Apparatus for cooling and drying bulk products using primary and auxiliary air

A cooler/dryer includes a housing for storing bulk product including a bulk product inlet at the top of the housing and a grid structure adjacent the bottom of the housing for discharging bulk product. The grid structure is movable between open and closed positions and, in both positions, primary air flows upwardly through the grid structure to cool and/or dry the bulk product. Auxiliary air inlet ducts are located above the grid structure for flowing auxiliary air into the product bed. The primary air and the auxiliary air combine in the product bed to increase the cooling and/or drying effect without substantially increasing the velocity of the primary air through the grid structure which would otherwise affect the discharge rate of the product through the grid structure.