Balancing power and mobility in grain entrapment vacuums

Steven Kilger: Hello, my name is Steven Kilger. I’m the managing editor for Feed & Grain magazine and the host of the Feed & Grain Podcast. Thank you for joining me today as we dive deep into the issues affecting the feed manufacturing, grain handling, and allied industries.

Today’s episode is brought to you by The BinWhip from Pneumat Systems. The powerful Dual Impact BinWhip removes the toughest buildup and blockages in industrial storage silos — without hazardous silo entry. Learn more today at binwhip.com.

Today my guest is Jonathan Medemblik, marketing manager for Walinga. Jonathan is here to discuss the 3510G Portable Emergency Bin Rescue system. This specialized pneumatic vacuum was designed specifically for grain entrapment emergencies, helping rural fire departments and grain facilities respond faster when every second counts. We talk about how this machine differs from standard grain vacs, why rapid response is critical in grain bin entrapment situations, and how rural fire departments can access government grants to add this life-saving equipment to their emergency response capabilities.

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Now, onto the show.

Steven Kilger: Hey, Jonathan, thank you so much for joining me today. I really appreciate it.

Jonathan Medemblik: Yeah, not a problem. Thanks for having me on again, Steven.

Steven Kilger: Happy to. We were chatting at IPPE, and you told me about this product, and I thought, I just need to get them on after this because this is something I haven’t really seen before. But before we get into all that, can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your relationship with the industry?

Jonathan Medemblik: Yeah, so I’m the marketing manager for Walinga. I’ve been doing it for a number of years now. I manage all marketing-related items for Walinga, whether it’s trade shows, advertising, social media, or the website. I work with a team of a couple other people. We’ve been building bulk feed bodies and pneumatic conveying systems for the grain and feed industry for over 70 years now. It’s a family business. We take a lot of pride in building quality equipment for the industry.

Steven Kilger: It’s funny as I get older, people ask me how long I’ve been doing this, and I always have to say, it’s been 12, 13, 15 years — who knows at this point? It’s been a while and it never gets old.

Jonathan Medemblik: Yeah, it never does.

Steven Kilger: I think we came into the industry not that far apart from each other. I’ve known you basically this entire time, which is always nice as we get to age with all the people we’ve met. But when I was talking to you at IPPE, you mentioned a really cool product that you guys had come out with that I hadn’t even really realized. It’s the Walinga 3510G Portable Emergency Bin Rescue. So the idea is this is a pneumatic vacuum, correct, that you can move with your truck, and it’s a lot more portable than a normal one so it can move through things?

Steven Kilger: But it’s made specifically for grain entrapment events, right? Engulfment and entrapment events to quickly move grain out of a bin in an emergency. Do I have that right?

Jonathan Medemblik: Yeah, so we’ve had a small portable grain vac for quite a few years, the 3510. It’s basically a four-inch grain vac, so it uses four-inch conveying lines. We’ve offered it in a gas-powered model, an electric model, and a three-point hitch model for quite a few years. But we saw a bit of a need in the industry as far as grain bin entrapment goes. Unfortunately, grain bin entrapment has been an issue for a very long time. It continues to be. Our racks have been used. Our PTO machines, our self-contained units like the 3510 have been used in the past to help rural fire departments and elevators do grain entrapment rescues and recovery. But we saw a need for a specific machine that was suited for rapid response. So we basically took our 3510 and tailored it specifically toward rural fire departments for their bin rescue operations.

Steven Kilger: You guys kind of saw that there was this need. Obviously, people were already using your vacuums for this need and then decided to design around it. Did you get a lot of responses from grain handlers and rural fire departments on what they needed for this particular type of machine? What kind of things did they want?

Jonathan Medemblik: Yeah, so we had this idea together with our sales team, product development team, and input from a handful of rural fire departments. We built a couple of them and sent them out into the field and to our sales team. We got a couple of different fire departments in the U.S. outfitted with the vac and custom-built them to fit on a trailer and make it so the hoses were easily accessible. We made sure the nozzles and things were ready to go — just making the whole unit ready to go at a moment’s notice. We outfitted the machine with different hose connections, whether they be a Walinga hose connection or what they call a cam lock connection. We also added work lights and tie-downs for safe transport.

Jonathan Medemblik: So the machine is versatile, whether it’s mounted to a trailer with everything ready to go or maybe mounted in the back of a dedicated rapid response truck. And there are other features, like the motor being fuel injected, so it’s always ready to go, which is a big factor.

Steven Kilger: Yeah, I mean, you think it would need to be because it’s one of those situations where every second counts. So you need it to be easy to use and flexible in a lot of situations. Can you walk us through a typical call? Someone hears a rural fire department emergency call come in. What do they do? How do they get it there? How does it operate?

Jonathan Medemblik: From my experience and what I’ve seen from the sales team and training sessions with some fire departments, ideally when the call comes in, the 3510 bin rescue vac is ready to go. Typically, it’s mounted to a trailer with all the hoses and equipment ready so they can hook on and get on site as soon as possible. When the vac arrives, they usually go in through the top of the grain bin, through the access hatch. Then they have to get the grain out from around the person trapped in the bin. They typically set up some sort of coffer dam — you’ve probably seen those three- or four-piece tubes they slide around somebody in the grain.

