“Made-It-Myself” Field Aerator

“Made-It-Myself” Field Aerator BALE HANDLING After seeing what an aerator did for neighbors’ fields Dan Erdman built his own He soon saw similar results even during a drought “One neighbor had a hay field that was seeded in 1994 and when a government assessor looked at it he said it looked like a 4-year-old stand ” recalls Erdman “Another said fields where he aerated grew hay twice the height of unaerated fields and the soil was alive with earthworms and other bugs ” Even with testimony like that Erdman couldn’t justify the $45 000 price tag of a commercial unit A long-time journeyman welder with experience in heavy equipment he had access to low-cost high-quality steel “I’ve had contracts to go in and clean up an oil lease and all they wanted was to get rid of the steel ” he says Erdman went to work on a 12 1/2-ft long 4-ft dia 1 1/4-in thick pipe For the cutting surfaces he used worn-out Caterpillar track pads To make the cutting plates he cut a template out of tin for use with a plasma cutter He cut the leading edge that has the grouser bar off the pad and set it aside The rear edge of the pad has a 1-in slant that he mounted pointing away from the pipe “The cutting plates are 7 in wide with the angled edge 6 in high on one side and 5 in high on the other ” says Erdman “They cut into the ground like a knife ” He used 11018 welding rod designed for high tensile strength joints to weld the hardened and wear-resistant steel to the mild steel pipe “I expect the track pads are around 100 000 tensile strength ” says Erdman He welded 1-in steel plate ends to the pipe to make the aerator drum reinforcing them with four 1-in by 4-in steel bars from the rim to the spindle He centered a 3-in steel pipe in the drum for an axle Erdman built the frame for the aerator drum out of 3 by 6-in heavy wall steel tubing and 6-in steel pipe To mount the drum axle on the frame he first mounted oil-impregnated brass bushings on it “A lot of guys use bearings but I didn’t know what kind of impact the aerator might have to take ” says Erdman “The bushings are like the ones used on rail cars ” Erdman machined a steel shaft into a spindle to fit the bushing and fit the 3-in pipe He welded it into place in the pipe to secure the drum to the frame For transit purposes Erdman added an axle off a tandem high-boy A set of hydraulic cylinders pull the axle in to lift the aerator drum If he plans to pull it behind a Cat to knock down brush or trees he can pull two pins and detach the hoist assembly hoses and wheels That allows him to back the aerator up without damaging the wheels The aerator weighs in at around 14 000 lbs Erdman estimates it could hold an additional 12 000 lbs of water “I over-engineered it building it really strong ” says Erdman “In a couple of hundred years it’ll still be in use ” If it is his fields should be in extremely good shape “While the drought hasn’t been as bad as last year it’s been very dry ” says Erdman “On a field with a 30-year-old grass mix I’m seeing alfalfa for the first time in 20 years I believe if you can keep your soil alive it’s a win-win situation ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dan Erdman Box 1620 Claresholm Alta Canada T0L 0T0 ph 403-382-1020; derdman2@telusplanet net