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.