Grain drying: set for the wettest batch, wasted fuel
Why grain dryers run for the wettest batch, what that costs in fuel and over-drying, and how to check an estimated moisture value first.
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Grain dryers are set for the wettest batch
What happens. At harvest, grain arrives with moisture that changes from lorry to lorry. The dryer is set for the wettest, because the stored grain must be dry enough, and nobody wants a rejected lot.
What it costs. The dryer burns fuel to dry grain that was already near the target, and grain that is dried too far loses weight that is then not paid for. At peak harvest every hour of dryer time counts.
Why the usual fix fails. Sampling at intake gives a moisture reading that is average for the lorry. A moisture sensor in the outlet shows the result after the grain has passed through and can lag behind.
How a fixed-price remote diagnosis checks it. From dryer logs (intake moisture, air temperatures, throughput, outlet moisture), I check how well the moisture at the outlet can be estimated and held at the target. The fixed-price remote diagnosis tells you whether inline moisture estimation and control would save fuel and over-drying at your dryer, and what it would need.
Check it on your plant first: a fixed-price remote diagnosis
EUR 4,500 net · 5 working days · remote · availability on request · freelance or through temporary agency work
Within a fixed scope and at a fixed price, I review your data, control structure and measurements remotely and tell you whether the problem on this page is behind your symptoms and what fixing it would take. You get a short summary for decision-makers and a technical report for your engineers.