Grain Storage

[Wolfman]

Just needing some ideas on how you store your bulk grain. I am thinking of buying some grain in bulk say 100kg. Now as these won't be the same types of grain, and my 10kg buckets are all full.

How do you store your grains? Do you keep all the little critters out? What about moisture? How long should grain be kept before it goes "off"?

Cheers

Shan :beerbang:

 

[lastdrinks]

I use the white plastic pails you can buy from bunnings or plastic container shops. They sell them from .5litre to 20 litre sizes. sturdy and seal very tight.

 

[Malted]

Generally bulk bought grains come in 25kg sacks (or 22kg sacks sometimes?) unless you buy it by the tonne or in kg amounts from a store.
I have seen some folks store them in plastic rubbish bins (cheap round ones with a push on lid).
I use food grade butchers bins with lids; They are stackable and very robust.

25 kg of grain takes a fair volume and I reckon you need something sturdy to put it in. Some cheap plastic containers are just that; thin and brittle.

I have heard of a few bay leaves being put into each bin is a good bug deterent. Some folks even gas their grains with C02.

 

[keifer33]

Black Willow bin from bunnings for about $13 works a treat. Holds a 25kg sacks no problem.

 

[Brad Churchill]

Hi Shan.

The best way to store grain is in air tight containers in a cool dark place. Moisture is probably your biggest enemy along with rodents.
Under the right conditions grain can keep for up to 5 years. I personally wouldn't get more grain than I would use in say 12 months because you dont know how old it is when you get it.

Cheers
Brad

 

[argon]

i have the whit handi pails as available from bunnings... very sturdy, robust and airtight... not the cheapest at about $12 each but they work well. 2 buckets will hold 25kgs so a good size and stackable. 12.5kgs is not too bad to pick up, stack and move about as needed.

Occasionally bunnings or others will have specials on bigger containers (60L black ones recently for less then $20 from memory), but for me bigger would be a bit unwieldly and take up too much floor space.

I then store my specialty grains in spent 3L juice bottle. Holds about 1.5kg each. Go through a bottle a week anyway so good reuse for me.

 

[Darkman]

Do a search under plastic drums in ebay. There are a handful of 80 liter drums that once stored olives for export to australia (at lease the one's I bought were)so they are made of food grade plastic.

 

[adryargument]

I've heard garbage bins work great.
I use some huge plastic things from ikea or similiar, each hold 2x25kg + some smalls on the side.

Possibly get 80KG in if you poured in your grain.

 

[MattC]

I use the 52L starmaid clear or blue containers with lid which clicks on at either end (K-mart of Big W I think. I store the grains inside a plastic wheelie bin liner available from woolies. Fits 25kg of grain perfectly. I fit the plastic bag in the plastic tub then carefully pour in the grain, push the air out and spin the excess plastic and clip a clothes peg around it. Keeps very fresh. You really want to keep it away from the air particularly during humid periods, hence my double seal method. The bags are quite brittle and can split easy if you dig in hard with a cup or bowl to get the grain out so you may have to double up the bag. I use the same approach with my spec grains (3L Decor rectangle tub with the grain inside a large freezer bag sealed with a clothes peg).

Cheers

 

[kieran]

Gavonised iron bins. You can get 50L ones. These are about the only things that Rats wont easily chew through. Rats go through wood, plastic, etc.

This was advice from my local council pest control. Mice and rats gravitate towards grain like flies to shit. And they have a great sense of smell!

 

[altstart]

I had a large freezer that held a dozen cornies but it died on me put some wheels under it and turned it into a grain storage bin works very well.
Cheers Altstart :icon_chickcheers:

 

[Wolfman]

Cheers for all the replies guys, keep em comming if you have any more.

Rodents are a big problem here with all the old drains and ally ways. As much as I try it is hard to keep the little bastards at bay. Have had a look on evilbay and there are quite alot of plastic ones around. With regards to the galvanized ones are they air tight?

 

[razz]

Gavonised iron bins. You can get 50L ones. These are about the only things that Rats wont easily chew through. Rats go through wood, plastic, etc.

This was advice from my local council pest control. Mice and rats gravitate towards grain like flies to shit. And they have a great sense of smell!

Amen to metal containers kieran. I got a large steel bin on castors from a local fabricator that makes them up as horse feed bins. The only thing that would keep the rats out. I lost 7-8 plastic lids of my 20 lt pails to rats, they chew straight through them. Plenty of poison around the garage helps as well.

 

[mmmyummybeer]

I normally had kept my grain inside with not a problem but this year with the increase in mice numbers I ended up having to throw grain out because a mouse had nibbled a hole in a bag, luckily it was a smaller bag but annoying just the same :angry: .
Solution we managed to get hold of an old no longer working freezer, removed the motor to lighten it then laid it on its back. Obviously gave it a super clean and it now holds my grain with no chance of mice getting it :beerbang: . I am also thinking of adding some silica gel crystal sachets in there to ensure moisture is always kept to a minimum. I also now dispose of the spent grains in the bin rather than using them for garden compost as I had been previously been doing as that can attrack the mice and rats.

 

[jbumpstead]

Black Willow bin from bunnings for about $13 works a treat. Holds a 25kg sacks no problem.

+1 . Keeps it cool, dark, dry. Keep the grain inside the sack inside the bin.

 

[tavas]

I use these. Go for the 42 litre one and it holds 25kgs of grain no problems. Has wheels and is stackable.

 

[kieran]

Rodents are a big problem here with all the old drains and ally ways. As much as I try it is hard to keep the little bastards at bay. Have had a look on evilbay and there are quite alot of plastic ones around. With regards to the galvanized ones are they air tight?

They aren't air tight. I have whole sacks, and I either zip-seal, or use those crazy tight thick bands that come inside the grain sacks.. so they're basically air tight anyway. If you want the best of both, put an airtight container inside a metal bin/storage system. As long as the outer skin is metal, you should be good.

I can't stress it enough, use a metal one if you have the odd rodent likely to travel past.. because if they catch a whiff of that oh-so-sweet grain, you'll be screwed if they set their radar on you.

Mice & rats love grain!

Amen to metal containers kieran. I got a large steel bin on castors from a local fabricator that makes them up as horse feed bins. The only thing that would keep the rats out. I lost 7-8 plastic lids of my 20 lt pails to rats, they chew straight through them. Plenty of poison around the garage helps as well.

Yeah, I just have one bin that looks like:

(jeez, has anyone lately done a google image search with the term "bin"?)

And I can cram 2x25kg bags, and all my other odds and sods of grain, into one of them. I also bait the garage to keep the bastards out, Talon Wax blocks are good, also the green pellet bait stations are good (with them, if you see green shit, they're dead or will be soon). I've had mice, and rats. Its a freakin curse being next to a national park!
But I'm onto it now, and I haven't had a problem in over 6 months, and my grain is all good.

 

[adniels3n]

We have bulk grain in transit & I plan on keeping it sealed in white plastic buckets inside these

 

[kieran]

That's the ticket

 

[punkin]

Seems funny that no-one seems to worry about weevils.

They are a big problem for me as most of my grain is feed grade. Really good seals help and can stave off weevil damage, but the bastards eventually get in anywhere.