Drying
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.
Kenton in Illinois
Kenton has had his Dryer Master DM510 for four years. He uses it on his Grain Handler dryer to dry about 250,000 bushels of corn a year.
What convinced you to buy a Dryer Master in the first place?
What I first liked about the Dryer Master was that it has an input sensor as well as an output sensor so it can anticipate changes.
How often do you calibrate your sensors?
I calibrate the input sensor twice a year and the output sensor about every 3 hours of drying time or when there is a bigger change of input moisture or a hybrid change. It seems like different hybrids do test differently.
Do you use DM Mobile? If so, when/how do you use it?
I used DM Mobile for the first full season this year and it gave me the confidence to be away from the dryer and do other things and still know what is going on. It also alerted me to a problem that had arisen one evening after I had gone home.
Have you contacted the Dryer Master Support Centre? What was your experience?
Everyone at the support center has always been extremely helpful with any situation that I have had come up.
Richard in South Dakota
Richard dries about 800,000 bushels a year of corn and beans in his 3,500 bu. capacity grain dryer, a dryer that he is looking to add more tiers to to get even more capacity. He has had his Dryer Master DM510 since 2011. For the 2017 season, he upgraded by adding DM Mobile, Dryer Master’s remote access application.
How does the Dryer Master change the way you dry? Using the Dryer Master changes the way we harvest, such as which fields we are going to harvest next. We are not as concerned about the moisture content in each field.
How often do you calibrate the outlet sensor, and what procedure do you use? We probably calibrate the outlet sensor twice a day. We take 4-5 samples during the calibration time, mix them together, and bench sample them to get an average moisture.
Do you use DM Mobile? We started using DM Mobile this year on my cell phone. I watch the outlet moisture from my phone as well as the drying rate and the drying temp. I like being able to change it from Auto to Local or Manual from my combine or my house. It is nice to be able to check things from the house at night without going to the bin site a mile away.
Mark in Indiana
Mark is relatively new to Dryer Master. He has had his DM510 for two years now. He uses it to dry about 500,000 bushels of corn and wheat in his Delux dryer.
Why did you buy a Dryer Master in the first place.
It was recommended by my dealer.
Have you found a financial difference in your drying performance using Dryer Master? In what way?
The Dryer Master is a management tool. It saves money by not over drying or under drying the grain. This saves in minimizing grain shrink and moisture dock and it gives gas savings.
Is there anything you would like to see changed in the Dryer Master (new fe
atures?)
I’d like to see “suggested rates” in manual mode to show on DM Mobile. (DM Comment: Excellent idea. This is something we will be adding.)
Do you use DM-Mobile? If so how do you use it (phone/PC/home/at night?), how often do you use it?
DM Mobile is my favorite feature. I use it all day while in the combine and it is on when I go to bed, so I can wake during the night and check the dryer in bed. It is great peace of mind!
Joe in Ohio
Joe has had a Dryer Master for 20 years. He started with a DM500 and recently updated to a DM510 model. His site dries about 500,000 bushels a year of corn and wheat and sometimes soybeans with their Zimmerman dryer. The first photo is of the outlet sensor installation.
Why did you buy a Dryer Master in the first place?
The Dryer Master allowed us to have an inlet sensor which helps with anticipating the speed of the dryer whether in automatic or manual. Before we were chasing and guessing but after it was installed it allowed us to be a lot more consistent in our drying.
How often do you typically calibrate your outlet moisture sensor? And what is your calibration procedure?
Depending on time, help and operator we usually calibrate it every hour to once or twice a day. The calibration process is so easy we have incorporated it into our dryer checks.
Do you use DM-Mobile? If so how do you use it (phone/PC/home/at night?), how often do you use it?
We do use the DM-Mobile, mostly though a PC but occasionally with a smartphone. Anytime we leave the dryer to go to another part of the plant it allows us to monitor the dryer. We found that the biggest help is it allows you to take your experienced guys and use them where they are needed but they can also work through and teach less experienced personnel and while still keeping an eye on the dryer.
Any other advice or comments you would like to pass on to someone ?
The Dryer Master team does a great job providing service and technical support to their customers. It is reassuring knowing that during the middle of harvest you can call and troubleshoot a problem with a person who knows the product and cares.
Jared in Illinois
Jared is a new Dryer Master user who added a Dryer Master to his Grain Handler dryer in 2016. He uses it to dry about 250,000 bushels of corn a year.
Did anything surprise you about how your Dryer Master worked when you first used it?
I was very pleased with the simplicity and how user friendly the DM510 was to learn and operate.
Do you use DM-Mobile? If so how do you use it (phone/PC/home/at night?), how often do you use it?
Since I’m in the field and not at our dryer, I use DM Mobile all day every day to continually monitor the dryer. I also check DM-Mobile just before I go to bed and get text alerts if something goes wrong. This feature is near real time with only a few seconds of latency. It gives me peace of mind knowing the dryer is working properly when I’m away from our bin site.
Any other advice or comments you would like to pass on to someone?
Don’t let the price of the DM 510 scare you away. It’s definitely worth the investment because over or under dried grain can be very costly. Also, Dryer Master’s customer support has exceeded my expectations! They have been great to work with.
Chris in Illinois
Chris has a Grain Handler 2416 dryer that he uses to dry about 500,000 bushels of White and Yellow Food Grade Corn. He has had his DM510 for 2 years now. His DM510 is conveniently located right next to where he does his manual moisture tests.
Why did you buy a Dryer Master in the first place?
We bought the DM510 to automate and remotely control our Grain Handler 2416.
How often do you typically calibrate your outlet moisture sensor? And what is your calibration procedure?
During harvest we sample and calibrate every 1 to 1.5 hours. We press the sample button, run it through our Perten tester three times, average the results, and enter the moisture into the DM510.
Do you use DM-Mobile? If so how do you use it (phone/PC/home/at night?), how often do you use it?
Yes, I monitor the dryer via an IPad while in the combine during the day and use my IPhone at home after work. It is used all the time the dryer is running.
Trevor in North Dakota
Trevor dries less than 250,000 bushels annually of corn and wheat with his Grain Handler dryer. He has had his Dryer Master DM510 for three seasons now.
What had you heard about Dryer Master before you purchased one?
Advanced Grain Handling suggested a Dryer Master because that is what they had and really liked it. We wanted something that was smart phone capable and we are glad we got the Dryer Master.
Why did you buy a Dryer Master in the first place?
To be more productive… We couldn’t run 24 hours a day before the Dryer Master because we didn’t want to under dry or over dry.. with the Dryer Master we can run 24 hours a day which is huge to getting our crop off before the weather changes in North Dakota… Every day is crucial and we have to be able to get the crop off and dry it down!
How does the Dryer Master change the way that you dry, or alter your drying operations from
an operational perspective?
We decreased paying a guy to baby sit the dryer all day. With Dryer Master we can look at our phones when we are not by it. Semi drivers and always monitoring it when dumping their trucks. We dialed in our set point for our dryer and it comes out consistent throughout our desired moisture for storage.
Did anything surprise you about how your Dryer Master worked when you first used it?
It took awhile to get used to it and a lot of phone calls just to get everything set but now we are familiar with everything.
Have you found a financial difference in your drying performance using Dryer Master? In what
way?
Any kind of product that can give you a return on your investment is crucial in this business. This monitoring system pays for itself yearly in our eyes with the elevators being so aggressive on drying and shrink charges.
Dryer Master 
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