fertilizer spreader

joe17

I have a fertilizer spreader and just wondering what is the setting suppose to be it goes up in numbers 1 to 10 i dont know what make it is . i have it set to open at about 3 and a half is this about right should i open more or less
thanks

Bizzum

joe17 wrote: »

I have a fertilizer spreader and just wondering what is the setting suppose to be it goes up in numbers 1 to 10 i dont know what make it is . i have it set to open at about 3 and a half is this about right should i open more or less
thanks

Ah now Joe..........Only you know the answer. If you are happy with the amount being applied leave it alone. If you want to apply more open her out a bit. If you want to apply less shut her off a bit!
Always a bit of trial and error starting out with a new spreader!

joe17

its only my first year at spreading fertilizer we never spread before i bought one

Bizzum

joe17 wrote: »

its only my first year at spreading fertilizer we never spread before i bought one

Thats no problem! We all have to start somewhere. It really can be a case of just 'suck it and see!' .
Like you say start off at 3 or 4 and see how it's going. Adjust as need be.
Be carefull on the headlands that you don't keep applying over the same ground several times.
When you are inexperienced you are probably better starting in fields that have some grass on them (if you have any!) so as you can easily see your tracks.
Start off and see how far she is throwing it out, so as you'll know where to drive the next run.

Mightn't be any harm having an experienced local with ya to get ya going.
For a simple looking machine they can do a lot of damage if they go wrong on ya!
Best of luck with it.

joe17

what should the distance from one line to the next the next line be thanks

Bizzum

joe17 wrote: »

what should the distance from one line to the next the next line be thanks

Again this depends on the spreader. From memory and it's a while since I used one, the Vicon wagtail set at a height of 21" from center of wagtail to the ground, spread 7 yards.
I'd like some of the lads that use one regularly to remind me though. Our own one depending on how it's set will spread between 9 M and 12 M for example.
Have you any idea of the make of yours? Even a brief description?

joe17

it has a hydraulic open door and a spinner and a plastic body thats easy to take of. thats all i can say dont know much more about it does that help

yellow50HX

hey joe

like the lads say spreaders have a bit of a dark art to them. agan it all depends on how fast you drive and the hight of the spreader and of course the spreader its self. Best way is to decide how much you want to spread i.e 1 big bag (500 kgs ) of CAN in a 7 acre field. that way tou know how much should go out. as your going along you can stop and see how much is going out and this will tell you if your setting is right.

we have a vicon wagtail, its an old one but works well. covers about 30ft. we do two runs of the headlands 1st this gives you the shut off point when you going up and down. turn off the spreader once the front tire meet the headland tracks. as for the width you get used to knowign where to go we take a rule of thumb that the pellest at the farest reach of the spread should land at the edge of the previous run, this makes sure we have enough over lap and that the spead is even. thrust me after the 1st speadign you'll see if there is a problem when the grasss start to grow.

bbam

What I did the first few times was just put enough in for the paddock your spreading. That way you don't over spread and gain confidence in your judgment too.
Fertilizer is expensive to get the application rate wrong.

joe17

i spread some 18.6.12 on a bit over 2 acres .I put 6 bags into the fertilizer spreader and setting was at 3 for opening the door and when i was finished i had about a little under 2 bags should i open the door buy another half or buy another 1 .I was looking at the grass after words and i think it could have done with a bit more.i was in second high is that too fast or slow. thanks for any help

joe17

i forgot to say i had it off the ground to the disc spinner was at 20ft is this about right

bbam

Joe.. there's no simple answer..

You could open the spreader a little more..
You could drive in a lower gear..
Both would give a heavier coverage...

You spread at a rate of roughly 2 bags to the acre, what rate were you hoping for?
Why did you put six bags in the spreader? Were you planning to spread it all in the 2 acres? If so I'd just have gone over it again..

I wouldn't finish with fertilizer in the spreader... it will absorb moisture and clump and be a torture to spread !!

I like to hose out the spreader straight after use, but maybe that's wrong??

joe17

i just spread the remainder of it over it again i was hoping of spreading the 6 bags over the 2 acres in one go but it didnt happen im going spreading lime the next day on some other ground and dont want to go over it twice so any help would be helpful thanks

brian_t

bbam wrote: »

I like to hose out the spreader straight after use, but maybe that's wrong??

Nothing wrong with that as far as I'm concerned.

jimmy G M

We spread with a MF 390T and an Abbey wagtail spreader similar to a Vicon.
Usually spread in 2nd high at 1300 - 1500 rpm. Width between rounds aprox twice the width of a tractor. As someone said earlier, it's trial an error for a while till you get familiar with your spreader.

Once you get to figure out the application rates, ie 1 bag to acre, 2 bags to acre etc, you are looking for write it down so you remember it for next year. However not all manure granules & brands are the same size - urea usually larger granules so application rate will be lower, so watch out for that.

You should have a nice bit of grass coming at 3 bags 18.6.12 to acre!;)

joe17

jimmy G M wrote: »

We spread with a MF 390T and an Abbey wagtail spreader similar to a Vicon.
Usually spread in 2nd high at 1300 - 1500 rpm. Width between rounds aprox twice the width of a tractor. As someone said earlier, it's trial an error for a while till you get familiar with your spreader.