Steven Kilger: Yeah, coffer dams.

Jonathan Medemblik: Or even sheets of plywood or something like that. The idea with the bin rescue vac is once they’ve got that coffer dam around the person, they can suck the grain out a lot quicker than scooping it out by hand or using cordless augers. Because of its capacity, it makes the process much faster.

Steven Kilger: Yeah, I’d imagine the capacity has to be the big advantage. You’re right — they make those little drill-powered augers that people use, but that just isn’t enough, especially if you’re up to your chest and can’t breathe anymore. You really have to get in there quick.

Jonathan Medemblik: If you’re ingrained up to your waist, you can’t be pulled out. They have to get the grain down below your waist. The faster you can get that grain out, the better. When you’re up to your chest, it becomes increasingly difficult to breathe. Every time you exhale, you push the grain more and more against your chest. So it’s very important to get that grain out as fast as possible.

Steven Kilger: It makes sense having it permanently mounted on a trailer. Originally, I thought it would be hard to get it on the back of a truck and set up quickly. But having a dedicated bin rescue trailer with this on it, maybe with one of those coffer dams, seems like a really good solution for a lot of rural fire departments. It also means you can hook it up to a pickup truck. You don’t have to worry about whether a fire engine can get out to a farm field. Because bins aren’t always easily accessible.

Jonathan Medemblik: Yeah, typically that’s what we do with fire departments — mounting it to a dedicated trailer with everything they need on site to do a grain bin rescue.

Steven Kilger: We mentioned portability a lot, but what I thought was cool is it’s pretty slender, right? It’s a smaller design, so it can fit through doors and get into nooks and crannies you wouldn’t expect for this type of machine.

Jonathan Medemblik: Yeah, it’s definitely versatile. It’s relatively lightweight and designed to fit through a standard-size door. It’s a handy little machine. There are a lot of different things you could use it for. But as far as grain bin entrapment goes, it’ll surprise you how much grain it can move for being so small.

Steven Kilger: And it seems like you’ve worked on making it pretty universal, right? You don’t need Walinga parts or hoses. It works well with other equipment and can be part of an overall package, not necessarily everything coming through Walinga.

Jonathan Medemblik: Yeah, a lot of our dealers carry parts for it. We typically use what’s called a cam lock coupling, which is pretty standard in the fire rescue industry.

Steven Kilger: Plus, you guys painted it red for everybody, and that’s always useful. It can be used to transfer all kinds of grains, right? What about thicker materials like DDGs? Can it move that stuff as well?

Jonathan Medemblik: Not a whole lot it won’t do. You’d be surprised what it can convey. I’ve cleaned out pits with it and things like that. High-moisture corn is not an issue. Even lighter, fluffier bulk materials aren’t usually a problem either.

Steven Kilger: Is it rated for dustier environments and more hazardous locations?

Jonathan Medemblik: Yes, we’ve equipped them with explosion-proof motors and the like. We also offer high-efficiency receiver tanks for lighter, fluffier materials. We’ve even incorporated air purge-style receiver tanks on these machines. There are a lot of options with the 3510 grain vac.

Steven Kilger: That’s good, especially if it’s going to a rural fire department. I guess a large enough co-op or grain company could buy one for their locations, but if it’s part of a donation to a rural fire department, it’s equipment for the community. There are a lot of commodity types and situations it could be used for. That flexibility seems really valuable, especially the ability to move wet grain, since many accidents happen because of wet or badly conditioned grain.

Jonathan Medemblik: We’ve worked with a number of rural fire departments helping them get government grants. Many areas in the U.S. have grants available that make it more affordable to put together a bin rescue rapid response package like this. We’ve worked with some departments on that as well.

Steven Kilger: That’s a really cool idea. Even if your company can’t afford or doesn’t want to donate everything to a fire department, it seems like you can get the ball rolling by working with your local fire department to start this process and look at available grants. That seems really neat. If people want to know more, where should they go? Where can they find you?

Jonathan Medemblik: On our website, Walinga.com, there’s a lot of information about this machine in particular, the 3510 Bin Rescue Pack, and other versions of the 3510. There’s a place to locate your nearest dealer or Walinga sales representative if you want more information. Reach out via the website for a free quote or more info.

Steven Kilger: You’ll know it’s the 3510G by it being red. All the other brochures are green, so this one’s easy to pick out.

Jonathan Medemblik: Yep, that’s right. We often have one of these on display at various trade shows across Canada and the U.S. There’s a trade show schedule on our website. I think the next trade shows where you might see one will be the Farm Progress Show, Ag in Motion in Canada, and the Ohio Farm Science Review.

Steven Kilger: You get all over the place, don’t you? You do a lot of trade shows. You’re a busy man.

Well, I appreciate you coming by and talking to us about this today. It’s a really cool product that I think more people should be aware of.

Jonathan Medemblik: Not a problem. I appreciate you having me on again.

Steven Kilger: Happy to do it, and hopefully you have me on again in the future. Thank you so much for joining me, Jonathan.

Jonathan Medemblik: Yeah, have a good day.

Steven Kilger: And to everyone out there listening, thanks so much for doing so. Until next time, stay safe.