Need Ideas: Rock Screen to Filter Topsoil.

Osconda · Jul 25, 2005

I have many left over burn piles when some areas of my property was cleared with heavy equipment. What remains in the piles is topsoil, ashes, & rock. Rock can vary from basketball size down to a grain of sand. I want to screen out tennis ball through basketball size.

I want to build a rock screen that I could dump scoops of the burn pile material and have the rocks slide off to one side with the good stuff left underneath. Thought of maybe having some kind of insert that would make the screen finer for a second pass.

I'm sure somebody's built or seen something like this in the past. I've got 100's of feet of 1 1/2" drill stem pipe laying around for the project. I've probably got 200 cu. yds to process & an old dump truck to move the material around with.

I'd like to see pics or drawings of anything that could fit the bill. Any feedback would be greatly appreciate. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

oliver28472 · Jul 25, 2005

Click on search above beside main index. Type in: "Screening soil?" Without the quotation marks. That thread has pictures and links to other related threads. Then choose "all posts" for the date range. Good luck.

GerardC · Jul 25, 2005

See this thread.

Taylortractornut · Jul 25, 2005

do a google for a rock grizzly. they are nonpowered screens that we in the dirt moving business use to seperate shot rock usually and sometimes debris. most are made out of heavey bar or drill rod. and have a about a 25 to 30 degree angle on them. Sometimes a powered screen is placed under them to make them vibrate out the topsoils and dirt. Its placed on a 5 or 10 degree angle. The ones ive worked on had an old wobble box off a combine's header that runs the cycle cutter. its got an electric or gas motor. these were usually made for smaller landscapers purposes. I even saw a small screened bottom utility traile with a post set in the ground with a trailer ball onthe top to hold it and an old set of tires on the trailer with a poweerd roller on the bottom. The conveyor rollers were powerd y a 5 horse briggs and a belt drive and and eccentric welded onto one of the rollers. when it got up some speed the tractor would dump a bucket of materieals into the bed and it would shake it out and seperate them. I think a grizzly would be the best in your situation though but add a shaker screen below the main grid.

Osconda · Jul 26, 2005

Thanks alot for the replies. Just the info I needed. Looks like all I need to buy is some chain link fencing. I'm sure I'll be using pipe instead of wood for the stand. Also will put a prescreen with pipe to slag off the big stuff. Will probably just weld on some hooks for easy transport.

Sarge · Jul 26, 2005

Tell you what I built>>> I made a screener out of 2x6's with chain link fence. It was 10' long and the width was 5'. 30 degree angle which at the lower end was about 4' off the ground so the rocks will drop into my dump trailer (one less time I had to scoop them up). Also, I had small wheels on the lower end to transport around the property. Across the the screening box I placed a piece of plywood with an old push mower (minus the wheels and the blade and handles) on the wood and let it run (the rougher it runs the more it shakes) /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif. Everything worked good until i went to dump my 1st bucket load into the screener. MY B1700 LOADER DIDN'T GO HIGH ENOUGH to be able to reach the top /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif . I did lower the screening box but then the angle wasn't good enough to keep the rocks rolling. The other problem was the chain link fence. It would bend easy when dumping the debris into it and crap would get stuck in the openings. Best thing to use is expanded metal with the small diamond shaped openings. Bottom line is ---- I took it apart and starting over with a small 10' home made conveyor that will transport the debris up to the top of the screener and then down into the dump trailer.

Just some ideas to help you I hope /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Sarge

LBrown59 · Jul 27, 2005

( Thanks a lot for the replies. Just the info I needed. 1*Looks like all I need to buy is some chain link fencing. I'm sure I'll be using pipe instead of wood for the stand. Also will put a prescreen with pipe to slag off the big stuff. Will probably just weld on some hooks for easy transport. )

PM ME

1*I think I will go with 1/2 or 3/4 hardware cloth.

MikeD74T · Jul 28, 2005

I made a pipe screen for gravel on a small dump truck by welding the pipes parallel 1 1/2 " apart across the bed with one side 3' above the sideboard. Had an angle iron frame and 2x6 sides parallel with the pipes. Let the low side extend 2' beyond the body so the rocks fell clear of the wheels. Dumped gravel on the high side, gravel fell thru the pipes and the larger rocks rolled clear. No road travel so just dumped from beneath the screen (it stayed on the truck when I dumped)& pushed the rocks to a pile after each load. The rack was bolted to 2x8 side boards and would lift off with the loader. Some larger flat rocks fall thru but the round ones stay out of the load.

L3650 · Aug 1, 2005

Something like this?

http://www.loaderaccessories.com/

Osconda · Aug 3, 2005

Yea, that's a cool lil' dude. I'm sure I steal some ideas from that. Thanks for the link.

Luremaker · Aug 8, 2005

Here is a really simple screen I made using heavy duty 1-1/2 inch chain link fence and a few 2x4s and 2x6s. I have used it to screen about 100 yrd of soil so far this summer. I have screened out lots of large rocks some weighing more than 50lbs without any damage to the chain link fencing. Sod is the biggest pain in the neck because it does not slide down the screen very well.

LBrown59 · Aug 8, 2005

( Here is a really simple screen I made using heavy duty 1-1/2 inch chain link fence and a few 2x4s and 2x6s. I have used it to screen about 100 yrd of soil so far this summer. I have screened out lots of large rocks some weighing more than 50lbs without any damage to the chain link fencing. Sod is the biggest pain in the neck because it does not slide down the screen very well. )
=============
How
long wide and high is it?
How much wider than your FEL bucket is it?

Luremaker · Aug 8, 2005

It is 7' wide by 10' long.

LBrown59 · Aug 8, 2005

( It is 7' wide by 10' long. )
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Thanks for the information!
Do you leave it set where it is in your picture or do you take it down and move it around from place to place?

Your tractor is quite a bit bigger than my BX 23 so I'm thinking of going with 8' long by 5' wide. Do you think this size would work with my smaller BX 23 ?
I'm trying to keep it as small and light as possible to accommodate ease of portability.
Thanks again you've been most helpful.

Luremaker · Aug 8, 2005

I leave this one where it is. I do have more chain link fence available and am thinking of building a smaller portable screen. I know it will be a while before I get around to doing it.

TOL1488 · Apr 6, 2006

Nice simple design there luremaker, thanks for posting it.

Pooh_Bear · Apr 7, 2006

I wouldn't use chain link fence. Too flexible.
I would use rabbit wire fencing.
It's like concrete reinforcement wire, but smaller squares.
You just need a box with this wire mesh on the bottom,
and a track for the box to move back and forth on,
and a crank shaft and rod to move it back and forth.
Should be real easy to make up something like this.

I was thinking of getting an old dryer drum and mounting it
like a concrete mixer. The drum is full of holes all around.
Just shovel river gravel/sand into it and let it spin.
The sand would drop out under it and every so often dump the gravel.
I'm on the Sequatchie river and got lots of river sand/gravel.
Last year's floods created a pile 10ft+ high last year,
but its on an island and I can't get to it.
I'd have to cross fast moving water about chest deep and about 15ft wide.
But there's still plenty of it on my side.

Pooh Bear