Broadcast Seeder Made From Scrap

Broadcast Seeder Made From Scrap PICKUPS Accessories Jeff Hoard needed a broadcast seeder so he made a spinner/seeder from salvaged material and strapped it to the front bumper of his pickup truck He uses it to overseed a 30-acre pasture with camelina seed all from the comfort of his truck “The only time I had problems with it plugging up was when I was seeding in a snowstorm and the seed got wet ” says Hoard “Now I only seed in dry weather The spinner/seeder puts out a nice spray of seed about 10 ft wide ” Hoard literally made the entire device from scrap including the frame from which everything hangs the seed bag and the spinner/propeller The frame was fabricated from various pieces of 1/2-in steel pipe and a piece of angle iron The angle iron bolts to the front bumper of the truck The pipe extends out and up from the angle iron and has assorted stubs for anchoring seeder components The seed bag is a vinyl-coated nylon weave material that Hoard’s wife sewed to a point It hangs from a flange at the top of the pipe frame A 2-in piece of copper tubing extends out of the bottom of the bag and is secured to it with a small hose clamp The copper tubing is also anchored to the pipe frame for added stability Clear poly hose runs from the copper tubing to the spinner which is a plastic propeller mounted in the bottom of a coffee can and powered by an old 12-volt fan motor The fan motor which was salvaged from an old car heater mounts below the coffee can and like the coffee can is anchored to the pipe frame “The seed bag is thin enough and marked so I can see how many acres worth of seed are in the bag when I drive into the sun ” says Hoard “The clear plastic tubing lets me see if the seed is flowing to the spinner ” The tubing end is anchored to a stub of the frame that extends out and just above the coffee can A small flap just below the end of the poly tubing is hinged to the pipe stub When tipped upward it blocks the flow of seed from the tube into a hole in the lid of the coffee can A small steel cable salvaged from a bike brake runs to the hood where it attaches to the end of a screen door spring The spring is in turn attached to a length of poly twine that runs back to the driver’s side door and ends in an S-hook “I operate the flap by pulling on the wire and hooking it to the bottom arm of the mirror ” says Hoard “The spring gives enough added tension that I can open my door enough to get out when I need to refill the seed bag without releasing seed from the tube To start the flow of seed again I just reposition the S-hook to release the flap and the seed ” The coffee can has a hole cut in one side to ensure seeds are only flung to the front and not back into the radiator The spinner is cut out of heavy plastic about the thickness of a bucket lid “I curved the blades of the spinner to keep seed impact to a minimum ” says Hoard “The spinner is just a smidgeon out of balance which provides a minute vibration and keeps the seed flowing ” Hoard used a length of extension cord to provide power to the fan motor It runs under the hood to the cab ending in a couple of quick connects To turn on the spinner for seeding Hoard disconnects the truck’s heater fan and connects the spinner motor This allows him to control the seeder using heater controls in the cab “The seeder works great and didn’t cost me anything ” says Hoard Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Hoard Manufacturing HC 61 Box 6108 Austin Nevada 89310 hmranch@wildblue net; www hmranch-hoardmfg com

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