Teenage Inventor Aims to Eliminate Grain Bin Deaths

After watching a video about grain entrapment in school, the wheels in Mason Gahler's mind started turning.  Since he was a little boy, Mason Gahler, 18, of Pierz, Minnesota, has been a “tinkerer.” His mom, Stacy Gahler, says, “He was always building something and coming up with new inventions.”

As he grew, so did his ideas and creations. Four years ago, he found inspiration for his latest invention in a video shown at school. It demonstrated the dangers of grain entrapment and told the story of a farmer who had nearly lost his life in a grain bin. 

That story stuck with Mason. Although his parents don’t farm, they live in the country and are surrounded by farmer neighbors. Plus, Mason and his siblings have spent a great deal of time on their grandparents’ farm near Mankato, Minnesota.

He began researching how grain bins work and sketching ideas. He would wake up in the middle of the night with new ideas, turn on his light, and jot them down. Eventually, Mason’s vision became clearer. The idea was simple: The Grain Gyre is essentially an auger on the bottom of the bin that moves the crop up and dumps it back out on top in the center of the bin. 

It addresses two ways bin accidents happen. When grain crusts on the surface, air pockets can form underneath it. If stepped on, the crust can give way, causing a fall into the grain. The Grain Gyre prevents crusting and keeps the grain surface level.

Another way farmers are injured in bins is when they enter to remove grain that has formed a crust on the walls. This happens when corn is stored with a high moisture content and it freezes or becomes moldy. When loosened, it can create an avalanche, burying the farmer. Since the Grain Gyre filters the corn continuously, the crop dries faster, especially when used in conjunction with a fan.

“The idea is that the farmer wouldn’t need to go into the bin and risk getting hurt,” Mason says. “They could run the Grain Gyre continuously while drying the grain, then as needed, especially when adding or unloading grain.” 

Making the model

Flash forward to last year, when Mason was a junior in high school. He told his ag teacher about his idea, and she asked him to build and demonstrate a prototype for the open house celebrating the high school’s new ag and shop addition.

Mason’s dad, Chet Gahler, gave him free rein to use his shop. They decided a 55-gallon steel drum would make a good scale model for a grain bin. 

“He had all the parts and tools and everything he needed in my shed. I don’t even want to know how many barrels we went through though,” Chet says with a laugh.

It took a few tries, but Mason worked until his design came to life and did exactly what he wanted. 

“When he did his barrel model, I told him I didn’t think it would rotate because I thought it would just suck right by the auger,” Chet says. “But when he turned that thing on, you could actually see all the corn going down on the back and in the front through the window. When it worked, Mason was like, ‘Really, Dad?’”

Mason was up until 1 a.m. the night before the open house making sure everything was perfect. He took the Grain Gyre prototype to school the next day and prepared himself to demonstrate it at the open house.

A reporter from the local newspaper was at the event, and Mason’s invention became the focus of the article. It wasn’t long before it took off on social media and the family started getting phone calls. “We didn’t even know it was going to be in the paper,” Stacy says.

Farmers were asking the family to see a live model. At that point, Chet and Stacy realized their son’s project could become a real product. They met with a patent attorney; formed Gahler Innovations, LLC, and got to work. “We chose that name because he has more inventions,” Stacy says.

Chet’s parents donated a grain bin and the corn needed to fill it from their farm. His brother poured the concrete. One of his friends did the electrical work.

It was a team effort, but today a grain bin sits at the end of the driveway on the Gahlers’ wooded property, near the shop and pond. Cameras inside the bin show the Grain Gyre in action on a screen set up next to the bin. 

The entire system can be controlled manually with a switch mounted on the bin or remotely from an app on the user’s smartphone or tablet.

One perk of this system, Mason explains, is that it can easily be added to existing bins. “The nice thing is most farmers already have power at their bins, so all they’d have to do is tie in,” he says.

EDITOR’S TAKE:

First, hats off to Mason Gahler for his vision and persistence! A tip of the hat also goes to his parents for being supportive of his ideas and work to make it a reality.   Farming is one of the most dangerous occupations in the world. Grain bin entrapments are a major reason that farming is so hazardous. Each year several farmers lose their life buried in a grain bin. Thanks to people like Mason, that could be a thing of the past. His invention would not only improve safety and save lives, but could dramatically lower insurance rates on the farm. What a great story and invention. Perhaps we can convince Mason to be a future AgPack® partner?