A new do-it-yourself solar grain dryer cuts relative humidity in half and reduces costs as well.
“Two years of testing data shows that our solar grain dryer raised the temperature of the air coming in by 10 degrees C every sunny day through to October,” says Leroy Bader, an extension agrologist with Saskatchewan Agriculture in Tisdale.
Bader said the solar grain dryer will be useful for drying medicinal herbs as well as grain, and is a reasonable alternative to other energy sources.
The design, creation and testing of this energy-saving alternative were undertaken by the District 26 Agricultural Development and Diversification Board in 1996. Designed by a committee composed of three farmers, an ADD board technician and Bader, the plan was refined by Edwin Arinze, a professor in the University of Saskatchewan’s agriculture and bioresource department.
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“Then, to test our design, we set up monitoring equipment on a steel, 3,000-bushel, hopper-bottom bin on a farm belonging to a member of the committee. A seven-horse power fan provided air flow for the system.
“Inside the bin and solar collector were thermocouplers and other monitoring equipment, which downloaded information every 10 minutes into a computer set up in a small trailer beside the bins. From this continuous record of temperature and humidity we determined how effective the solar collector was in raising the temperature of the incoming air.”
Bader said the project was initiated because the ADD board believes solar energy is under-used, but recognizes the high cost of commercial solar-collecting units.
“They also know that, if farmers have a blueprint for building a solar collector, they will make it themselves and find various uses for it as well. Our solar collector is designed to be inexpensive.
“We used commonly available materials such as aluminum window screening instead of the expensive shutter system.
“But the biggest saving will be in labor. Farmers will be able to build it during the winter, fully confident that it will do the job for them.”
To obtain design plans and test results, telephone the rural service centre in Tisdale at 306-878-8806 or e-mail Bader at Lbader@agr/gov.sk.ca.
