corn
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.
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.
Brian in Pennsylvania
Brian dries about 250,000 bushels of corn and soybeans with his Grain Handler 1610 dryer. He has now had a Dryer Master DM510 for 3 seasons. In the photo of the DM510 panel, on the right there is a small black device. This is part of the remote wireless I/O setup option. This option simplifies installations where the DM510 panel is located at a far distance from the dryer, or where a conduit run would be difficult.
Why did you buy a Dryer Master in the first place?
It was recommended by the Dealer and Rep from Grain Handler
Did anything surprise you about how your Dryer Master worked when you first used it?
I was surprised how it could compensate for different input moisture after it had run long enough to build the data it needed. Compensates better for large input changes than any other controller I have used.
How often d
o you typically calibrate your outlet moisture sensor? And what is your calibration procedure? (Note: The photo is of the outlet sensor installation. Brian diverts a portion of the outlet flow to a pipe where the sensor is mounted. The product flow past the sensor is kept constant by the auger that returns the product to the main stream. )
Check / Calibrate several times daily especially if we changed varieties of corn. Also check before overnight. I recalibrate if its more than a couple tenths off. I push the calibrate button mounted near sensor and take a sample over about 20 to 30 seconds. Gives me enough grain to run two tests on my moisture tester. If both tests are close to the same, I average and recalibrate. If the tests are not close, I start over.
Ryan in Ontario
Ryan has been a Dryer Master user since 1999. The first Dryer Master installed was a DM500 model and it went in at their then only drying location. In 2009, with the construction of a new facility at a new location, two Dryer Master DM510s were added for their Dorssers dryer. (For those unfamiliar with the Dorssers dryer it is an Ontario made dryer that you can see at quite a few locations around Southern Ontario.) In Ryan’s case each Dryer Master controls 1/2 of the dryer and so you can have the two sides running at different speeds. Combined, Ryan dries around 750,000 bushels of corn a year.
Why did you buy a Dryer Master in the first place?
The ease of controlling the dryer and improving the output consistency for storage. We also liked the idea that you could run it in an automatic mode which allowed us to focus time on other areas of the business during harvest.
How does the Dryer Master change the way that you dry, or alter your drying operations from an operational perspective?
When operating the Dryer Master, patience is key. You have to have trust in the system to follow the targets that you set out to achieve. It allows you to focus on other areas of operations during the peak time and yet have faith that the targets will be met.
Did anything surprise you about how your Dryer Master worked when you first used it?
It takes a bit of time to have faith that the targets will be met. At the conclusion of the year, it is surprising how close the targets are met when the final report is generated. This goes to show that corrections are made throughout the drying season and in the end you achieve what you had set as a goal going into harvest.
What drying tips (if any) would you like to pass on to other dryer owners about how to get the most out of their dryer and/or their Dryer Master?
Patience is key, give the DM time to learn the characteristics of the grain and it will meet your requirements. Keep an eye on all the moisture pods for blockage as this can give false readings.
How often do you typically calibrate your outlet moisture sensor?
We calibrate quiet often and likely too much.Every half hour if we have issues. On average we likely calibrate every 1.5 hours. When things are busy every 2-4 hours. It is nice to be able to go to the screen and know that the physical product is accurate to what the reading is giving you.
Pete in Michigan
Pete is a long time Dryer Master user. He bought his first two Dryer Master systems (DM150 models) way back 1996, one for an older Delux dryer and one for a Redex. He currently has two DM510 models, one on a 2014 model Delux DPX16GT dryer and the other on an older Meyer 2000 bu./hr. dryer. He uses them for drying over 2 million bushels a year of corn, soybeans and soft red wheat.
Why did you buy a Dryer Master in the first place?
I was unhappy with our drying results. We would over dry and also under dry. Also we had acquired another location where the drying was even more erratic due to varying corn moistures and an inability to control the dryer.
Did anything surprise you about how your Dryer Master worked when you first used it?
Yes it would adjust the speed when we did not think it should but it was correct and the dry corn coming out of the dryer was much more stable.
Have you found a financial difference in your drying performance using Dryer Master? In what way?
Yes we can ship corn right at the target level of moisture that we want to. The over drying of corn costs much more than most people realize. Also we dry wheat to ship to flour mills that have strict moisture requirements.
What drying tips (if any) would you like to pass on to other dryer owners about how to get the most out of their dryer and/or their Dryer Master?
