Grain-filled bins become zero-entry to avoid risk of entrapment.
• No need to manually probe grain or climb bins for any reason, data is captured and reported via the bluetooth app.
• No part of our system requires entry for maintenance.

Consider upgrading to a full BinManager system.

Why BinManager? In addition to providing comprehensive, real-time data about the condition of your grain, BinManager automates fans and heaters to run only when productive air is present. It is the only grain bin automation system that dries, cools and even re-hydrates grain to your targets with precision all while preserving the protein, oil and starch contents. 

 BinCheckDeluxe® allows you to keep track of what’s going on in your grain bin without having to be at the bin. Easily access your grain bin data from anywhere at anytime with a smartphone, tablet or desktop computer, using your secure SureTrack FARM™ account.

BinCheckDeluxe delivers accurate temperature and moisture readings through patented 3G Plus™ Cables, taking multiple measurements throughout the bin for a complete look at the grain. BinCheckDeluxe is a good solution for grain bins that don’t have fans and heaters to automate but still need to be monitored in real-time without the hassle of going to the bin. (NOTE: If you have fans and heaters, check out the capabilities of BinManager® to maximize the full potential of your grain.)

What does this mean? YOU CAN...

INCREASE SAFETY of Your Grain Bin

• Grain-filled bins become zero-entry to avoid risk of entrapment.
• No need to manually probe grain or climb bins for any reason, data is captured and reported via the bluetooth app.
• No part of our system requires entry for maintenance.

GAIN PEACE OF MIND with Your Grain Storage

• Monitors temperature and moisture levels in every sensor on every cable, providing a complete understanding of grain conditions allowing for proactive management.
• Critical bin data presented in an easy to understand 3D view for quick assessments.
• The system sends alerts directly to you via email and text when issues arise.

CONFIGURE THE SYSTEM for Your Operation

• Wireless network that allows multiple bins to easily communicate with each other and send data seamlessly to your SureTrack FARM account.
• Configurable for operations small and large, including elevators.

It's easy to upgrade from BinCheckDeluxe to a full BinManager system.

Why BinManager? In addition to providing comprehensive, real-time data about the condition of your grain, BinManager automates fans and heaters to run only when productive air is present. It is the only grain bin automation system that dries, cools and even re-hydrates grain to your targets with precision all while preserving the protein, oil and starch contents.

In the United States, natural air is commonly used to dry corn in a bin. The way that corn dries in that bin is dependent upon various factors, including harvest moisture content, grain depth, fan cfm, weather conditions and geography.

Typically, the harvest moisture content of corn being loaded into the bin ranges from 18% to 22%, and bins are generally equipped with design airflow of at least 1 cfm/bu. The typical grain depths (mostly up to eave height) used for natural air drying of corn range between 18' and 25'. Above this grain depth (25'), corn may still successfully dry some years, depending on the weather. However, during wet years, a bin of corn over 25' in depth may find itself in trouble. This also depends on the location of the bin. A certain grain depth and airflow may work just fine for one area, but may not yield the same positive outcomes in another area because of the difference in weather conditions specific to that area.

In-bin natural air drying is a deep-bed drying process that forces air through the grain mass, most commonly from bottom to top. The image below illustrates the progression of drying air through the grain mass, which causes the drying zone to move from bottom to top.

An air delivery system such as full-floor plenum or duct can be used - the full-floor system is most widely used. The pressure build-up at the plenum creates frictional heat due to the compression of air at constant volume. This frictional heat raises the temperature of air in the plenum. As a rule of thumb, 1" of static pressure creates 1°F temperature rise at the plenum.

To heat or not to heat? That is the question:

In order to speed up the natural air drying process, a heater needs to be attached to the fan. The heater can be fueled by either propane or natural gas (electric heaters can also be used, but are not common). The heat is not used to heat the grain mass, but rather reduce the relative humidity of the air and allow more productive air to be pushed the grain. Just a 10-15°F temperature rise due to added heat will reduce the relative humidity by 20-30%, based on ambient temperature. During periods of high humidity (mostly at night) a heater can be kicked on until an optimum drying relative humidity is reached. If the static pressure developed at the plenum is more than 7", then a heater is not required or necessary. In order to get 7" of static pressure, greater grain depth or greater airflow is needed. And that means more energy is required. Higher energy leads to higher electricity cost, which should be factored into the equation.

A disadvantage of creating higher static pressure at the plenum is it will over-dry the bottom layer of grain if drying weather prevails. And as a result, you could face financial loss due to shrinkage (moisture loss) of the grain as well as higher energy costs.

There are a lot of factors to account for in the use of heat during natural air drying. It will depend on drying time goals and deadlines, energy costs and the ability to manage and mitigate loss due to over-dried grain. Case studies below illustrate the differences in timing and costs when heat was applied to the natural air drying process.

Case Study 1: Natural Air Drying of corn at Waterloo, IA with 48' diameter and 25' grain depth. There is 1 cfm/bu of airflow using two 30hp low-speed CF fans. The corn was harvested at 20% MC on October 1 and target moisture content was 15%. The drying cost, drying end dates and final average moisture content (MC) with and without heater are given in the table below.

You can see in the top scenario when the heater was used, drying was done in 40-45 days. This can be a huge relief if you are facing deadlines. However, in using heat, a 1% average moisture content loss occurred. In the lower scenario when the heat was not used, fan run time increased and the end dates in 2010 and 2014 extended into late winter/early spring, which may cause some to worry about mold. However, the drying cost per ton was less than with heat.

