The evolution of grain driers

Savannah Series Grain Driers

Perry of Oakley Ltd are the UK’s most experienced manufacturer of materials handling & drying equipment, with over 70 years of experience in the design & manufacture of machines suited to both the agricultural & industrial markets. 

Perry designed & manufactured their first continuous mixed flow grain drier back in 1955, it had a capacity of 5tph. It was built in a time when mechanical farm aids, many of which were designed by Tom Perry, David Perry’s grandfather & the founder of Perry of Oakley Ltd, were really prominent and becoming a “must” for modern-day farmers. The first Perry grain drier was a considerably advanced piece of equipment for its time, and Perry’s latest drier, the Savannah Series, is no different in that it is leading the way with drying technology.

Today, the Savannah series driers are capable of capacities from 8tph to 800tph. The Savannah series driers have significant improvements to their operation and appearance in comparison to their ‘M’ Series driers, the Savannah’s predecessor.

The operation of the fans has been improved as they are now controlled by an optional inverter and there is also the potential to save power by running the fans at reduced speed and power consumption. The fans selections have been revised to reduce the absorbed power consumption of the driers.

The overall drier width was reduced which will help when fitting the drier into existing buildings.

The Savannah Series driers come with Perry’s own advanced PLC panel, which is designed and programmed in house, and the auto control, which uses both the exhaust air temperature and hot grain temperature to give advanced control of the drier with feedback, to maintain a consistent moisture content of the discharged grain. If connected to the internet, the panel can send you email and text alerts including drier status updates and it will alert you to any issues that may have occurred while drying.

The PLC panel can also be connected to an app (available free on Google Play & iStore). While connected to the app, you can see your control panel and control it from the app. It provides a direct  link to your control panel, meaning you can control your drier from anywhere you have a mobile phone signal or a WiFi connection.

Perry’s PLC panel can also control up to 10 other machines. It shows a mimic of your plant, and allows for automatic routes and soft starts. It can help reduce the number of time a product is handled as it allows you to see the available routes quickly & clearly.

The PLC panel is compatible with Perry’s range of handling & drying equipment, but it is also compatible with other manufacturers driers & handling equipment. It can be sold separately, allowing all farmers & stores to use the most up to date technology available.

To ensure drier longevity the Savannah Series driers are built with a 2mm thick grain column for additional strength, and 3mm thick top ducts in the grain column to help prevent deformation and wear. To promote consistent movement of the grain down the grain column, even in very wet conditions, all Savannah Series Driers are fitted with pneumatically controlled Shutter discharge. This year this has been upgraded to phosphor bronze bushes on all wearing parts. These improvements, and the other key features of the Savannah range, provide a truly commercial specification grain drier for use on farms and commercial grain stores.

David Perry, the current Managing Director of Perry of Oakley Ltd said: “I’d like to think that my Grandfather is very pleased at how well the business has progressed and how far along our product range has come. We always try to stay ahead of the competition and spend a significant amount of time and money investing in our staff training, research & development and manufacturing techniques.

The factory has grown significantly over the last 20 years, and we plan for that to continue. We employ some of the most experienced engineers in the UK, which helps us provide solutions to our customers that we know will work well for them. Many of our customers are repeat buyers, we still have machines in use that were manufactured and installed in the 1940’s, which shows that our machines are made to last!”

Perry of Oakley Ltd also manufacture a full range of 10tph – 1000tph handling equipment including chain & flight conveyors, belt & bucket elevators, augers & screw conveyors, aspirator pre-cleaners, belt conveyors & much more.

To find out more about Perry of Oakley & their range of drying and handling equipment call +44 (0)1404 890300 or email sales@perryofoakley.co.uk. You can also find a full list of products & services at www.perryofoakley.co.uk