I would stage corn in a wet bin and run air for two days then dry it. This means more wet storage and then drying 24 hours a day when you start to dry. The longer we run the dryer the better job we do.
Any other 
advice or comments you would like to pass on?
We have tried three different dryer controllers that were dryer manufacturer based and the Dryer Master simply works better in my opinion. The experience that they have with other industries and other products gives them much more knowledge than just about grain drying.
Dryer Master Experiences: Larry in Ontario
Larry dries about 15,000 tons a year of corn, wheat, soybeans and canola and he has used Dryer Masters for the last 3 years.
Larry has a rather unique setup with 2 Dryer Master DM510s on his Grain Handler 4020 grain dryer (40 feet long, 20 sections high). Each DM510 controls one side of the dryer, with each side having its own separate drive. And yes, the two sides of the dryer will often run at different speeds. The picture to the side shows two of the newest Dryer Master sensor chutes with a rotary feed (highlighted with the black circles).
Why did you buy a Dryer Master in the first place?
To get a reliable controller for the dryer.
How does the Dryer Master change the way that you dry, or help your drying operations from an operational perspective?
Makes life easier not having to keep adjusting the output of the dryer.
Did anything surprise you about how your Dryer Master worked when you first used it?
We had had one on our older dryer (an MC 1195) but with the Grain Handler it seems to want to take control faster and is more consistent.
How much difference does it make to have real time moisture information versus having to go out and take a sample.
It’s a huge difference because at harvest time it gets busy unloading trucks and grading samples. I used to take moisture samples every hour but now with where the inlet and outlet sensors are, they are really accurate, so now if there is a lull with crop coming in I will take a sample, maybe twice a day.
What drying tips (if any) would you like to pass on to other dryer owners about how to get the most out of their dryer, their drying operations, and/or their Dryer Master?
After talking to Wolf at Dryer Master we started using 2 wet bins, so we dry the corn that came in yesterday, today (having let it sit a day). Really made the corn easier to dry – especially the first of the harvest. It seems to bring the moisture closer to the tip of the kernel.
Dryer Master Experiences: Jon in Ontario
Jon is relatively new to Dryer Master but he is great example of how moisture control is no longer just for big elevators, and how more and more it is making its way into smaller operations.
Jon has a DM510 system and has had it for 2 seasons now. He added it as a retrofit onto an MC dryer and dries about 300,000 bushels a year of corn and soybeans.
Why did you
buy a Dryer Master in the first place?
We had been having issues with the original controller, the dryer had to be babysat 24/7. With just myself looking after the elevator during harvest it became very necessary to find a controller that I could trust so that I could get some sleep and be functional the next day.
How does the Dryer Master change the way that you dry, or help your drying operations from an operational perspective?
It has given me a lot more confidence in my drying system which allows me focus on other parts of the system which need my attention during the course of the day. Once its up and running I check the calibration once in the morning and once more before I head to the house for the night. With the Dryer Master running I just don’t stress about my dryer anymore.
Did anything surprise you about how your Dryer Master worked when you first used it?
I thought it would be more complicated to run than it is. I was completely comfortable running the system within just a couple of hours. The over the phone support is great, everybody at Dryer Master seems to know the system like the back of their hand.
What drying tips (if any) would you like to pass on to other dryer owners about how to get the most out of their dryer and/or their Dryer Master?
Give the system time to react if you make changes to the settings. 1-1.5 hours depending on how fast the dryer is running. Too many changes in a short period of time will have you frustrated and chasing your tail. Once the Dryer Master is up and running it takes very little interaction to keep it going. Let it work and find something else to fuss over.
Have you found a financial difference in your drying performance using Dryer Master? In what way?
The biggest financial gain for us would be the accuracy that it can discharge grain at the correct moisture. We have noticed that when shipping grain out, our bins are much more even top to bottom, with no wild swings in moisture. Over and under drying used to cost us every year, now its pretty much a non issue.
Do you use DM Mobile? If so how do you use it (phone/PC/home/at night?)
Yes, definitely. This is a huge benefit to my operation. I use it throughout the day from my Iphone, and also at night from my Ipad or Iphone. I can wake up a couple times through the night, see whats happening and get back to sleep. It has made the harvest season mush easier to get through. My days run much smoother because I’m not completely exhausted from being up all night with the dryer.
Dryer Master 
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