Barn Owl keeps eye on humidity in crop store
Barn Owl keeps eye on humidity in crop store
A CROP store monitoring system which can take continuous measurements of grain moisture is now available from Martin Lishman.
The Barn Owl employs a new type of low-cost sensor to measure the relative humidity and temperature of grain stored in bins or silos. These trigger warning alarms and activate fan controls should conditions change.
The maker recommends that sensors are placed in a 6m grid system to ensure all the crop is monitored effectively.
Readings are processed by a computer which can be programmed to achieve required results. For example, grain at 16%-18% moisture is only vented when the relative humidity of the air is less than 72% and the air temperature is at least 3C below the grain wet bulb temperature.
Described as being a modular system, data can be down loaded to a hand held computer. A single cable connects several sensors over a distance of 200m and, says the manufacturer, hundreds of sensors can be connected to the same system.
Price of the Barn Owl, which can be used for stores with capacities of up to 50,000t, starts at £220 which includes software and three temperature sensors.