BIO-TAP Grain Bin Port
Information • Background • Design
Millions of bushels of grain are stored in various facilities throughout the United States. A significant portion of this grain is stored in smaller on-farm grain bin storage facilities. These on-farm storage facilities are primarily made of rolled corrugated, galvanized steel. There has historically been a need to test the grain within these facilities from time to time for moisture content, the presence of mold and rot, and for insect problems. Of more recent concern is the need to obtain representative samples from on-farm storage facilities so as to test to ensure the absence of genetically modified crops commingled with other crops stored within the bin.
Historically, grain samples for testing have been obtained during the loading process when grain was being augered or otherwise moved through a chute to be dumped into the storage facility, usually through a top located hatch assembly. Other known methods of sampling grain called for the use of pointed probes, boring apparatus or other devices which were inserted into the stored grain through the top of the storage facility or, otherwise, called for an individual to enter the storage facility standing on the grain so as to obtain a vertically drawn sample. These methods were both inconvenient, did not obtain grain samples representative of the bin contents, and, in the case of the method requiring entry of an individual into the storage bin, were potentially dangerous.
BIO-TAP consists of a port which may be placed at differing height intervals in the side of the on-farm or smaller grain storage bin. The port is sealed with the sealing apparatus to prevent the introduction of unwanted moisture or insects into the storage cavity of the grain bin. A standard sharp pointed probe available in the industry is utilized with the invention. Once the sealed cap is removed, the probe is inserted through the port horizontally into the stored grain to obtain grain samples at whatever intervals are provided by the standard probe mechanism.
The standard wagon load of grain consists of 220 bushels. Grain is typically augered up to the top of the grain storage bin and enters by gravity feed through the top hatch. As each wagon load fills the bin, the grain achieves an angle of repose. This angle of repose has been measured to be about 17.5.degree. Using a horizontal grain probe through the BIO-TAP port, and because of the angle of the repose of the grain sitting in storage, different wagonloads will be obtained with the horizontal sampling mechanism. This allows for obtaining a significant number of samples which is more representative of the mix of the grain stored within the facility with a minimum of effort.
United States Patent #6532836
The Bio-Tap Grain Sampling Port