Maintenance key to barn longevity
Regular inspections an important part of Lundell's routine
KIRON — Modern hog barns have been around for more than a few decades. Some experts say that the average life span of a hog barn is around 30 years or so, but with proper maintenance, there are expectations that some barns could last longer.
Brian Lundell, 37, owns and manages four hog barns, and he says the key to the longevity of a barn is daily inspections and end-of-turn maintenance. Two of Lundell’s barns were built in 2020 and the other two in 2012.
Lundell’s first order of business is to check the exterior of his building with a drive by in his truck.
“Ventilation fans are an important part of any barn. In my newer barns, my smart controller monitors the amps, and it will notify me if a pit fan is going bad,” said Lundell. “I’ll get a notification on my phone if the fan isn’t drawing the amps it’s supposed to draw. With this big of an investment, however, I still like to do a weekly drive around to make sure the fans are operating as they should.”
With winter looming, snow doors are another integral part of Lundell’s hog barn review from the outside.
“Some guys aren’t as religious about using snow doors,” said Lundell. “The snow can really pile up around the north and west side of the barn. When we have a snowstorm coming, we make sure to winch those doors closed, so we don’t get snow in the attic. It’s important to know that the doors are all operating. The weather patterns are so crazy that it wouldn’t be unheard of to get a pile of snow in the attic in January and then have it melt there a day or two later getting the insulation wet.”
At the end of an inventory turn, Lundell focuses on indoor maintenance. “We look at posts to see if they need to be replaced,” said Lundell. “Pigs — especially when they get close to 300 pounds — will make a loose or damaged post worse over time. Also, anything that is metal is going to rust, and it’s going to get weak. In my 2012 barn, we saw many posts failing at about the 10-year mark; the gates will last longer but even the bottom rod will begin to degrade.
“Fan motors can be a problem after the 10-year mark as well. Some components can be replaced a lot more cheaply than a whole motor. Post integrity and electrical motors are the two biggest potential issues that I’ve seen at my 2012 barn’s 10-year anniversary.”
On his 2020 barn, Lundell had to replace a start capacitor on a ventilation fan. “It was better than replacing the whole fan,” he said. “It was a fraction of the money and, after replacing it, the fan was up and going again.”
Hog barns will require immediate fixes at times — for instance a feed bin motor failing — but most often a motor will require service at the end of a turn.
“There aren’t a lot of grease applications in a barn, but there are some,” said Lundell. “We’ll check the gear box oil at regular turns. A motor will last six, seven, sometimes 10 years if maintained properly.”
Heaters are another item that require service.
“Heaters don’t run as often as people think,” said Lundell. “When the pigs grow as we hope they do, they generate a lot of heat just through their bodies. Heaters are like anything else; they work better when they operate often. Since they set without operating for a while, they can have issues. We pay special attention to them when it’s time to fire them back up.”
Lundell said that the barn waterers are very important and are lower maintenance.
“We have to check them when we do our walkarounds like any other part of the barn,” said Lundell. “Just today, I had our hired man go around and check each one to make sure we have good water flow.”