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Know What's Happening Inside the Bin
Grain Temperature & Moisture: Two Readings That Tell a Bigger Story
Once grain goes into storage, conditions inside the bin can continue to change. Monitoring temperature and moisture at multiple points gives you a clearer picture of those changes without relying on a single reading or waiting for a problem to become obvious.
The Short Answer
Grain bin temperature and moisture monitoring uses sensors positioned throughout the stored grain to track conditions at multiple locations and depths. In an AGI BinManager® system, temperature and moisture information can be viewed through AGI SureTrack®, used for alerts, and combined with environmental information to help the system manage grain-conditioning equipment on systems equipped for automation.
Why Monitor Both Temperature and Moisture?
Temperature and moisture work together when it comes to stored grain. Looking at only one can leave out useful context. Monitoring both lets you see how conditions change over time and how different areas of the grain mass compare with one another.
Signal One
Grain Temperature
Temperature readings help show where grain is warming, cooling or behaving differently from surrounding areas. A developing temperature trend can be more informative than waiting until a problem can be seen or smelled.
Signal Two
Grain Moisture
Moisture information helps show how grain condition varies throughout the bin and whether different portions of the grain mass are moving toward or away from the storage objectives established for the bin.
One Reading Is Useful. Together, They're More Useful.
BinManager's value comes from combining different pieces of information. Temperature and moisture readings throughout the grain can be evaluated alongside outside-air and plenum conditions to build a much more complete picture of what is happening in storage.
Temperature
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Moisture
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Better Visibility Into Grain Condition
How Does BinManager Measure Conditions Inside the Grain?
Sensor cables extend down through the bin so measurements can be taken at multiple points in the grain mass. Depending on the BinManager cable and installation, sensors are positioned at intervals along those cables to provide readings at different grain depths.
Instead of treating an entire bin as one temperature or one moisture number, this gives BinManager a series of data points that can be compared over time and across the bin.
1
Sensors in the Grain
Cables place sensing points at multiple depths throughout the stored grain.
2
Conditions Are Read
Temperature and moisture-related information is collected from the sensing locations.
3
Data Moves to SureTrack
System information is reported so readings, trends and alerts can be viewed remotely.
4
Changes Become Visible
Comparing readings across locations and over time helps you see when part of the grain mass is behaving differently.
What Can Grain Monitoring Help You See?
A Warming Area
A temperature change at one or more sensing locations can call attention to an area worth watching. BinManager can also generate hotspot alerts when the system identifies qualifying warming behavior.
Moisture Differences
Grain in a large bin does not always behave uniformly. Multiple sensing locations can show differences that would be hidden by one average number for the entire bin.
Change Over Time
One reading is a snapshot. Repeated readings give you a trend. That makes it easier to see whether an unusual condition is stable, improving or continuing to change.
Conditions at Different Depths
Sensors positioned along the cables provide information from different levels of the grain mass instead of limiting monitoring to the top or one manually sampled location.
A Useful Term to Know
What Is Equilibrium Moisture Content, or EMC?
Equilibrium Moisture Content describes the moisture level at which grain is in balance with the surrounding air and is neither gaining nor losing moisture under those conditions. BinManager moisture sensing uses temperature and relative humidity information with commodity EMC curves to estimate grain moisture conditions. This gives the system more information for evaluating conditioning opportunities than temperature alone.
Do You Have to Be Standing Beside the Bin?
No. One of the major advantages of a connected grain-monitoring system is being able to review bin information without making every check at the bin itself.
AGI SureTrack can provide access to BinManager information through supported connected devices. Depending on the system and account configuration, users can review cable and sensor information, system status and alerts. BinManager also supports on-site readings through the SureTrack mobile app.
Monitoring and Automation Aren't the Same Thing
This distinction matters. A grain-monitoring system can tell you what is happening without necessarily being wired to control a fan. A full BinManager automation setup adds the hardware needed to act on that information.
Monitoring
Measures and reports grain conditions so you can see temperature, moisture and other available system information. Monitoring can provide remote visibility and alerts without automatically switching your aeration equipment.
BinManager Automation
Adds control hardware that allows BinManager to use grain and environmental data when determining when connected fans and heaters should operate under the configured operating strategy.
Look at trends and context, not one number in isolation.
An unusual reading deserves attention, but it does not always tell the whole story by itself. Grain depth, surrounding sensor readings, recent fan operation, sensor health and the way readings change over time can all provide important context. If a reading looks questionable or does not make sense for the rest of the bin, A&S can help you work through what the system is showing.
Grain Temperature & Moisture Monitoring FAQs
Why isn't one temperature reading enough for a grain bin?
Conditions can vary within the grain mass. Multiple sensing locations give you information from different areas and depths, making it easier to recognize local changes instead of assuming the entire bin is behaving the same way.
Does BinManager measure both grain temperature and moisture?
BinManager uses in-grain sensor cables to collect temperature and moisture information. The exact cable configuration and sensor spacing depend on the system and installation.
Can BinManager alert me to a developing hot spot?
Yes. BinManager includes hotspot alerting based on in-grain sensor information. An alert should be evaluated in context with the surrounding readings and actual grain condition.
Can I check my grain temperature and moisture remotely?
AGI SureTrack provides remote access to supported BinManager information through internet-connected devices. On-site readings are also available through supported SureTrack mobile functionality on compatible systems.
Does monitoring automatically control my grain-bin fans?
Not necessarily. Monitoring provides information and alerts. Automatic fan or heater control requires a BinManager system equipped and wired with the appropriate automation hardware.
What should I do if one sensor looks very different from the others?
Treat the reading as information that needs context rather than assuming immediately that either the grain or the sensor is bad. Compare nearby readings and trends, and contact A&S if the reading does not make sense or you need help interpreting what the system is reporting.
Want Better Visibility Into Your Stored Grain?
Whether you're looking at monitoring an existing bin or a complete BinManager automation system, tell A&S what you're working with. We'll help you understand the next questions to ask about your setup.
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