Dirt shaker/screener

JonKioti · Mar 21, 2009

I know I'm asking the right fellas.

A couple of years ago I dusted off my arc welder and set out to make a soil screener. For those of you who have perfect soil, you may not need such an animal; for the rest of us who contend with rocks, this machine is great if you can get it working correctly.

I picked up a 1" screen from a local quarry and welded a four post frame that could be moved around. I suspended the screen on springs and two vertical pins to keep it in place. I made up some off centered weights and spun them with a 5 hp engine that had a built in reduction gear.

For the most part the thing worked, but it doesn't really shake soil that well. Conditions have to be near perfect for it to work (dry soil is the biggest requirement), but if I load it up too much it clogs and I end up with a heavy pile on it that does not shake it through.

Has anyone found or made a decent shaker sized to compliment a CK-20? I am not looking for one the size of a tandem dump truck, nor the one that goes over a wheelbarrow.

Any pictures or web links would be welcome; I'm considering updating or replacing mine this summer.

Thanks!

Jon

PA hayseed · Mar 21, 2009

JonKioti said:
I know I'm asking the right fellas.

Has anyone found or made a decent shaker sized to compliment a CK-20? I am not looking for one the size of a tandem dump truck, nor the one that goes over a wheelbarrow.

Jon

I haven't, and quite frankly yours is much better than mine. All i did was use some PT 4x4's and a heavy screen. I use the bucket to vibrate it, well, actually bounce it around. Like yours, dry soil works great.

The nursery guy down the road has one of those real expensive ones, and it has a motor and it vibrates. Of course, he can buy that as he runs a nursery. Your rig looks pretty good, maybe a modification or two may help. There was a thread on TBN where a guy fabricated one that seemed pretty nice.

Nice work.

joe48 · Mar 21, 2009

do a search for screens ,there's been a couple.

nice looking screen, but I think if you made the screen angle adjustable it might solve your problem. The wetter the soil the steeper the screen angle.

allenr · Mar 22, 2009

I had been trying to think of a good way to screen dirt out of the blue metal in my yard and this thread prompted me to have a look on Ebay(oz).

The below unit sounds good but I suspect is not without shortcomings - I don't fully understand how it works and even the finest screen is not as fine as I'd want. I guess a finer screen would make it harder to get the dirt through.

Flip Screen Skidsteer Screening Bucket (ex-demo) - eBay, Machine Parts, Attachments, Construction, Business, Industrial. (end time 23-Mar-09 08:41:43 AEDST)

TBDonnelly · Mar 22, 2009

Check this screener out......

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/124659-motorized-dirt-soil-screening-machine.html

Don

JonKioti · Mar 30, 2009

Thanks all for your compliments and suggestions.

Allenr, that unit gives me some ideas I might try if I were to rebuild this thing. A rotating drum would give the most yeild, but building it might pose some challenges. What do you mean by "blue metal" in your yard?

TBDonnelly, the shaker in the link you posted is scarily similar to mine. I know it's not a copy, as I didn't post any pictures, etc, but the similarities are funny, right down to the dimensions of the screen.

That being said, it's an excellent thread that answers several problems I ran into. I think I need to increase the frequency of my vibrations to get mine working better, as well as being able to adjust the angle.

Thanks for your help guys.

Jon

natem · Mar 31, 2009

I have been looking to buy one somewhere. And was shocked to see that there was no company that makes a small one for compact sized tractors for a few thousand dollars. I am shocked that there is not a market for them this size with all the do it yourselfers out there. I guess that the company's don't bother with them because people would buy a compact sized screener and then load it with a huge construction sized loader and wonder why the thing blew up.