2011 - Volume #35, Issue #3, Page #31
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Home-Built Side Dress Rig For Liquid N
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"The 18 1/2-in. wide center frame holds the tank low enough that I can see over the top without a problem," says Weubker. "The narrow support doesn't interfere with the front wheels, so I still have a tight turning radius."
The center beam is actually two 94-in. lengths of 3-in. by 6-in., 3/8-in. thick rectangular tubing. The two lengths are connected at the ends by 12-in. sections welded between them, and 40 in. of the center beam extends under the frame of the tractor.
Two 19 1/2-in. long steel hooks are welded to the outside of the center beam at the 40-in. mark. Cut out of 3/4-in. thick plate, they extend up and "hook" the front weight brackets on the 8400.
Two 6-in. wide by 18-in. high, 1-in. thick steel plates are welded to the sides of the center beam at the end under the tractor frame. The 3/4-in. holes drilled in the plates match existing bolt holes in the engine block/frame of the tractor.
"Our dealer told us the tires would be the limiting factor, not the frame," Wuebker says.
The remaining 54 in. of the center beam extend out in front of the tractor grill to support the used 500-gal. tank. When Wuebker and his brother, who is his farming partner, bought the tank, it came with a support cradle made from 1-in. by 3-in. channel iron. They simply welded it to the center beam tubing.
"We use a skid steer to mount the tank and the center beam," says Wuebker. "We have to take the front grill off the tractor and tilt the tank in close to hook the front weight bracket. Once the hooks are in place and the end plates are bolted to the tractor, there is plenty of room to remount the grill."
The rear 500-gal. tank is mounted to a framework made from two 4-in. by 4-in. toolbars formerly used for side dressing. The Wuebkers picked up two newer ones at an auction. One was reserved for use as a toolbar. The other was paired with an older toolbar to make the tank frame to hang on the 3-pt. hitch.
"We cut them down and turned one so it faced forward and the second faced backwards and welded them together," says Wuebker. "They are about 5 ft. wide from front to back, enough to support the tank, which is about 4 ft. in diameter."
The rear toolbar on the tank support frame has its original hitch for a trailing anhydrous tank. The applicator toolbar bolts tight to it. With the entire rear unit suspended by the 3-pt. hitch, Wuebker can back into a corner of a field or other tight spot without a problem.
The working toolbar has five knives on the main frame. Each of the hydraulically-operated wings has three knives.
A 1 1/2-in. hose runs from the front tank to the rear. A hydraulically-driven pump pulls 28 percent liquid N from the tanks. A bypass valve lets Wuebker shut down the flow to the knives while the pump continues to work, sending fluid back into the rear tank.
Wuebker pumps the liquid fertilizer through a flow divider to 12 application tubes. Each is connected to a Wilger ball flow indicator.
"A quick glance back tells me the knives are all working correctly," says Wuebker. "If one ball is lower than the others, I know the flow is getting restricted, and I need to stop at the row end and check it."
Ball valves on the tank make it easy to fill without running over or splashing fluid on the tractor. They also avoid splashing by never filling beyond the 450-gal. mark.
The Wuebkers have an Ag Leader Insight controller mounted on the unit. Though they use manual controls for the most part, they can use it to change rates on-the-go and do variable rate applications.
"Being able to change rates is one reason we switched to a hydraulic pump from the original ground driven unit," says Wuebker.
The two toolbars only cost the brothers about $50 each some years ago. The tanks were also relatively cheap. The only real costs were the pump and controller and time spent welding.
"Our dad loved to weld and taught both of us," says Wuebker. "If we need something for the farm, we build it."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jeff Wuebker, 11607 Versaille-Yorkshire Rd., Versailles, Ohio 45380 (ph 937 526-9864 or 937 426-4065; jdwuebker@embarqmail.com).
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