TIM Sait believes bigger is better when it comes to bagging grain.

That's why he's been busy working on an adjustable bagger, one of the largest in Australia, which can store grain in large, sausage-shaped plastic bags, which are 3.06m in diameter.

At the working-prototype stage, Tim's bagger looks similar to others on the market, but it has a unique feature.

The steel frame, which is barrel shaped, can be adjusted hydraulically to make it larger or smaller in diameter.

The ability to increase the size of the frame makes it much easier to fit the large plastic bag, which at 75m in length, can be cumbersome when setting up for storing grain.

"It looks quite simple, to be able to move the frame of the bagger up and down, but it's quite a complex mechanism," Tim said.

"It makes it very easy to fit the bag on the machine with the plastic under no tension."

"Then, when the bag is on the frame, you lift the frame and the bag pulls nice and snug around the machine, which is how you want it for the bagging process."

Tim is a boilermaker and has been working on large-scale grain bagging machines for about six years, from his headquarters in Charlton.

He originally built a 2.75m diameter bagger but he said he has always wanted to go bigger.

"Going from 2.75m diameter to 3.06m diameter adds about 18 per cent in terms of storage capacity for the bag," Tim said.

"With the larger-diameter bag at 75m long, you should be able to store about 300 tonnes of wheat."

And having a bigger capacity bags means having to use fewer bags.

Tim said putting grain in the sausage-style bags could be a cost-effective method of storage.

"With the closure of smaller bulk-grain receiving sites, harvesters getting bigger and the container industry opening up, storing grain in bags takes the pressure off at harvest and can give the grain grower more marketing options," Tim said.

"With the grain bagger and a side loader, a semi-trailer can tip its load of grain into the bag in pretty much the same time as at a receival site."

For more details, phone Tim on (03) 5491 1818.