Seasonal Implements?

   / Seasonal Implements? #1  

Harv

Elite Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2000
Messages
3,371
Location
California - S.F. East Bay & Sierra foothills
Tractor
Kubota L2500DT Standard Transmission
Come spring I was planning on buying a 3-pt PTO-driven boom sprayer as a first attack weed weapon on a few acres of the property.

Being new to this whole tractorin' thing, I was wondering if the availability of certain implements comes and goes with the seasons. In other words, is there a good time and a bad time to find such things as sprayers? Or are the prices better at one time of year as opposed to another?

I know we're not talking about patio furniture here, but maybe some of you thousand-year-old veterans have seen a pattern?

HarvSig.gif
 
   / Seasonal Implements? #2  
Harv the Landpride tiller I just bought, I never would have got it so cheap come spring. Think about it, everyone waits till the last minute to buy the expensive stuff and then the tractor dealer has got you---boom. I've found that in the spring the dealers will flex the least and come fall they will flex alot more. They don't want the stuff in inventory all winter with little chance to sell it. So now is the time to start looking and pricing. Make the dealer a lowball offer and you never know he may take it. It's got my foot in the door a couple of times and better yet it's worked a few times. So you never know unless you try. But now is the time to start shopping.

Tractor sales slow this time of year and the dealers start to get hungry so now it's your turn to feed them.
Gordon
 
   / Seasonal Implements? #3  
Like Gordon said, you may get a better price if you buy off season, but "in stock" selection may be greater at the beginning of the season. However, at least in our area, the implements are available at any time of the year, although the dealer might have to order what you want instead of having it in stock. Do you have a Tractor Supply Co. or Gebo's, or someone else like that in your area?

Bird
 
   / Seasonal Implements?
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Gordon, Bird -

Sounds like the smart thing to do is to start shopping right now -- which one of you is going to explain this to my wife (alias "my accountant"). /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Implement shopping is frustrating for me 'cuz I have yet to find any kind of supplier less than an hour's drive from me. I may have to let my fingers do the walking and then just take an afternoon off to go look at what I've tracked down. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif

Come to think of it, my tractor broker, "Miracle" Mike offered to get implements for me any time I asked. He can probably get a good price, too, but I may or may not get to see the tool in person before the purchase.

... and it all started 'cuz I was tired of pushing my DR Trimmer/Mower. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

HarvSig.gif
 
   / Seasonal Implements? #5  
Harv,
About a sprayer. You will find that a PTO sprayer may be costly. The pump, lines, tank, all run the costs up. I paid if I remember right $115 for my sprayer plus about $20 for the mounting. I can turn the pump on and off from the seat and the pump just runs when the wand is pulled on. I just drive and spray as I go from the seat. Check it out at and look at the picture.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin...ber=20912&Search=true&Forum=All_Forums&Words= &Match=Entire Phrase&Searchpage=0&Limit=1000&Old=1day&Main=20446

/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gifJeez/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif. That thing is long, thank goodness for copy and paste.

JerryG
 
   / Seasonal Implements? #6  
Harv I think that you might be able to get the past the accountant!!! Just slip it in as a drive sprayer for the computer and she might never realize the difference until she sees it mounted to the tractor instead of the computer./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

The main purpose of a drive sprayer is to remove viruses from the hard drive yea thats the ticket!!!
Gordon
 
   / Seasonal Implements? #7  
   / Seasonal Implements? #8  
I believe there is a TSC in Woodland. It's kind of off the path for Harv. to my knowledge that's the only one within 100's of miles

Harv's property is about an hours from me...

Harv, you may check the dealers around Stockton, since they support a large volume of agriculture.

RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif
 
   / Seasonal Implements? #9  
Harv:

One of my winter projects is to build a boom sprayer like you are looking for. I looked at the engine driven and electric pump types like TSC and Northern sell but decided against them. It cost us about $250 to have 3 acres sprayed for weeds this spring. That was the lowest bid of three. Being a glutton for punishment, I decided that I would try to build a sprayer that I could also spray our orchard with. I estimate that I can build it for $300 to $350 using the best (most expensive) pump I found. More on that later. The most expensive components are the pump and the tank. I managed to scrounge a pair of 35 gal plastic drums with threaded bungs, one for herbicide, the other for insecticide. Should be able to do about an acre at a fill. I plan to mount the drum on a platform that rests on the top of the 3ph lift links, and strap it in. The nozzles and tubing are readily available from TSC. These will probably end up mounted to a piece of 2x4 lumber. Not elegant, but functional. Haven't figured out yet how to mount the 2x4, but that's part of the fun.

Now, about pumps. These are PTO mounted roller pumps. TSC sells them, but I got my prices out of the Grainger catalog. A roller pump is a positive displacement pump, which means that you can't shut off the flow or you will blow out the weakest thing in the pressurized side of the system, or break the pump. There must always be a flow through the pump. This can be used to advantage as it provides a simple way to keep the solution in the tank moving should you be spraying something that requires agitation. Since these pumps can make 300 PSI at 4+ gallons per minute, it should be useable as a light duty pressure washer. There seem to be three grades of pump material. Plain cast iron ($105), NiCast alloy ($191), and SilverCast ($245). The claim is that you need at least the NiCast to withstand an acidic chemical like Roundup. That will be a concern weather you build or buy a PTO sprayer. Does anyone out there have an opinion on the merits of the pump materials for Harv and I? Does it matter for the amount of use that most of us will put on a pump?
One more detail. The nozzles on these sprayers are calibrated for pressure and speed. You can pretty simply adjust the pressure with a regulator, but if your tractor is hydro, the speed thing becomes complicated. I will either use a magnetic pickup bicycle speedometer (about $20) adapted to the tractor, create something electronic that reads the axle rotation, or use the TLAR (that looks about right) method.

Craig
Hershey, PA
 
   / Seasonal Implements? #10  
Craig, I have one of the roller pumps on a pressure sprayer/washer powered by a 3.5hp Briggs & Stratton (300 psi although I usually run it at about 150-200). The only difference in mine and the PTO powered pump is that mine turns the opposite direction (be sure you get the right one; I got the wrong one first when I had to buy a pump). Of course, you do need a pressure regulator and hose to allow excess pressure to return to the tank, like you said.

I would suggest that you not buy the plain cast iron, which is what I have. If it's not used for a week or so, it seizes up and I have to loosen the housing bolts and turn it with a wrench to get it freed up so I can start the little B&S with the pull rope (although you probably wouldn't have that problem with the power of a tractor PTO).

The only reason I have this rig instead of a PTO powered one is because it was given to me as junk and I got the motor running, cleaned up the pressure regulator, and replaced the pump (the neighbor who gave me the rig also got the pump for me at wholesale for $75). It has a 25 gallon tank and I've used the same rig for both insecticides and herbicides; just wash it out thoroughly when I change from one to the other.

Bird
 
 
 
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