"Sifter" Works Even When Soil Is Wet

Sifter Works Even When Soil Is Wet FARM HOME Miscellaneous When clay soil is wet most composters have to shut down because their screeners plug up or the hydraulics break down They can only screen when it’s dry which is the same time they should be doing other important tasks Ray Torrey’s Snake Mountain Rattler screener works anytime and produces a finer product that’s perfect for most landscaping jobs He prefers screening soil when it’s wet “When you try to screen dry dirt gets in your eyes ears mouth nose and lungs Airborne dirt clogs the air intake of your equipment and it makes everything filthy ” he says The Rattler has a different design than other screeners “It’s like a bicycle or a 4-cylinder motor ” Torrey explains “As one section of the rack is coming up another is coming down Weight pushing down on one section helps to raise its counterpart ” Torrey cuts teeth in 2 1/2-in flat bars that move next to 1-in stationary flat bars The stationary bars act like wipers The crank spins at 300 rpm’s powered by a 5 hp motor which is more efficient and uses less energy than hydraulics The Rattler screener has double bearings easy access to grease fittings and can be easily taken apart to replace parts After building several prototypes Torrey’s latest model has about a 4 by 4-ft opening and fits in the bed of a pickup truck He estimates it will sell for about $6 000 He’s also designed a “Baby” Rattler a small wheelbarrow unit powered by a cordless drill for gardeners and homeowners While used mostly for compost and topsoil the Rattler also successfully screened crushed limestone from an old mine A farmer used it to screen gravel for sand for cattle bedding Torrey notes that it could be used for ditch clean up right on site to return soil to dirt roads and leave rocks and debris in the ditch Because the Rattler works with wet soil Torrey can provide nurseries and landscapers freshly screened soil anytime they need it Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Ray Torrey 1831 Mountain Road Bridport Vt 05734 ph 802 545-2144; www snakemtrattler com

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