fence cleaner (tumbleweed machine) Ideas

[BHD]

been considering making a fence cleaner, and I was sent the pictures below some years ago,



and looking on YouTube,
Innovative Tumbleweed Removal - YouTube


one other place.
Stelter Repair, Inc. of New Leipzig, North Dakota was founded in 1943

below are two pictures that are represented of the problem.

ANY IDEADS. I think the first idea is the better, it uses V belt sections like a string trimmer, works and if you look close there appears to be bars that the weed gets broke up in and the shield is to keep the "ground weed from coming back on the tractor, I was thinking some thing that could quick attach to the loader and then let the loader float, (to my under standing the guy that sent me the photos is no longer making them). and were more than I wanted to spend,

 

[BHD]

found a video on the shelter repair unit,

it uses the brush to sweep off the fence and a flail mower to beat them up,

the top one I posted the pictures for from prestige manufacturing, Prestige Manufacturing, Inc. - Home - Kimball, NE basically uses a belt system similar to a combine spreader to sweep the fence and to beat them up, as stated there are a few bars that the belt look like they work against,

the first one looks easer to use as a guide, as my thought was to mount on the loader of the tractor?

Any ideas on the rpm of the rotor belts to make it effective, combine spreaders usually are turning at about 400 rpm I would think some.

faster, the blue machine looks gentler on the fence, but much more costly and complicated, to build,

another idea is to use the sweep head, then make a roller to smash them and then use the PTO bush hog to chop them as crushing them usually does not do that much they spring back,
(one year I pitched fork them off and thought I would use a old bailer to smash them the knotters were not working so I did not tie them, most of them sprang back in a few day enough to blow back in the fences, and this was a old Massey #1 bailer, (small bailer),

so just crushing them is not that helpful,

I like the flail mower Idea, as well,


NO Ideas or opinions? I have about 12 miles of fences to maintain,

 

[BHD]

one thing and I know this would cost more, to make but a double sided unit some what like this video.

that way the tractor would not have only be driven on one side, you choice of making it work may be easer,

 

[BHD]

I did find a patent on the first one pictured, 3,444,674. Patent US3444674 - Fence cleaner - Google Patents

when looking at the pulleys in the drawings there using gas engine, and the engine pulley looks to be about 4 inches across, (drawing1/4") and the pulley on the beater is nearly 12" or slightly less than (3/4") on the drawing in Figure 3, now that would (if a 3600) rpm engine that would be 3600 x 4 =14400 divide by 12 =1200 rpm. for the beater speed.

Sound Right?

 

[Brad_Blazer]

If a baler will pick them up how about a chopper (forage harvester)?

 

[BHD]

Most bailers will not pick them up, the old Massey #1 was a different breed of bailer, and even at that I had to pitch fork them in to the feed, the old Massey had a feeder chain some what like a combines feeder house chain that would grab them and crush them and pull them in,

my round bailer they just stick in the pick up area and will not crush to move through.

but even with the bailer one still has to pitch fork them off the fence or by hand to set them out for the bailer to pick them up, and I no longer have the old massey bailer,

a forage chopper could possibly work if a head was made to pick the tumble weeds off the fence and crush to feed them.
forage choppers are far and few around here,

I do like the idea of that as the contents would not be left and possibly not as many seeds to grow

 

[Hiltz]

Ok maybe a dumb question from someone who dosent see a lot of tumbleweed. Why cant you just burn them where they pile up?

 

[Jasonc87]

Ok maybe a dumb question from someone who dosent see a lot of tumbleweed. Why cant you just burn them where they pile up?

Heh, this may be a dumb answer as I'm in the same boat where I don't know much about tumble weed. But in order for those to get up against the fence it has to be fairly windy I'd assume. With wind and light dry 'weeds' it would scare me to light it for fear of surrounding fields or crops..

 

[BHD]

If you have bunch of tumble weeds and burn them they burn very hot and would set the country side on fire, in our part of the country the grass is just as dry as the weeds,

tumble weed are odd as well it would take a ditch burner to set afire, unless there very thick, very hard to set on fire, a single weed is open and hard to get to burn, so it take a good heat to get it burning, and then they flash burn,
about 5:20, It starts to flash burn, but show some of the problems in burning them

the fence wire would be ruined as the heat would burn the galvanizing off, and take the tensile strength and stretch out of it, many posts would be damaged, and the like said the grass land would set ablaze,

most tree rows would be killed, and if up by buildings they would set ablaze,

some do burn them but most of the time they will have to moved a safe location to burn them, and like the neighbor did a few years ago and brunt his winter grass off and had no ground cover or winter feed,

Fire is not a very good friend in the west, unless very carefully controlled,

 

[Hiltz]

BHD, I watched your video. Wow, I see what you mean now about not wanting to burn them. All of your reasons above also make sense. Thanks for the info.

 

[oldnslo]

Could you somehow modify a combine straw chopper to do this? Not sure if a straw chopper can be run vertical Vs horizontal due to bearing loads but I would think they would be of similar design and intent.

 

[BHD]

basically the first machine is about what it is but there are multiple (spreaders) beaters/flails spaced up and down that will clear the fence from ground to top of it, and to improve the "grinding efficiency" there are bars of steel between the beater/flails.

what I am thinking right now is to make a quick mount base so it will fit on my loader, but make it pivot from the center of the mount so it could be used on right or left hand sides of the tractor, and possibly make it tilt so if the tractor is in a slop like a road side ditch, the head could be keep at the same as the fence, at least that is where I am at currently, trying to make a decision on motor (most likely a hydraulic motor, but my tractors GPM is not that high, so I may end up having to use a PTO pump and make it's own hydraulic system, (which cost wise may kill the project for this year as a pump would be in the 500+ and oil tank, and enough oil to keep temperature down, plus the motor and hoses,)