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Farmall & IHC Tractors Discussion Forum
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removing frozen silage from silo walls

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K.B.-826

01-23-2007 16:44:33




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As you guys probably know, corn silage freezes to silo walls. Unfortunatly, it dosen't freeze evenly on all sides. The south side may only have a 1/2" that peels right off, while the north side may have several inches built up. This causes an out-of-round condition and the unloader's slip clutch tends to slip when it gets to the thick build-up. This stuff can be an all day job to get chipped off if you've had a week of 10 degree temps. Anyone know of a better method of removal than going at it with an axe all afternoon?

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Seeing Red

01-24-2007 06:14:14




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 Re: removing frozen silage from silo walls in reply to K.B.-826, 01-23-2007 16:44:33  
We have ring drive Hansons and don't have that problem to the degree we did when we had silo matics or P&D. When we did have trouble like that, we used an electric chain saw and threw it out in hunks. I will agree that a properly adjusted unloader will not do that. Adjust wall wheels and keep enough tension against the wall.



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Nat 2

01-24-2007 04:54:15




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 Re: removing frozen silage from silo walls in reply to K.B.-826, 01-23-2007 16:44:33  
You probably won't like this answer, but if you made more frequent trips up the silo in colder weather to clean off the walls, it wouldn't get built up quite so much. Thin buildups are much easier to peel off with a silage fork than letting it go until the unloader won't go any more and having to beat it off with an axe. I know Dad watches the weather and any time it gets anywhere near freezing this time of year, he's up the silo to clean the walls, averages about once a week.

Having done the whole chip-with-axe routine, it's awkward. I think a "Big Mutt" or one of those shingle removers would be a much more comfortable tool to use. You could stand up and work vertically instead of horizontally with the axe.

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Hugh MacKay

01-24-2007 05:06:12




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 Re: removing frozen silage from silo walls in reply to Nat 2, 01-24-2007 04:54:15  
Nat: Some of us live in a climate where the round mouth shovel or fork will not touch even a thin layer. If you get day time highs of -20F, you'd understand. You just hope for a mild day once a week.



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chuck46

01-23-2007 19:43:12




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 Re: removing frozen silage from silo walls in reply to K.B.-826, 01-23-2007 16:44:33  
Hi, What kind of unloader? It should do a better job, I would do some work on it. I have 4 Patz and one Van Dale, keep them maintaned and adjusted, seldom have to use the axe here in Minnesota.



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K.B.-826

01-23-2007 20:12:16




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 Re: removing frozen silage from silo walls in reply to chuck46, 01-23-2007 19:43:12  
Hanson ring-drive. Definetly maintained and adjusted, have two more in the haylage silos (both are older/more worn out). I think the main problem is that the corn silage goes in at a much higher moisture level, and it gets chopped into much finer particles, thus it freezes harder



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Hugh MacKay

01-24-2007 02:46:51




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 Re: removing frozen silage from silo walls in reply to K.B.-826, 01-23-2007 20:12:16  
KB: I always found corn to be much worse than haylage as well. I'm sorry can't tell you any better solution than the axe or chain saw when it happens. These guys can tell you all they want about adjustment, however I always found those devices to be a bit Mickey Mouse. They work well in areas where you get very little frost, for example where hard pack snow does not stay on gravel roads, or where you regularly see guys out plowing in Jan. like here in SW ON.

I can tell you after many years of discussing this with neighbors, the Patz unloaders seem to do the best. That was the general feeling amoung folks in my area 30 years ago.

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JayWalt

01-23-2007 19:09:42




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 Re: removing frozen silage from silo walls in reply to K.B.-826, 01-23-2007 16:44:33  
Assuming the silo is empty, take a bunch of your old tractor tires and about 5 gallons of gasoline and light her up!!
On second thought, that's probably not a good idea =P



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Fromjb2

01-23-2007 17:28:32




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 Re: removing frozen silage from silo walls in reply to K.B.-826, 01-23-2007 16:44:33  
Hi KB, can be a real problem in a cold climate. We never had much of a problem with a Patz silo unloader. The Patz has a chipper wheel that rides on the wall to chip away the frozen silage. One winter spring broke on chipper wheel and no one had gone up in silo for several days and there was about 1 ft on the north wall. Had to use chainsaw to cut it out in squares.
Be interesting to hear other peoples solutions.

JimB

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GeneP

01-23-2007 18:02:58




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 Re: removing frozen silage from silo walls in reply to Fromjb2, 01-23-2007 17:28:32  
You didn't mention if it was plaster or epoxy coated. I would guess epoxy would be easier to damage. Ours is plaster, although we havent filled it for 10 years we did use it for better than 20 years. We always had to get up there with an old ax. Try to catch as warm a day as possible and manytimes I have seen huge slabs come off. We had a silomatic and it also had chippers and did a pretty fair job of keeping the frozen silage to around 3"

Good luck, I feel for you, Gene

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K.B.-826

01-23-2007 20:18:22




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 Re: removing frozen silage from silo walls in reply to GeneP, 01-23-2007 18:02:58  
Plaster. Every once in a while I'll miss and hit the wall with a glancing blow of the axe. Dosen't seem to hurt it any but I definently wouldn't make a point of doing that.



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Dave Sherburne NY

01-24-2007 07:46:13




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 Re: removing frozen silage from silo walls in reply to K.B.-826, 01-23-2007 20:18:22  
Get it adjusted the best you can, then its up
the silo with the tools every time it the temperature goes up.



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