Case Study 2: A similar natural air drying study was conducted at Greenville, SC, with the same bin dimensions, grain depth and cfm. The drying cost, drying end dates and achieved final average moisture content (MC) with and without heater are given in the table below.

Because Greenville, SC has an adequate weather pattern for drying, the differences between the heat and no heat scenarios were not as drastic. If a heater was used, it took 33-45 days to dry to goal. During drying with heat, there was 1% moisture content loss. If heater was not used for drying, it took 45-55 days. This is just 10-20 days longer than if heat was used. This slight increase in drying days will not put the grain under storage risk for Greenville, SC, in the same way that it would in the Waterloo, IA example.

Conclusions
Natural air drying of corn will always be affected by geographic location of the bin. Natural air drying with heater works well for Waterloo, IA; but may not needed for the typically warmer climate of Greenville, SC (if bin size and fan capacity are constant). Natural air drying with heater does carry the risk of over-drying the bottom layer of the grain - in both case studies, a 1% moisture content loss was seen in the scenarios with applied heat.

Want to see if your bin could use a heater to help you reach your natural air drying goals? Contact an AGI SureTrack Grain Specialist to discuss this and the BinManager technology that can successfully manage and condition your grain to targets.

BinManager, the industry-leading grain storage management solution, precisely measures exact temperature and moisture of your stored grain, helping you to monitor your grain and ensure it is being stored safely. BinManager also uses real-time data from the grain and outside air to automate when the fans and heaters run, which in turn can dry and cool the grain to safe storage conditions for long-term storage (depending on your storage goals).

Inputs are the most important part of your operating budget, and closely managing consumption and inventories can mean the difference between red and black ink at the end of the year.

TankManager™, the liquid and propane bulk tank monitor, is the newest addition to the SureTrack FARM™ and SureTrack PRO™ management systems, and your solution to inventory accuracy and seamless operation.

TankManager allows a real-time view of the inventory levels on every bulk tank on your operation—if it’s a liquid or propane and you store it in a bulk tank, TankManager can monitor it. Customizable settings take the guesswork out of when to reorder by allowing you to input preferred suppliers, set inventory level alerts and manually or automatically order more product when needed. And installation is as easy as using the built-in magnet to position the monitor where you want it, plugging in the sensor and removing the magnet to allow data transmission.

Monitor your bulk tank information through your SureTrack FARM or SureTrack PRO subscription; the dashboard allows you to view liquid bulk tank inventories anytime, anywhere. A liquid monitor will take care of the diesel, gas, water and other stored liquid monitoring needs on your farm, while the propane monitor will ensure those storage tanks are monitored, as well. And because every system ships with both a monitoring box and gauge, both systems will work on any tank—new or old.

Set reporting frequencies to update you once a week or three times a week and configure warning and critical alarms for low or high tank levels. Both systems will also alert you when tanks are filled or drawn from, always keeping you up-to-date on the number of days until empty.

To enter your preferred provider information, simply add their details. Choose to have the system automatically notify your provider when preset levels are reached or manually send requests when you’re ready. It’s that easy.

DryerManager brings another segment of value and convenience to the SureTrack management solution. The solution integrates software and hardware to allow a grain dryer to be monitored and managed remotely, anytime and anywhere.

Cost Saving
Fully automated system increases efficiency and reduces costs.

Support Reliability
Rely on industry leading customer service representatives and field technicians to solve any issues you may have.

Safety
Emergency stop feature keeps you and your grain safe.

FEATURES

• Can be installed on almost any dryer, regardless of brand
• Assign moisture targets to reach your dry-down target to automate your drying process
• Monitor moisture, temperature and drying progress 24/7
• Receive alerts and notifications via text or email, making sure you never miss a management opportunity
• Operated remotely and features an emergency stop, ensuring the safety of both you and your grain

DryerManager brings another segment of value and convenience to the SureTrack management solution. The solution integrates software and hardware to allow a grain dryer to be monitored and managed remotely, anytime and anywhere.

Cost Saving
Fully automated system increases efficiency and reduces costs.

Support Reliability
Rely on industry leading customer service representatives and field technicians to solve any issues you may have.

Safety
Emergency stop feature keeps you and your grain safe.

FEATURES

• Can be installed on NECO dryers (not available for K Series)
• Assign moisture targets to reach your dry-down target to automate your drying process
• Monitor moisture, temperature and drying progress 24/7
• Receive alerts and notifications via text or email, making sure you never miss a management opportunity
• Operated remotely and features an emergency stop, ensuring the safety of both you and your grain

Interested in a quote?

Increase the power of BinManager by adding the Perten 9500. With the Perten 9500 you can test the quality of your grains, view the results within your SureTrack FARM™ account, and even share the quality characteristics with potential buyers. Knowing the contents of your grain will help you negotiate top dollar for your investment.

Many times farmers are not compensated for their quality crops because they don't know what they have. How much protein? How much oil? How much starch?

Don’t leave money on the table because you don’t know the quality of your grain. Take advantage of premiums offered by buyers who are looking for specific grain characteristics. It’s important to keep your grain characteristics separated and know what you have in order to capture premiums and top dollar prices.

What does this mean? NOW...

You can take the negotiating power into your own hands when you connect AGI SureTrack BinManager with the Perten 9500. You can not only test, but assign characteristics to your tested grain in the bin you have set up within BinManager.

The best part? It automatically populates in the Markets pillar, so you have the opportunity to receive bids on your tested grain that same day.

KNOWLEDGE

Know what quality grain you have BEFORE you call.

OPPORTUNITY

Find new buyers for your quality grains.

NEGOTIATING POWER

Negotiate directly with processors.

INCREASE PROFITS

Premiums offered for specific grain characteristics.