People with rotary 3 point spreaders... does your tractor ever get corrosion issues?

[AntiqueIron]

I'm pretty well familiar with the way the spreaders themselves rot out- my concern is whether all that fertilizer, lime, salt, whatever winds up coating the back of the tractor.

I have a nice original tractor that I like to keep in good cosmetic condition. I could get a lot of use out of a spreader, but after seeing what salt spreaders do to trucks... I'm not exactly convinced they do more good than harm except for spreading seed, and maybe sand. I can budget one, but I'm on the fence about rust issues on my nice tractor.

Walk away, or will the ol girl be fine?

 

[5030]

So long as your rotary spreader (3 point driven) come with the shield that prevents the spinner from spreading material forward, you'll be just fine. That and at least in my situation, when I'm done, the back of the tractors get washed off as well as the spreader but my spreader has a poly conical drum on it so I only have to wash the lower unit off and when I'm done, it gets fogged with a diesel fuel / motor oil mix.

Rotted out spreaders get that way because people never clean them out. Kind of like people that never wash their tractors either. My tractors are pretty old (2002 and 2001 vintage) but you can eat off the motors as well as the back ends. I hate filth, plain and simple.

Here is the 2001 unit...

 

[AntiqueIron]

That's a good looking setup! I too wash and wax my tractor. She's a tool, but I believe tools should be kept presentable and clean. Not to mention I also have sentimental attachment to my ol gal.

I'd probably think that spraying the hopper with a good non stick spray of some variety, or rubbing in some used ATF, before and after use would help. Good hand wash and spray wax on the tractor after would probably do the trick.

 

[5030]

Whay I have and use is a jug of mixed diesel fuel and motor oil that I spray on my spreader after washing (same with my disc mower after I use it prior to stprage. Keeps the implements from corroding. The sprayer I use draws the solution from the jug with compressed air and sprays the solution on the implements via a siphoning action much like a paint spray gun works.

My units all get power washed and I use a foam cannon to apply wash solution.

I fond it interesting when someone posts a picture of their 'problem tractor' or implement and it's filthy beyond belief.

I'd be embarrased to post up a picture like that. How you take care of your rxpensive equipment is a dorect reflection of how you treat other things.

Wear and tear is one thing, unmitigated filth is another.

One thing I'd never do is take apart anthing on a filthy tractor. Not only do you get grimy, but the filth can get inside the machine and cause issues.

Everything I own and operate, vehicles included, stay as clean as I can possibly keep them.

 

[dodge man]

Yes I’m getting corrosion on my spreader and rinse it off. I also rinse my tractor off and no problems there. I’m only using it for spreading fertilizer once a year on about 2 acres.

 

[5030]

Corrosion is a non issue with a poly hoppered spreader so long as you clean the distribition parts. I don't rinse anything off, I hot water pressure wash them, including the tractors. The spreader I have had for 20 years is corrosion free and it stays in the equipment barn, inverted on a pallet when not used.

 

[rgr33]

If you’re using anything corrosive in a spin spreader, you need to be borderline obsessive about cleanup after use

I pressure wash every nook and cranny in the spreader and the tractor. Neither of my tractors show any sign of corrosion after years of use, they are both over 10 years old, stored inside.

Equipment is so expensive these days, it pays to take care of what you have

 

[WinterDeere]

I have a Herd M12 spreader that I use for fertilizer 6x per year. Yes, the tractor gets a lot of fertilizer all over the back end, whether actual granules or just massive amounts of dust depends on what I’m spreading, but it’s all nasty and corrosive.

I have a routine of blowing everything off with the handheld leaf blower first, then rinsing everything down with the hose, before leaving it in the sun or wind to dry. Then I spray all exposed metal surfaces (e.g. 3-pt ball joints) with WD-40 from a spray bottle that I fill from gallon cans… a can lasts nearly a decade.

Following this routine, I’ve never seen any rust anywhere on the back of my tractors.

 

[bdhsfz6]

30 years ago, I modified an old Fressori steel cone fertilizer spreader to spread a mix of coal ash & rock salt. Both are corrosive, but I store it inside and use a cover to keep out rain & snow when spreading. The only maintenance I do is pressure wash it at the end of the season. I used it behind my old L3430 and more recently my L6060. The only corrosion on the spreader is on the deflector plate, and that is relatively minor. Neither tractor has any.

The trick is to keep everything dry when not in use, rig a shield to keep the spread material off the tractor, and hose it off at the end of the season.

 

[pwhite42]

30 years ago, I modified an old Fressori steel cone fertilizer spreader to spread a mix of coal ash & rock salt. Both are corrosive, but I store it inside and use a cover to keep out rain & snow when spreading. The only maintenance I do is pressure wash it at the end of the season. I used it behind my old L3430 and more recently my L6060. The only corrosion on the spreader is on the deflector plate, and that is relatively minor. Neither tractor has any.

View attachment 3522702 View attachment 3522703

The trick is to keep everything dry when not in use, rig a shield to keep the spread material off the tractor, and hose it off at the end of the season.

I bought a poly Bush Hog for spreading sand and salt. I haven't got to use it yet. I messaged Bush Hog about a cover, haven't heard back. Where did you get your cover?