Spreader Manure spreader advice

[canoetrpr]

I've got a Kubota L3400 - about 30hp at the PTO and I'm shopping for a used older spreader to spread horse manure. I have about 14 acres in pasture and my land is flat.

Supply around here for older spreaders is not bad. I often see New Holland, MF, Schultz, International, New Idea spreaders coming up for sale - sizes 130 to say 220 bushel.

I have two questions for those who would impart their wisdom:

1. Is there any particular spreader, brand, type that you would stay away from if you were me?
2. What is the maximum size (bushels) of a spreader tha you think that a tractor with 30 or so HP at the PTO can handle safely?

I often end up buying new equipment but I've decided that this is just not worthwhile for manure spreaders. There is a decent supply and the older ones seem very well built and work for ever. Plus a brand new one is just waaaay too expensive.

 

[mjarrels]

Look for an old New Idea ground driven... can't go wrong.

mark

 

[Luremaker]

Canoetrpr, lots of used spreaders around here at auctions for between $200 and $600 dollars.

 

[witel]

Look for an old New Idea ground driven... can't go wrong.

Mark,
I've heard that the ground driven may be cheaper, but the wheels may slip is damp/soft soil while fully-loaded. Have you encountered this any in your experience?

Canoetrpr,
I have a very similar situation as you, and have been investigating/researching spreaders to fit my needs.

The New Idea spreaders may limit you to the 3709 model based on your HP limitation as shown in the specs.
The Kuhn Knight spreaders may limit you to the 1212 model based on your HP limitation as shown in the specs.

Some Other Stuff
There are really small ones.
Meyer's Equipment Manufacturing Corporation
Millcreek Manufacturing Co. has a buying guide that you may want to look at.
This site has some interesting videos on calibrating spreaders.

Good luck in your search.

 

[Mike120]

The size you need depends on how many horses you have, what kind of bedding you're using, how often you feel like pulling it, and how long you can go between spreadings. I've got a 16 horse barn, use pine shaving bedding, and use a 75 bu ground driven JD spreader. Depending on our turnout schedule, I might empty it twice a week at the most. I have hay fields and pastures on either side so I don't have any real problems getting in or out when I spread. For us, winter time is a bad weekend in January and I don't have to worry about having a frozen lump of manure stuck in my spreader. I looked at some larger used spreaders but decided they would be more trouble and I could only pull them with my larger tractor.

 

[jdbower]

I guess I'm the only one who straps a TV to the back of the tractor and tunes in C-Span when congress is in session, have to drive fast around election time because it sure comes out fast! Sorry, couldn't resist any longer.

 

[canoetrpr]

witel - thanks for the all that info.

If I were going new then I'd probably go up one model in kuhnknight or NI even given the min PTO requirement of 35. I figure I am relatively close, my land is completely flat and I've got 4WD. I can always load a bit less.

Both those specs give me the idea that I'm looking to get something in the 110 - 150 bushel range ... assuming that I can use the same range as a rough guide for older spreaders as well. So something less than 10ft L x 4ft Wx 22in H..

I've bought a lot of other stuff new but the price diff. is too big between new and used for spreaders so I'll just have to be on the lookout for something old.

I plan to be spreading only occasionally. I will let the manure pile up, compost and then spread maybe 4-5 times a year. So I'd much prefer the largest size spreader I can handle with my tractor.

Thanks again.

 

[L3650]

I have pulled a New Idea 220 bushel pto spreader heaped full of pine shaving bedding from a horse barn with the L3650. That was in soft dirt and over rolling hills without a problem. Not much difference in tractors, yours will handle it.

 

[canoetrpr]

Funny you should mention that L3650. I just found an ad for a New Idea 217 PTO driven spreader that sounds pretty good. I can't find details on the specs for the model but I'm *guessing* that it is about a 217 bushel spreader.

I figured it was way too big for me to handle with my tractor and wrote it off. Maybe I should go look at it.

 

[witel]

witel - thanks for the all that info.

I knew that you were looking for used, but thought the web-sites would be informative at a minimum.

