Automatic moisture controller
Dave in Michigan
Dave dries about 250,000 bu/year of corn, wheat and soybeans with his 1612 model Grain Handler dryer. He has had his Dryer Master DM510 since 2016.
What had you heard about Dryer Master before you purchased one?
I had seen DM at trade shows. DM came highly recommended by our dryer dealer.
How does the Dryer Master change the way that you dry, from an operational perspective?
The DM gives me better information to monitor my drying operation.
How often do you typically calibrate your outlet moisture sensor? And what is your calibration procedure?
Every 2 to 3 hours depending on incoming moisture. We take a few samples into a pail, mix and test.
Do you use DM-Mobile? If so how do you use it (phone/PC/home/at night?), how often do you use it?
I use DM-Mobile to check the dryer at night from home on my phone. If things are running smoothly, a couple of times before bed and 1st thing in the morning – if conditions are tough, several times while away from dryer.
Have you contacted Dryer Master Support Center? And if so, what was the experience?
DM support is fantastic! They’re always helpful and work on a problem until it’s resolved. Very responsive.
Mike in Wisconsin
Mike has had his DryerMaster DM510 since 2016. He uses it with his MC 1075 dryer to dry over 500,000 bushels of corn a year.
How does the Dryer Master change the way that you dry, from an operational perspective?
The Dryer Master allows us to dry every bushel to the same moisture, day in and day out. Lets us watch the dryer every day, every hour. We always know whats going on.
How often do you typically calibrate your outlet moisture sensor? And what is your calibration procedure?
We calibrate at least 2 times a day at a minimum. We run samples out the dryer against our moisture meter, and calibrate using those samples, checking them at least three times and taking an average.
Do you use DM-Mobile? If so how do you use it (phone/PC/home/at night?), how often do you use it?
Phone. 20 times a day at least.
Is there anything you would like to see changed in the Dryer Master (new features?)
I would like to see multiple burner temps on the Dryer Master. (DM Note: The DM510 currently monitors one drying air temperature in the dryer.)
Lowell in Minnesota
Lowell has had his Dryer Master DM510 for three years. He uses it on his 4024 Grain Handler dryer, drying about 1 million bushels of corn per year.
How much training was required to operate the Dryer Master?
A couple hours.
How does the Dryer Master change the way you dry?
I can go do other work and not worry about the dryer adjustments.
Did anything surprise you about the Dryer Master?
The simplicity.
Compared to manual sampling how much difference does having real time moisture information make? Why?
Big difference. We have a large wet bin and if we get a wetter variety in there the real time knows when to adjust.
How often do you calibrate your sensors? What is your calibration procedure?
Daily just to confirm. We test incoming and outgoing grain and do the calibration on the DM.
Do you use DM Mobile? If so, when/how do you use it?
Yes we love to be able to see the dryer info remotely. We do make some adjustments from the mobile device.
Have you contacted the Dryer Master Support Centre? What was your experience?
Great service.
Greg in Ontario
Greg has been using Dryer Master since 1993, so that is a total of 25 years! In that time he has upgraded from his original DM150 model and added a second system. He now runs his a new DM510 on his Zimmerman VT2541 tower dryer and his older DM500 on his Farm Fans CMS-1000H. He typically dries about 1.4 million bushels a year of corn and occasionally soybeans.
How much training was required to operate the Dryer Master?
4-6 hours initially, then some followup when we upgraded models.
How often do you calibrate your sensors?
Twice daily, unless there is a wide variation in wet test weight, then we check more often.
Have you contacted the Dryer Master Support Centre? What was your experience?
Yes, we upgraded one unit and replaced another. TechSupp was excellent at preparing us for the switch over and correcting the minor problems that cropped up.
Is there anything you would like to see improved in the Dryer Master?
There are read outs for inlet grain temp, outlet grain temp, and plenum temp, but not for grain temp (in the column). We have to go outside to the dryer
panel to view this.
DM Comment: This could be an option in the future. For now we have tried to keep the operation and installation as simple as possible and only gather information that will be used in the control calculations. The grain temps from the moisture sensor are used in the moisture reading calculations and the plenum temp is monitored so that the the control model can be immediately updated if the dryer operator changes their drying temp. The grain column temp is not used in the control calculations so it would only be provided for informational purposes.
Mike in Michigan
Mike works with two Dryer Master DM510s. with the first one having been purchased almost 20 years ago. Both DM510s run on ffi dryers. The site dries about 600,000 bushels of corn per year.
What convinced you to buy a Dryer Master in the first place?
We were convinced to buy one because our neighbors and the local co-op had one.
Compared to manual sampling how much difference does having real time moisture information make?
The real time samples are helpful to our operation by having the peace of mind to know the moisture of the corn going into the bin even when we’re not there. (Note: in the picture below, the outlet moisture sensor is mounted in a Dryer Master bypass chute with a rotary feed. Directly below the sensor is the green button used to start a moisture sensor calibration.)
How much training was required to operate the Dryer Master?
It is fairly simple to operate. Not much training is required.
Have you contacted the Dryer Master Support Center? What was your experience?
We have contacted the support center. They have always been very helpful and timely in getting the Dryer Master running again.
Dryer Master 
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