O’Toole Monolithic Dome Fertilizer Storage
Storing fertilizer is a challenge because it is often subject to shrinkage and caking due to unmitigated humidity. Greg O'Toole reports that shrink has been greatly reduced to half its pre-dome levels since beginning storage in the dome.
The O'Toole Monolithic Dome Fertilizer Storage is a simple and versatile storage facility built in 2021 in Letts, Iowa for O'Toole, Inc. This Monolithic Dome was constructed with very few bells and whistles and will be a money-maker for many years. It can store a wide variety of materials with very little HVAC and maintenance costs.
“We can store 1500 tons of urea,” Greg said. “I’m very glad we got it. We used to have to run seven trucks a day to keep up with the in-season demand, and now it’s stored right there.”
The top-mount conveyor makes loading the storage dome with fertilizer a cinch. Because of the strength of the Monolithic Dome, supporting a small conveyor like this one poses no challenge for the dome.
The super-strong and energy-efficient dome is 60 feet in diameter and 38 feet tall. It is a half-sphere on an 8-foot stemwall. A small conveyor is mounted atop the dome for easy loading of materials. A bulk door inside a 15-foot wide and 15-foot tall, barrel-arched tunnel holds back the weight of the stored product and can be raised to let a controlled amount of material flow out for easy handling with skid loaders.
O'Toole Inc., a full-service agronomy dealer in Letts, Iowa, values staying on the cutting edge. Greg O'Toole and his team chose the Monolithic Dome as the ideal storage solution for their fertilizer because product shrinkage had been an ongoing challenge. Urea absorbs moisture from the atmosphere and needs a dry, cool, well-ventilated storage environment. Storage in humid conditions results in caking and a shrinkage of inventory. The Monolithic Dome makes managing humidity a cinch.
To keep humidity at bay, all that is required in this dome is a 110-volt window-mount air conditioning unit. The opening for the easily replaceable unit is built into an access door located above the fill line of the Monolithic Dome storage. Greg reports that shrink has been dramatically reduced to half its pre-dome levels since beginning storage in the dome. This has positively affected O'Toole’s bottom line and will continue to do so for many years to come.
The Monolithic Dome fertilizer storage in Letts, Iowa, is waiting to have the conveyor mounted.