Silo sealing. Learn about the history of a farm that with the use of the RR 500 ECO line ensured the sealing of its silo and reduced its maintenance costs. All quickly, with a guarantee of watertightness and greater durability.? 

The farm? 

The farm is located in Ribas do Rio Pardo, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Its main business is the raising of cattle through the confinement system, offering the consumer the best in beef. In addition to that, they also plant corn and soybeans. ?? 

Problem? 

Keeping the silo sealed is essential for  agribusiness,?once, the profitability of the harvest depends on it.?If moisture enters the silo, the grains begin to germinate, causing the value of the grains to be sold to depreciate. In addition to that, the lack of watertightness at the base of the silo generates fungi and even insects, also inferring the quality of the grain.? 

And this was not different on the farm where the work was done, that is why they carry out preventive maintenance annually on all their silos. The farm produces corn and soybeans and the profitability of its business depends on these crops.? 

A few years ago, the infiltration in one of the silos started to bother them, even causing damage to the farm.?? 

This year, they planned to replace the entire roof of the silo (270 m²), as it was already 8 years old and the roof had some critical points, they are:? 

  • Lack of sealing in the transposes of the tiles; (silo sealing) 
  • Surface corrosion on the tiles; 
  • Poor sealing of screws and other roof components such as ladder and ventilation system. 

Another important point is that the silos have a ventilation system to ensure the ideal temperature and humidity for the grains.?Due to the high temperature in the region, the systems were more used, increasing the cost of electricity. For this reason, the client was looking for a solution to reduce these expenses.? 

Solution 

After the diagnosis of the Hard team, it was found that it would not be necessary to replace the roof, since the waterproofing agent RR 500 ECO increases the lifespan of the roof, in addition to guaranteeing 100% watertightness.?This product is the best solution, as it provides high resistance to weathering, flexibility, in addition to being an extremely practical job.? 

For this reason, maintenance was performed in 4 stages.? 

1st Stage – Cleaning 

The first step was to ensure the cleaning of the area in order to leave it completely free of dust, grease, paint, oil, oxidation, and thus ensure the adherence of the materials that would be used. For this, the entire roof was cleaned with a hydro jet.? 

2nd Stage – Transfer of the tiles 

Transpasse das telhasThe maintenance of the overlapping of the tiles was carried out with Impermeabilizing RR 500 ECO?combined with the ?structuring fabric Flexfelt, providing high resistance to weathering, flexibility and greater mechanical reinforcement in the overlapping.? 

3rd Step – Screw head 

The head of the screws already had a sealant that had been applied last year, but it was already all “cracked” and deteriorated.?This was how, all this old sealant was removed with a steel brush.?Then, the ?RR 500 ECO sealant  was applied, (special for sealing silos in farms) providing sealing and greater productivity to the process, since its low viscosity guarantees the encapsulation of the screw.?? 

Step 4 – Roof wrapping 

Envelopamento do telhadoFinally, the waterproofing agent RR 500 ECO was applied with the aid of a low-pile microfiber roller. The first coat was gray and the second coat was white, to ensure the silo temperature reduction (thermal reflectance).?? 

In this maintenance, 200 kg of Waterproofing RR 500 ECO, 350m Flexfelt and 6 sachets of RR 500 ECO Sealant were used. The execution time was 3 days.? 

Conclusion 

After the silo roof was maintained, all infiltration problems were solved, in addition to increasing the lifespan of the roof. By doing it, the customer had great savings, considering that the roof replacement would cost 3 times more than the cost of waterproofing.?In addition to reducing annual maintenance costs.? 

Enveloping the silo with the RR 500 ECO also reduced the internal temperature, ensuring higher grade quality and reducing the use of the ventilation system. Even in one of the measurements the reduction reached 25%. 

Want to know how Hard can make your day to day easier? ?Contact us.? 

(Estudo de caso realizado em agosto de 2020)