| Purpose |
Mechanical
drying of grains and other crops |
| Capacity |
2.25
Metric ton of shelled Maize. It has a 22"diameter
six blade propeller fan powered by a 6 hp petrol
engine.
It can dry a batch in 4 to 8 hours depending on
the initial and final moisture constent of the product. |
| Advantage |
It
is heated by a furnace-heat exchanger that burns
biomass materials such as maize cobs, wood, charcoal
and other dried agricultural wastes.
It can be built from local materials by smaller
metal workshops.
The grain compartment can be built of plywood or
burnt bricks.
Its drying tray is made of 1/4" mesh poultry
wire.
It requires manual loading and unloading of grains. |
| Disadvantage |
There
is a moisture gradient from the bottom layer to
the top ranging from 1 to 1.5 percentage point. |
| Cost |
Grain
dryer compartment: US$ 375
Fan assembly: US$ 340
Biomass furnace-heat exchanger: US$ 310
Petrol Engine (6 hp): US$ 620 |
| Market
potential / Status |
Five
units have been built bought by local farmers, traders
and processors, many more people have shown interest.
(December 1999) |
| Information
provided by |
Post-Harvest
Handling& Storage Project, Uganda, P.O. Box
7856 Kampala. Phone: (256)-41-234531 |
| |
Picture
1
Picture 2 (Side view) |
| Fan
and heater assembly available by: |
JBT
Engineering Works, Kampala, P.O. Box 11091. Phone:
(256) - 41-532861 |
