24m or 36m

[Highashgrange]

Hi, we are presently 36m as our contractor runs 36m. However we are taking the spraying back in hand and will be purchasing a used machine so should we look at 36m machines or drop back to 24m. I’ve only one tractor which is on 650 tyres and row crops aren’t an option as the tractor hauls all year round. Or an older SP permanently on something like a 600 tyre?

One concern is at 36m some kind of auto boom height system seems to be a must but which ones work as my contractors Norac is very poor.

Budget is £40,000 on something that is like to last 10 years. It’ll be doing about 300 hours a year and I’m expecting some running costs in the way of maintenance so not to worried about that side of things.

 

[Chae1]

Do you put in tramlines?

What suits your drill. I've went from 24-28m with 4m drill. I like having a headland tramline and not having to overlap half run.

Only been top dressing so far. But does feel like I'm getting on quicker.

What do you do for fert? I wouldn't be trying to throw it 36m without section control on spreader. Unless all fields square.

 

[Highashgrange]

Do you put in tramlines?

What suits your drill. I've went from 24-28m with 4m drill. I like having a headland tramline and not having to overlap half run.

Only been top dressing so far. But does feel like I'm getting on quicker.

No the sprayer puts the tramlines in so I’m not worried about matching drill widths. We are liquid fertiliser so are setup for this with a large tank in a central location.

 

[Highashgrange]

No the sprayer puts the tramlines in so I’m not worried about matching drill widths. We are liquid fertiliser so are setup for this with a large tank in a central location.

Can’t edit the above post for some reason but I meant to say we find liquid fert burns the flattened crop behind the sprayer wheels anyway so never have green tramlines at harvest.

 

[Adeptandy]

I’m looking at going 30m as drill is 6m so I can run the sprayer down the drill tractor wheelings, makes travelling when moist a lot easier

 

[KB6930]

24 to 28 if you're going SP or mounted but 36 at least if trailed .

This depends on field size and shape of course . I'm not going off personal experience of trailed but looking over the hedge they run down too much crop in narrower tramlines getting turned round for my liking. It'll be a bit more acceptable at 30m plus

 

[teslacoils]

24m is ace.

When your cheap sp breaks down, you can get any number of contractors in at 24m............

 

[mf7480]

24 to 28 if you're going SP or mounted but 36 at least if trailed .

This depends on field size and shape of course . I'm not going off personal experience of trailed but looking over the hedge they run down too much crop in narrower tramlines getting turned round for my liking. It'll be a bit more acceptable at 30m plus

I don’t understand this? With a steering drawbar it follows the tractor?

 

[benny6910]

I don’t understand this? With a steering drawbar it follows the tractor?

It’s more to do with the front wheels on the tractor turning and the rears not. I have a trailed sprayer and I find the tractor does most of the damage not the sprayer

 

[KB6930]

I don’t understand this? With a steering drawbar it follows the tractor?

A very new full spec green an orange sprayer near here I dunno if he's turning too tight or what but you see front tractor rear tractor and sprayer tracks and his loops will be well over 14m out into the crop . As I said I'm only looking over the hedge at it but at 24m a trailed is a no for me . At 36 I'd probably not have as much of an issue with it or big square fields

We're SP and just do a wee shunt to get turned around and have very minimal damage and I'm spreading fert with a 4 wheel steer tractor there's even less as I can follow his mark