A grain dryer is a system and means for drying grain having a grain conveyor and pair of blower motors. A first blower motor has a heat exchange while a second blower motor has a cool air exchange. A screen covers the conveyor to ensure the grains stay in position. Grain is moved along the system by means of an auger.

An agricultural incline conveyor having belt guards extending longitudinally through a curvilinear portion from a tail inlet to a head outlet. The belt guards protect linear edges of a belt within the curvilinear portion during mixing operations. A plurality of mixing baffles positioned within the curvilinear portion induce turbulent backflow of a metered stream of seed being transported through the curvilinear portion. The longitudinal guards prevent the loss of transported seed from entering between the belt and a trough of the curvilinear portion.

A heating apparatus for supplying heated air to a dryer for grain or other particulate materials. The apparatus features a biomass furnace with a burn chamber for combustible biomass material, a chimney having a lower end in fluid communication with the burn chamber interior, and air ducting that has a fresh air inlet, an output end connected or connectable to the dryer, and is in in fluid communication with the chimney to enable redirection of said heated exhaust air from the chimney to the dryer via the air ducting. An airflow control system is configured to both control airflow to the dryer through the air ducting, and control a temperature of said airflow by varying a ratio between the fresh ambient air and the heated exhaust air.

A method of and a system for drying a material in a drying chamber (100), the method comprising the steps of; supplying air to an air-drying system (114, 214, 314) which air-drying system comprises; an air inlet (116), a first heat exchanger (204) having a first warm side (204a) and a first cold side (204b); a heat pump (318) comprising an evaporator (206), a condenser (208) and a compressor (316) arranged to provide a first heat transfer from the evaporator (206) to the condenser (208); an air outlet (118) arranged to supply the air to the drying chamber (100); a second heat exchanger (210) having a second warm side (210a) and a second cold side (210b), the second cold side (210b) being connected a heat transfer medium capable of absorbing heat from the second warm side (210a) through a second heat transfer, the second heat exchanger (210) being arranged downstream of the first cold (204b) side and upstream of the air outlet (118); and an air flow device (202) arranged to control the air flow rate from the air inlet (116) to the air outlet (118) for supplying air into a drying chamber (100); passing the air, by means of the air flow device (202), from the air inlet (116), sequentially through the first warm side (204a) of the first heat exchanger (204), the evaporator (206), the first cold side (204b) of the first heat exchanger (204), the condenser (208) and the air outlet (118) and further passing the air through the second warm side (210a) of the second heat exchanger (210); and alternately heating and cooling the air passing the air-drying system (114, 214, 314), wherein heating the air comprises promoting the first heat transfer while suppressing the second heat transfer, and cooling the air comprises suppressing the first heat transfer while promoting the second air transfer.

(FIG. 2)

A harvester high efficiency heat utilization device to be used in a harvester, includes: a drying chamber that dries grains of crops; a pipe that communicates with the drying chamber; a first heat exchanger provided in the pipe so as to communicate with an exhaust gas discharge port of an engine of the harvester; a combustion chamber that burns foliage of the crops; a second heat exchanger provided in the pipe so as to communicate with a high temperature gas discharge port of the combustion chamber; and a first blower that guides gas heat-exchanged by the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger to the drying chamber through the pipe.

A grain tower, including a silo; a false bottom including alternating upward slanted portions and downward slanted portions; a plurality of ventilation openings adapted to allow air to pass through, but not grain to pass through; and a plurality of extraction openings adapted to extract grain from the silo.

An aeration system for aerating particulate material disposed in a storage bin. The aeration system includes an aerator forming an elongated hollow body for being placed inside the storage bin such that a longitudinal axis thereof is oriented substantially vertical and an air supply duct connected to the aerator for providing the airflow thereto. The aerator enables an airflow therein along the longitudinal axis and provides the same to the particulate material. The aerator is made of a plurality of modular sections adapted for being stacked upon each other along the longitudinal axis. Each modular section has a bottom connecting element and a top connecting element placed at a bottom end and a top end thereof, respectively, with the top connecting element being mated with the respective bottom connecting element of an adjacent modular section. Each modular section has a conduit enabling the airflow along the longitudinal axis. At least an opening is disposed in the conduit of at least one modular section for providing the airflow to the particulate material. The at least an opening is covered by a cover extending from the conduit downwardly and outwardly.

Grain flow paths have an upper portion which is a mixed flow portion and which includes a preheat zone and a lower portion which is an undulating moisture equalizer portion and which includes a heat zone. Mixed flow grain diverters extend across the grain flow path substantially perpendicular to longitudinal side walls, and substantially parallel to transverse end walls of the grain flow path. Upper airflow openings are associated with each of the upper diverters. Moisture equalizer lower grain diverters extend along the longitudinal sides grain flow path substantially parallel to the longitudinal side walls, and substantially perpendicular to the transverse end walls of the grain flow path. The burner is positioned outside the airflow path to feed ambient air into the recirculating airflow path, without recirculating airflow passing through the burner.

A conveyor having a conveyance structure, mixing components, belt, and gas manifold. The gas manifold disposed within or on an exterior portion of the structure. The gas manifold having one or more manifold outlet ports to dry, condition, or treat a metered stream of seed within the conveyor. The manifold may be operably connected to a recirculating air system providing the vacuum source and pressurized air source of atmospheric or conditioned air. A filter and vacuum port may extract debris or humidity from the metered stream of seed within the conveyor. A plurality of mixing baffles may be longitudinally spaced apart through the conveyor in a laterally alternating manner to mix the metered stream of seed. The conveyor may be used to transfer, mix, dry, condition and treat the metered stream of seed between multiple stages of treatment.

An automatic drying method for a grain dryer has a preparing step, a parameter-setting step, and a multi-stage drying step. The preparing step includes preparing an automatic drying device. The automatic drying device has a body, at least two drying sections, and a detecting module. Each drying section has a hot air inlet, a net-layer base, and at least one exhaust pipe. The detecting module is connected to the body and has at least two moisture meters, at least two temperature sensors, a rotary unit, and a processing unit. The parameter-setting step comprises setting a temperature value and a moisture content of each drying section. The multi-stage drying step comprises conveying pre-dried grains into each drying section, importing hot air into each drying section to dry the pre-dried grains, and adjusting an operating speed of the rotary unit and the temperature of the hot air.