Manure Spreader Converted To Spinner-Spreader

Manure Spreader Converted To Spinner-Spreader MANURE HANDLING Equipment 24-5-11 Ken Soda produces about 1,000 tons of compost a year on his Princeton, Wis., farm. Worth its weight in gold, Soda had to find a way to get it onto his fields. Standard manure spreaders could not handle the fine, crumbly material. Soda's solution was to take his standard Farmhand spreader into his shop and strip away all drive shafts, beaters and drive gears. He left the apron in place, but removed the beater. He then mounted a row of four tires across the back of the box to act as spinner-spreaders. The tires mount on a frame made of heavy 4 by 6-in. angle iron that bolts to the frame of the spreader. A flat plate bolts to the top side of each wheel rim. Four pieces of 3-in. angle iron are welded to each plate to form the paddles. The wheels mount on hubs spaced just far enough apart that the tires touch. The first hub on one side is powered by a hydraulic motor. The other wheels spin freely. A second hydraulic motor was attached to the apron, providing independent speed control. The final touch for Soda was to mount a replacement for the original beater. "I needed a beater bar that would just tickle the bank of compost or other dry material as the apron moved it toward the spinners," says Soda. "I wanted it to sift down evenly across the spinners." To provide that even flow, Soda welded steel rod "fingers" to a steel shaft and powered it with its own hydraulic motor for adjustable speeds. The mounting plate allows the original beater to be quickly and easily remounted should Soda wish to use the spreader for manure as it was intended. "We get a 16 foot pattern with the spinners," says Soda. "It works for lime as well as compost and could handle anything of a similar consistency." Contact: FARM SHOW Follow-up, Ken Soda, 10928 County Road J, Princeton, Wis. 54968 (ph 920 295-3171).

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