Slurry Wagon Built From Fuel Tank

Slurry wagon built from fuel tank MANURE HANDLING Equipment 16-2-9 "There are a lot of old fuel tanks around that can be had for the taking because of environmental concerns. This is a great new use for them," says Harlan Anderson, Cokato, Minn., who turned an old underground fuel tank into a 4,000 gal. slurry wagon. "Commercial slurry spreaders have become so expensive they're difficult to justify financially. Several years ago I was involved in a salvage effort of a trucking terminal and a number of under-ground tanks needed to be disposed of. I kept a 6-ft, dia., 30-ft. long tank which was made out of heavy thick-walled steel. "We cut off half of the tank and in-stalled a baffle inside. Then we closed it up by welding an end on to it. A loading port was installed on top of the tank as well as a sliding gate valve at the back end. A hydraulic cylinder opens and closes the gate and manure is spread by 5 stainless steel fins as it pours out of the tank by gravity. "We built a frame from scratch to carry the tank and fitted it with two large 28 by 26-in. tires. We decided to use two large wheels rather than smaller tandem ones because we had noticed that the larger single wheels on our grain cart seemed easier to pull in soft fields than the small tandem wheels on other equipment. The single wheels are also easier to turn. "Four steel straps hold the tank in a saddle on the frame. When the tank rusts out, we'll just remove the straps and set in a replacement tank. I think we'll be able to get all the tanks we need in the future as aging gas stations and truck terminals replace their old tanks. This design works great because the only moving part is the slide gate so there's virtually no maintenance. It cost less than $5,000 to build and we can remove the slurry tank in the fall to install a grain box for harvest" Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Harlan R. Anderson, Rt. 1, Box 55, Cokato, Minn. 55321 (ph 612 286-5682).

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