Jerry Needed a Crane to Fix His Auger

This is a picture I took Saturday afternoon to show the equipment needed to fix my wet corn auger. Wednesday afternoon when tried to fill the dryer with wet corn it did not work. The auger ran but it just would not move the corn. I cleaned the corn out from the bottom of the auger and the flighting had broken. I called Steve at Freeborn Pride Builders and he had someone come out and look at it. He said the only way to fix it is come out with the crane, take the auger down and then put it back up.

When they got the auger down it did not take long to fix. They replaced the auger inside the tube, put new bearings in, lifted it to the top of the dryer and bolted it back on. I have not gotten the bill yet, but I am sure it will not be cheap! Freeborn Pride Builders brought their little crane to fix my auger. They have a larger one they use for big grain sites that can reach up to 150 feet. Steve said it is a 2010 model and they considered trading it in on a newer one. There was a 2015 model that had been sitting on the lot for two years and had never been used. It was going to cost $500,000 just to move up to the same but newer model. I guess that's why it costs a lot to hire a crane!