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fertilizer spreader settings??

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
hey folks,
I have a spreader like the one in the pic. No books on it though. Is there a generic or rule of thumb setting or is it just trial and error? Had it for a few years but never used it but plan on using it in the next couple of weeks if I can figure it out. Gonna be using a granulated fertilizer. Or are the settings given by the fertilizer supplier?

Thanks, Dave
 
(quoted from post at 13:24:47 02/15/11) what picture are you refering too?
Click to expand...

The one I forgot to upload :roll:

long day........


a32344.jpg
 
No picture came through- but they're all different, from what I've seen (I assume its a "spin" spreader). Try googling the manufacturer, and see if you can come up with an operators or parts manual- that's what I did with one I bought at auction.
 
If you can't find any other info, take your best guess. Make sure you are quite light, measure the spread, and cover a measured distance. You can then calculate the area covered and knowing how much fertilizer you used you arrive at a rate. Much better to be way light at first. I always plan on making two passes at right angles to get the amount I want, less chance of skips that way. I have lots of time on my limited acreage so speed doesn't matter. You may be able to get a starting point by looking at manuals for a similar spreader of another make.
 
I have one like that. Like Paul says, dump in a bag or other measured amount and figure how many passes, etc it will take to use it. A small change in the opening will make a big diference, as will gear/speed. I had good luck on flat fields but had to get an RPM meter to spread evenly on hilly ones.
 
If it was like the pair of those things that we had... you open them to about where it will flow consistently, drive about 6 mph at mid throttle and you'll probably get about 300 #/ac out of it provided you drive at the correct spacing. They flow very poorly at lower rates and are in no way accurate... This is with something like a medium blend such as 17-17-17. If you're talking anout straight AN or Urea... all bets are off. They flow much more rapidly.
I was never so glad as the day we got the Vicon pendulum spreader...

Rod
 

I don't care how much time you spend trying to calibrate your always off. Calibrate for half amount and double spread it. You will do a better job. Second pass drive between first tracks. Mark
 
Dave,

I agree whole-heartedly with Mark-MI. Unless you're doing a
very large field, I believe the two-pass procedure is best. I rent
a fertilizer buggy from the local Co-Op to spread fertilizer on
my hay fields, and although it has calibrations, I always set it low
and go over the fields at least twice.

Good luck,

Tom in TN
 

Thanks folks!

Biggest place will be an acre with most 1/4 to 1/2. More passes means more seat time. I LIKES THAT.

We'll see how it goes.

Dave
 
You're going to dump out a lot of fertilizer if you go over twice with that spreader... The consistency/accuracy of those things is a lot better the wider the shutes are open. The rest is a matter of your drive pattern and wind speed at the time. The only thing a second trip will accomplish is more time spent and if you drive in a perpendicular pattern to the first pass you'll get checkered streaks instead of simple straight line streaks if you misjudge the width... Good spreaders can be set accurately. These simple spinner types are pretty hopeless no matter what you do.


Rod
 
Paid 5 bucks for it with PTO shaft. Worse case, I'll save the shaft and stick it back on ebay. If I get a buck for it, I'll be money and time ahead with an extra shaft.

Dave
 
To set my electric seeder to say spread red
clover. I put 5 lb in, then go the speed I want
and open the gate to 1 or 2 then go till it runs
out. I figure it spreads 20 ft and I figure how
many square ft I spread then divide this into
43560 (sq ft in a acre) and If I got 21750 or so I
am close because I wanted 10 lb to the acre. I
have a light bar on my 6060AC So I can drive
fairly straight and go any width I want,and tell
how many acres I have done, I have found the chart
on the local fertilizer plant buggies is just
right. They always check every load and tell me
how much the Fertilize weights a cubic Foot. I
usted to complain all the time about how the chart
wasn't right. The sad truth was I wasn't driving
the right Width, and I didn't know my acres. PS
always run your tractor PTO speed 540. Vic
 
I have used one like that, and the controls are less than precise. Mark's technique is what I do, figure out how much I want on a given field, then drive around & around until it's all gone. I usually spill some where I load it, so at least one spot is guaranteed! to burn. It's been awhile, last time I bought granulated fert, it was < $300 per ton.
 
The last year I used mine... I had it calculated out what it was costing me every day I used it top dressing AN. Cost in terms of wasted AN...
Got the Vicon that winter.
I understand you don't want to put out a bunch of money on a spreader for what you're doing, and this one probably will work well enough. Just understand the limitations...

Rod
 

Been getting by with one of them little push along easy spreaders for no more than I do. I've got a grain press that I feed with a bucket and/or scoop and am starting to look at this big red funnel with different eyes. It'll be cheaper and much quicker to just have the neighbor run over the open/bigger areas while he is doing his fields and use my walk behind for corners and tree rows. Talking about once every 2 or 3 years and only a couple pieces then.

Dave
 
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