Mini Spreader Fitted With Flails To Handle Bedding
Clifford Scott, Didsbury, Alberta, needed a little spreader he could get inside a barn door to make it easier to clean out stalls and chicken houses. He put some ideas on paper and took them to Calvin Hamm, the innovative owner of Wild Rose Machining Ltd.
The two put their heads together and came up with a miniature spreader that measures just 3 by 6 ft. and 24 in. deep. The top opening is 3 ft. by 4 ft. They put a single axle under it and built an aggressive chopper/beater bar with 1 1/2-in. long by 3/8-in. thick steel flails, set at angles in a rotating drum. The drum is powered by a 5 hp single cylinder gas engine.
He pulls the spreader with either a garden tractor or ATV.
Scott says the main use he had in mind for the miniature spreader was applying composted manure to his garden. "It works great for that. It puts out a layer of material just the width of the beater. You can adjust the thickness of the layer by speeding up or slowing down," he says.
Because the spreader is powered by an engine instead of ground driven like most other mini spreaders, Scott and his wife Marion can also use it to chop straw for bedding in stalls and sheds. And he says it works great for mulching strawberries in the fall.
"It will hold and chop four small square bales and spreads wood shavings like a dream. I've even used it to spread wet square bales. We can fill it up with garden waste at the end of the year, chop it up, and spread it," he says.
Hamm and Scott refined the design a little after building the first spreader. Hamm now offers the little spreaders for sale.
One big change was adding a second axle. "It's more stable with a tandem axle under it," says Hamm.
Another big change was moving the engine to the tongue from its original position in back. "It worked fine before, but we figured some people might have a pto on their garden tractor, so they wouldn't need the engine. We set the drive shaft so it can be driven by the engine or by a pto shaft," Hamm says. Moving the engine allows them to make the top opening larger, too, making it easier to load.
Of course, the pto-driven version will be priced minus the engine. Single unit price, ordered from Wild Rose Machining, is under $4,000 (Canadian). Hamm says he's prepared to offer a better price to dealers interested in buying six or more units.
Scott and Hamm have collaborated on other machines, too, including a two-wheel big round bale mover to go behind an ATV or compact tractor, which uses either a hand or electric-powered winch to raise the bale.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Calvin Hamm, Wild Rose Machining Ltd., #2 Co-Op Road (Box 95) Didsbury, Alberta, Canada T0M 0W0 (ph 403 335-8780; fax 403 335-8790; E-mail: wilrose@telusplanet.net) or Clifford Scott, Box 855, Didsbury, Alberta, Canada T0M 0W0 (ph 403 335-4342; E-mail: myscott@telusplanet.net).
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Mini Spreader Fitted With Flails To Handle Bedding MANURE HANDLING Equipment 25-5-3 Clifford Scott, Didsbury, Alberta, needed a little spreader he could get inside a barn door to make it easier to clean out stalls and chicken houses. He put some ideas on paper and took them to Calvin Hamm, the innovative owner of Wild Rose Machining Ltd.
The two put their heads together and came up with a miniature spreader that measures just 3 by 6 ft. and 24 in. deep. The top opening is 3 ft. by 4 ft. They put a single axle under it and built an aggressive chopper/beater bar with 1 1/2-in. long by 3/8-in. thick steel flails, set at angles in a rotating drum. The drum is powered by a 5 hp single cylinder gas engine.
He pulls the spreader with either a garden tractor or ATV.
Scott says the main use he had in mind for the miniature spreader was applying composted manure to his garden. "It works great for that. It puts out a layer of material just the width of the beater. You can adjust the thickness of the layer by speeding up or slowing down," he says.
Because the spreader is powered by an engine instead of ground driven like most other mini spreaders, Scott and his wife Marion can also use it to chop straw for bedding in stalls and sheds. And he says it works great for mulching strawberries in the fall.
"It will hold and chop four small square bales and spreads wood shavings like a dream. I've even used it to spread wet square bales. We can fill it up with garden waste at the end of the year, chop it up, and spread it," he says.
Hamm and Scott refined the design a little after building the first spreader. Hamm now offers the little spreaders for sale.
One big change was adding a second axle. "It's more stable with a tandem axle under it," says Hamm.
Another big change was moving the engine to the tongue from its original position in back. "It worked fine before, but we figured some people might have a pto on their garden tractor, so they wouldn't need the engine. We set the drive shaft so it can be driven by the engine or by a pto shaft," Hamm says. Moving the engine allows them to make the top opening larger, too, making it easier to load.
Of course, the pto-driven version will be priced minus the engine. Single unit price, ordered from Wild Rose Machining, is under $4,000 (Canadian). Hamm says he's prepared to offer a better price to dealers interested in buying six or more units.
Scott and Hamm have collaborated on other machines, too, including a two-wheel big round bale mover to go behind an ATV or compact tractor, which uses either a hand or electric-powered winch to raise the bale.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Calvin Hamm, Wild Rose Machining Ltd., #2 Co-Op Road (Box 95) Didsbury, Alberta, Canada T0M 0W0 (ph 403 335-8780; fax 403 335-8790; E-mail: wilrose@telusplanet.net) or Clifford Scott, Box 855, Didsbury, Alberta, Canada T0M 0W0 (ph 403 335-4342; E-mail: myscott@telusplanet.net).
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