GSI Launches Grain Drying Advancements

To help farmers maximize grain quality, GSI is adding advanced features to its lineup of grain drying equipment that will improve dryer efficiency and ease of use. This includes a new control system for TopDry AutoFlow and AutoBatch units, enhancements for GSI portable dryers, and a cost-saving tower dryer heat reclaimer.

TopDry Terminal Control

GSI has continued to update its dryer controls since the company switched to computerized systems back in 1993. The all-new TopDry Terminal Control offers advanced graphics and animation as well as increased options and control.

"The system completely controls AutoFlow or AutoBatch units," says Gary Woodruff, GSI. "TopDry Terminal Control allows you to bring grain out of the wet tank, into the system, dry it correctly to the right moisture, and put it into the TopDry's storage section."

Another benefit of the new control is the easy access to metrics and data, regardless of your location. "The standard inclusion of GSI's WatchDog System with its remote safe control and monitoring ability with any Web-enabled device means farmers don't have to be at the dryer to be in complete control. The new control is a hub to give users the precise control and accuracy they need to achieve a more efficient drying process," explains Woodruff.

The controller will come standard for all TopDry AutoFlow and AutoBatch units and will also be available as a retrofit kit for any existing TopDry units.

Portable dryer

"Whenever you talk to a farmer, efficiency and ease of use are two big things that always come up," says Woodruff. "That's why we developed Auto-Start for our portable dryer series."

Vision Auto-Start automates the process to get an AutoFlow dryer up and running. You enter the type of grain, incoming moisture, desired outgoing moisture, and then hit start. From there, Auto-Start manages the pre-drying of grain and stages the operation of the dryer, setting all of the parameters so that you don't have to.

"What used to take two to four hours can now be done in 10 minutes," says Woodruff. "With WatchDog, you can watch this process from the combine or any Web-enabled device."

Similar to the TopDry Terminal, this will now be a standard feature on GSI's new portable dryers. GSI Vision-equipped dryers from 2005 to today can be retrofit with the system.

The portable dryers have several other enhancements. The systems will now have multi-language capabilities, including English and Spanish plus 11 other languages. Rear-access doors have been increased in height to 48 or 72 inches, depending on the model, which improves accessibility and safety. Last, the systems have a new feature to help ensure that dryer moisture sensors are accurate and that dryers are operating at peak condition.

After a static moisture sample has been taken, that same sample of grain can be pulled out with the Collect-A-Sample manual grain sampler. "This process allows the exact same sample of grain to be tested by both the dryer and manually to ensure precise calibration," explains Woodruff. "In contrast, traditional grain testing can utilize different dryer and manual samples in which test results have a greater chance to vary." Collect-A-Sample is available for retrofit.

Tower Dryer Heat Reclaimer

While tower dryers are the company's most efficient dryers, GSI was determined to make them more efficient with a heat reclaimer. Prior attempts by other companies to reclaim heat from the lower part of the dryer have led to issues with debris buildup inside the dryer and the heat reclaim shroud. GSI's new patented design solves these issues while reducing operating costs by 10% to 30%, depending on grain and ambient temperatures.

How does it work? The air coming out of the middle part of the dryer may contain as much water as it does heat. GSI's heat reclaimer uses an advanced duct system to capture only the hot, dry air while letting the cold, wet air come out the bottom. "We haven't had any problems with dirt accumulation, and the reclaimer doesn't affect the capacity of the system at all," explains Woodruff.

The tower dryer heat reclaimer will be available on a limited basis this year.