Spreader 3pt fert spreader

[hoddykubody]

Can you guys recommend a good 3pt fertilizer spreader . Something to carry about 150- 200 lbs of product . It would be nice if it was made of poly -resin -fibreglass type material to avoid rotting out . The ones I looked at are worksaver Beefco and another company BR.Do a lot of small horse pastures and large farm yards, TIA Hoddy

 

[Robert_in_NY]

The best is Vicon. I have never used a Herd but a lot of the guys on here have them and like them. Stay away from the cheap metal ones that TSC and other farm stores sell as you have to clean those things perfectly immediately after every use or else you are in for a fight.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

The best is Vicon. I have never used a Herd but a lot of the guys on here have them and like them. Stay away from the cheap metal ones that TSC and other farm stores sell as you have to clean those things perfectly immediately after every use or else you are in for a fight.

The best I know of by reputation is Vicon. I have a Herd and consider it excellent. Depending on the Herd model, the hoppers are either galvenized steel or powdercoated.

Vicon is a pendulum type spreader, Herd and most other brands operate by dropping material onto a spinning disk that has little flaps. Most of these disks/flaps are cheaply made of thin stamped steel and rust out. On the Hurd it is a heavy cast steel part. I'm not sure if Vicon makes a spreader small enough for your needs? I believe the Hurd's M96, which is owned by a bunch of us here on TBN is too small for your needs, but that is their smallest model so you'd have to step up one size to get the capacity you need. I'd suggest you look up both websites and call them on the phone to tell them your needs and ask for a recommendation on which model would be suitable for you.

I don't know where Vicon is made, Hurd is made in Indiana. Most of the cheaper brands are Chinese or Italian.

I'm not sure about the Befco brand, but I do know that Befco is generally considered to be one of the better brands of implements. I've never seen a Befco spreader so I can't speak for their spreaders but I have owned other Befco implements and have never seen better. So if you are comfortable with the build quality of the Befco at your dealership, it is probably a good unit. Otherwise I think you might also be happy with Vicon or Hurd.

 

[flINTLOCK]

How does a pendulum spreader work??

 

[redlevel]

Undoubtably the Herd and Vicon spreaders are higher quality and more precision than the cheaper spreaders. I don't know if Herd makes a bigger spreader. I understand the Vicon sells for $1K or more.

I currently use, and used for 30 years when farming for a living, the cheap models. They will last five years or more if you wash them out and oil them down with burned motor oil of cheap unused oil. They do a good job if you are spreading on small areas, say 5 acres or less, and keep your swaths close together. Now, when I'm preparing food plots, I set the rate very low and go over the area 2-3 times. I am pretty good about estimating acreage, and I usually don't have green-yellow-green stripes. I actually do a better job on these smaller fields than spreader trucks from the farm supply.

This one is about four years old and has almost no rust on it. I just hose it down, then pour oil in it and work all the mechanisms to get the oil on all the parts. It holds about 300 lbs. I don't remember exactly what it cost, but I think it was less than $250.

 

[thcri]

I have had my herd for some time now. I and two other neighbors use it every year about 3 times a year. It will hold three bags of fertilizer so it might be a tad bit light for you but at the price well worth it. I have recomended it to many people here on TBN.


murph

 

[Robert_in_NY]

How does a pendulum spreader work??

The fertilizer falls thru the openings and into a chute that swings back and forth spreading the fertilizer either on one side, both sides or the entire back of the machine depending on what spout you have on. There is zero chance you will get any fertilizer on the tractor unless you intentionally dump some on it. I think Vicon is made in Italy. I was just talking to my dealer yesterday and a new 1800 pound capacity Vicon with cart is over $5k. I do have a line on a nice used one for $1500 but I do not know if I need a second Vicon. It has double the capacity of my 3pt Vicon which would be nice in the fields but I am undecided on it. If anyone is interested in it let me know via PM and I will pick it up before it is gone (grape farmers won't start spreading for another week or so and then it will be gone).

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Undoubtably the Herd and Vicon spreaders are higher quality and more precision than the cheaper spreaders. I don't know if Herd makes a bigger spreader.

Herd makes a wide range of spreaders. The M96, which is their smallest model, holds about 3 bags of product. They make a simple optional extention that can be added to the hopper to increase the capacity of the M96. They also make very large commerical spreaders and everything in between.

I looked at some of the lower priced conical spreaders last year and the prices were roughly $350 last spring (some more - some less). When I purchased my Hurd M96 a couple years ago it was about $50 more expensive than the brand carried by TSC but was much better built.

Here is a Wikipedia Link that discusses spreaders, shows photos of the Herd M96 and has some links. Broadcast seeder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia