Horse manure weight??

[Ezzrider]

This is going to depend a lot on the moisture content.

You can determine the density yourself for an investment of about $7.50.

Wally World sporting goods department sells a fish scale that will weigh 0-50lb. for about $5.

Either Homer Depot or Lowes will sell you a 5-gallon bucket for ~ $2.50.

Take a shovel, the bucket and the scale with you. Fill the bucket with manure and weigh it with the scale. There are 7.48 gallons to the cubic foot, so the weight of the bucket of manure will be 2/3 the density in lbs/cubic foot.

According to my bathroom scales the 5 gallon bucket filled with the horse manure weighed 26 lbs. If my math is correct (questionable) and the 5 gallon bucket is 2/3 of a cubic foot then a cubic foot should weigh 39 lbs. Since my trailers capacity is 156 cubic feet loaded up to the 2' level that would compute to 6084 lbs loaded to capacity. Does that sound correct? Dang I was overloaded!!! Even at a 1/2 load I would be over 3000 lbs. I really should only get a 1/3 load in my trailer if these computations are correct. 2' height divided by 3 would be a .67' or only 8 inches fill height in my trailer?? Can that method be correct as that would make the manure 1053 pounds per cubic yard?? Does manure weigh over 1000 pounds per yard??

 

[bp fick]

EZZRider

I am rather suspect of trying to finely compute the weight, as no one can give the water content with any accuracy. Pint's a pound, the world round kind of thing.

My horse farm loads out of aged pile with a large New Holland tractor with a FEL bucket that has to be 2 or 3 cubic yards. When the young man loads 'er up heaping and dumps, my poor 'lil trailer does indeed squish like ripe tomato. I have taken to giving him hand directions during partial dumpings while watching my springs and Squat O Meter. :laughing:

I wave him off. His price ($15) is the same whether I take a full trailer or half, so the temptation is great to overload. Not gonna do it.

 

[Ezzrider]

EZZRider

I am rather suspect of trying to finely compute the weight, as no one can give the water content with any accuracy. Pint's a pound, the world round kind of thing.

My horse farm loads out of aged pile with a large New Holland tractor with a FEL bucket that has to be 2 or 3 cubic yards. When the young man loads 'er up heaping and dumps, my poor 'lil trailer does indeed squish like ripe tomato. I have taken to giving him hand directions during partial dumpings while watching my springs and Squat O Meter. :laughing:

I wave him off. His price ($15) is the same whether I take a full trailer or half, so the temptation is great to overload. Not gonna do it.

I hear ya. I was actually hoping weighing the 5 gallon bucket of the horse manure I had loaded would give me a fairly close idea as to the actual weight of the manure they are loading. It is fresh manure being swept out of the stables and then loaded on my trailer. I was alarmed when I went to get my trailer and the tires were near flat!! I took a portable air tank with me and inflated the tires as best I could and limped home with the trailer not driving over 40 miles per hour and mostly around 30 miles per hour slowing down for any bumps or depressions in the road. It was a dicey trip. I also had to take my floor jack to lift the front of the trailer so it would fit on my trucks hitch ball!! The front of the trailer had sunk into the ground a bit. I will obviously get smaller loads but I do want to get as much as I can safely haul.

 

[maybar]

The gentleman at the river sand pit said: "Ya can have all ya want free if ya load er yer self OR for fer 5 bucks I can fire up that front loader". On a hot summer day out of the wallet comes a crisp flashy 5. This was back in my younger days before I knew about Squat O Meters.

OH My Gawd, I've hever had such a 3 mile ride at 12 mph in my life.:laughing:

 

[Ezzrider]

The gentleman at the river sand pit said: "Ya can have all ya want free if ya load er yer self OR for fer 5 bucks I can fire up that front loader". On a hot summer day out of the wallet comes a crisp flashy 5. This was back in my younger days before I knew about Squat O Meters.

OH My Gawd, I've hever had such a 3 mile ride at 12 mph in my life.:laughing:

Now exactly what is a Squat O Meter???

 

[magicheater]

Now exactly what is a Squat O Meter???

It is the common sense you apply when watching the springs on your trailer as it "squats" and determining how much is enough.

I have a dump trailer and am more concerned if it will lift what I put in it when I get home as I know my truck can handle the weight just fine. I regularly haul horse manure, haul the B7800 there with the 12' dump, load away and haul. I regularly fill the trailer heaping full, some loads are heavier than others. I try to balance the load with how I load, heavy stuff to the rear and light stuff in the front. You need to know your equipment and what it can do. Best to err on the light side. I use my Loader Buddy and generally have to shake some off after engaging the pile so the loader will handle it.

 

[Ezzrider]

magicheater
Boy I wish I had a dump trailer with a hydraulic lift bed!! My problems I will not be there when the trailer is loaded so I cannot watch the springs, tires, etc. while it is being loaded and it is being hand loaded. Hence my trying to get a good idea of what should go in the trailer before I drop it off the next time which is as soon as I can figure this out. I have tried to research on the internet and have read horse manure weight estimates from 250 to 1400 pounds per yard. That is too big a range.

 

[magicheater]

magicheater
Boy I wish I had a dump trailer with a hydraulic lift bed!! My problems I will not be there when the trailer is loaded so I cannot watch the springs, tires, etc. while it is being loaded and it is being hand loaded. Hence my trying to get a good idea of what should go in the trailer before I drop it off the next time which is as soon as I can figure this out. I have tried to research on the internet and have read horse manure weight estimates from 250 to 1400 pounds per yard. That is too big a range.

Just fill it 1/3 full and be happy someone is loading it for you. What you may lose in efficiency you gain in peace of mind. Instruct the people loading to watch the springs and stop before they are horizontal. Good luck!

 

[ragkar]

Boy, your measure of 39 pounds per cu. ft is certainly different that the book reference weight that I quoted of 25 pounds per cu. ft. I wonder what the reason for the difference is?
In any case you'll have to go by your measure. I like the idea of loading until you begin to feel uncomfortable with the load. then rake it even, measure and then never exceed the 12 inch depth or whatever.

 

[Ezzrider]

Ragkar
The 5 gallon bucket with the manure from my manure pile weighed exactly 26 lbs and if the 5 gallon bucket is 2/3 of a cubic foot then the cubit foot weight would be 39 lbs. Is it possible there is an error in the method in determining weight by density or volume? Again I will not be there when the trailer is loaded and cannot expect the stable people to watch the springs or tires. I will have to give them a height reference to fill the trailer. Using your method of computing the weight the trailer could only be filled to 8 inches of height and that seems low to me but maybe not.