Once you get to figure out the application rates, ie 1 bag to acre, 2 bags to acre etc, you are looking for write it down so you remember it for next year. However not all manure granules & brands are the same size - urea usually larger granules so application rate will be lower, so watch out for that.

You should have a nice bit of grass coming at 3 bags 18.6.12 to acre!;)

so what about lime granules are they larger or smaller than goulding thats the make of the 18.6.12 thats what we used does any on know thanks

bbam

joe17 wrote: »

so what about lime granules are they larger or smaller than goulding thats the make of the 18.6.12 thats what we used does any on know thanks

I found it roughly the same...

joe17

i was just wondering how much is 20.10.10 was because i bought 18.6.12 for 22.50 euro a bag would it be much better than 18.6.12

bbam

I don't mean to be smart but it's like asking is red paint better than blue paint? It depends what you want to achieve.. Ideally you'd be doing soil samples and then apply fertilizer in relation to the results...having said that I don't and neither do many..

Depends if its for silage or grazing.. Recently reseeded or old pasture.. Does the ground get slurry or farmyard manure or neither??

On our silage ground we try and alternate slurry and dung every other year, we spread 27% CAN on this, 2 bags to the acre..
On our grazing ground we get dung or slurry on some of it.. 1 bag 18:6:12 to the acre
Some grazing ground we can't get to with the tanker so it gets 2 bags 18:6:12 to the acre..

This is more "what works" rather than any real science:o

joe17

it gets neither get slurry or farmyard manure and it has not been ploughed or anything done to it in about 30 to 40 years.do you know were to get a good soil test kit and what type of kit should i get

brian_t

There's threads here about soil testing

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=70218916

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=76756621

inda_kenny

read through all the posts above and no one seems to know what setting a vicon wagtail should be at , fertilizer is too expensive to be experimenting with , for all you know , you could be throwing on five bags an acre

if anyone know exactly what number a vicon should be at for 1,2 and 3 bags per acre , i would greatly appreciate it

thanks a bunch

Username John

inda_kenny wrote: »

read through all the posts above and no one seems to know what setting a vicon wagtail should be at , fertilizer is too expensive to be experimenting with , for all you know , you could be throwing on five bags an acre

if anyone know exactly what number a vicon should be at for 1,2 and 3 bags per acre , i would greatly appreciate it

thanks a bunch

This might help if you have a newer type.
http://www.viconspreadingcharts.com/en-Metric/Home/VICON

Muckit

inda_kenny wrote: »

read through all the posts above and no one seems to know what setting a vicon wagtail should be at , fertilizer is too expensive to be experimenting with , for all you know , you could be throwing on five bags an acre

if anyone know exactly what number a vicon should be at for 1,2 and 3 bags per acre , i would greatly appreciate it

thanks a bunch

Oh set it at 1 for 1 bag, 2 for 2 bags and so on ...:rolleyes:

inda_kenny

Muckit wrote: »

Oh set it at 1 for 1 bag, 2 for 2 bags and so on ...:rolleyes:

very helpfull , thanks :rolleyes:

inda_kenny

Username John wrote: »

This might help if you have a newer type.
http://www.viconspreadingcharts.com/en-Metric/Home/VICON

thats what im talking about , much obliged

Muckit

Muckit wrote: »

Oh set it at 1 for 1 bag, 2 for 2 bags and so on ...:rolleyes:

My point is that if it was that simple to give you a setting number, then the fertiliser spreader manufacturer would put those kind of settings on the spreader.

It all depends on the brand and type of fertiliser you are spreading. You have to calibrate the spreader for yourself.

If you want to put on two bags/acre, put two bags in spreader and do a small square of a field or paddock an acre in size.

inda_kenny

Muckit wrote: »

My point is that if it was that simple to give you a setting number, then the fertiliser spreader manufacturer would put those kind of settings on the spreader.

It all depends on the brand and type of fertiliser you are spreading. You have to calibrate the spreader for yourself.

If you want to put on two bags/acre, put two bags in spreader and do a small square of a field or paddock an acre in size.

you are incorrect if you believe trial and error is how most farmers set their spreaders , at 400 euro per tonne , few could afford to be throwing away manure in the name of learning the ropes

i recently bought a second hand vicon without a manual , i had a brand new rauch before that but it was borrowed permanently :mad: , that spreader was bought new and a calibration manual came with it , every compound or nitrogen fertilizer you can think of was listed and with it instructions on what setting to go with from spread width to tractor speed

larthehar

i have a vicon spreader with a setup similar to that below. in a massey ferguson 5455 i drive in 2c @ 1500rpm (i'l check km/h next chance i get). spreading pasture sward 12 is 1 bag/ac, 24 is 2 bags/ac and 36 is 3 bags/ac...

joe17

ill stick up some pictures of my spreader tomorrow because its not vicon as far as i know thanks for the information thought

Muckit

Fertiliser Charts

joe17

this is a picture of the spreader







i found the make of it is trioliet mullos if thats any help thanks