Again, it sounds like we have very similar designs for our pastures. Here's where I'm headed ... I removed two 600 foot sections of barb-wire and pulled all the t-posts ... leaving the rail-road-ties for my future tractor to extract. We have a home nearing completion at the base of our hill that we'll be moving into in about a month or so. Further down from the hill, I have roughly ten to twelve acres of slightly sloped pasture ... which is essentially raw-land ... with lots of sage and scrub-brush, cactus, and weeds. I plan on pulling out what I can this spring with my F350 and a little backbone and sweat-equity. I have neighbors that have lots of horse-manure. I also found a few places close-by on Craig's List that will deliver a truck-load of manure every week for free. I plan to build three large composting bins and cycle through them throughout the year ... one that I'm filling, one that is cooking, and a third that is ready to spread. I'll use the FEL or a 4-n-1 (that I may have been shamed into getting by the TBNers) to turn the piles periodically ... and this is where the manure/compost spreader comes in. Once it looks like things are set-in-motion in the pasture (roughly a year), I'll fence it in, divide it into three paddocks, and throw some horses on it. Of course, it's not a good idea to spread fresh horse manure with horses around, so I intend to continue composting and spread the paddocks that I just moved the horses from.

 

[canoetrpr]

Nice plan Witel!

I've got a 26 acre property with a house, barn and 14 acres in paddocks which were empty till yesterday. We are boarding horses since yesterday so I am planning out manure management. I plan to do the exact same thing as you - 3 piles, FEL to turn them around and then spread with a spreader when ready

All the best with your plans for your property.

 

[L3650]

I should mention that the L3650 has loaded tires and a FEL. The extra weight helps.

 

[KennK]

I have three horses on five acres and compost the manure. The problem I have is that I have only one tractor (w/ FEL) so I have to disconnect my ground-driven manure spreader to load it. That is kind of a pain:

Load - Connect - Spread - Disconnect - Load - Connect - Spread - ...

This would be a lot easier with a second "towing" vehicle (gator, ATV, ...).

 

[witel]

I have three horses on five acres and compost the manure. The problem I have is that I have only one tractor (w/ FEL) so I have to disconnect my ground-driven manure spreader to load it. That is kind of a pain:

Load - Connect - Spread - Disconnect - Load - Connect - Spread - ...

This would be a lot easier with a second "towing" vehicle (gator, ATV, ...).

Heh-heh! Yeah, I realized that I'll be going through that same process ... unless I get a ground-driven spreader to tow behind my F350.

 

[KennK]

unless I get a ground-driven spreader to tow behind my F350.

Honestly, the serious thought of using my Chevy Tahoe to spread the manure has crossed my mind. I'd even thought of hanging a sheet of plywood over the rear window just in case a rock flew forward for some reason. It could be tough to keep the ground speed below 4 MPH though. I could use the 4WD Low I suppose.

That would be an odd sight indeed.

I wish the drawbar on tractors would power raise/lower and that there was some kind of quick-hitch on the end of the drawbar. That way I could just backup, lower the drawbar, "click", raise it up, and off I'd go. In other posts I'd talked about using the 3PH to pull the ground-driven spreader, but I guess the risk of the 3PH bouncing up (I guess it just hangs and isn't really fixed in place) raises an issue.

By the way, I have the biggest ground-driven manure spreader that Frontier (JD?) makes.

 

[canoetrpr]

My plan is as follows:

- First the manure spreader comes.

- Then I MUST load the tires because it's enough work to have to unhook the tractor from the spreader - having to hook up the ballast box to fill it up with a load of manure is just WAY too much work. Then I'll have a tractor with loaded tires.

- Then I complain that it is WAY too much work to have to unhook the tractor anyway for each load.

- I discover an auction in the future that is selling a MF 135 or 165 in mint condition. There is something about those two models that I really like the look of. It is in such good condition and such a good deal that I just can't pass it up and so I end up with the winning bid.

Finally I have two tractors - my L3400 Kubota, a nice MF machine with a bit of history to use for this and that, and loaded tires on my L3400.

What do you gents think of my evil plot? Unfortunately, my wife knows me too well and I think she might have figured it out.