Idiots guide to Liquid Fert

Wheatonrotty

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
MK43
Thinking about switching to liquid fertiliser, but have never looked into it before so could do with some basic information. It would tie in with swapping the sprayer so what would I need to look for on the replacement? What are the best nozzles to use? Will they go on the multiple nozzle bodies so it is easy to swap back to spraying? Logistically what sort of volumes are normally used/what level of n in it? Any other issues those that have swapped have come across or the more experienced can guide on would be appreciated. TIA
 

Mdt

Member
Arable Farmer
If upgrading the sprayer then I would get twin lines then you won't have to faff with changing nozzles etc. I currently use hypro esi? Nozzles I think and am happy with them, they can fit on multi nozzle bodies but if have a dedicated fert line then you can have stream bars on and leave them on. Would also get a fast fill pump to speed filling up. I use from 150l/ha to 400l/ha, it depends on season and how many aplications you are going to make. Bowser a big help if have to cover a lot of ground, we have two so one is getting filled while emptying one.
 

Cjm

Member
Location
Buckinghamshire
Most concentrated liquid N I know of is 39% w/v, so if wanting 250 kgN, you would need to apply 641 l/ha throughout the season. Weaker grades would obviously require more. I agree about having twin lines- you will often find yourself doing 1 or 2 loads of liquid N first thing whilst waiting for the leaf to dry then going spraying then swapping back later. Logistically liquid fert is great, as it doesn't take up shed space, you don't have to be there to unload lorries, and you don't have bags to dispose of. A fast fill pump on the sprayer is ideal, but you can buy 2" petrol pumps for under £300 which you can use for filling/emptying bowsers. If you are having section control on your new sprayer, liquid fert is obviously much easier to apply accurately, or vary the rate. I've used 3 or 4 types of nozzles over the years and the ones I got on best with were the agroco umbrella nozzles, depending on your sprayer I doubt these would fit a rotating nozzle body but I'm sure @SimpersTradeCounter could give you some good advice on what nozzles are best for you
 

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
I use Hypro ESI nozzles too but they do cause scorch so I will switch to dribble bars next year, with short pipe extensions to go onto the nozzle holders. My single spray lines are too low for the dribble bars to hang without risking them catching the ground or crop hence why I want to fit them permanently inside the boom frame with the short pipes. A cheaper option than twin lines is a secondary nozzle body for the dribble bars using a single line. I'm sure @SimpersTradeCounter or @JRA can post pictures.

I use Nuram 37 which is diluted UAN. It can be very scorchy but kinder urea solutions are a maximum of 20% N so for 100 kg/ha N in one dose you are looking at 500 l/ha. With N37 the same dose is 270 l/ha which makes a big difference to work rate. I'm running 80 - 330 l/ha with most doses over 250 l/ha so that's a lot of filling time.

There are a few users in here who melt their own solid but that makes a lot of extra work though it can be done over winter & it best if you have good tank capacity & a source of cheaper distressed fertiliser. I rent tanks from Yara for £200/tank/year though I'm supposed to buy my liquid from them. In reaity they will match the price of Bunns/BFS/Omex so the market is quite competitive now. Buying your own tanks would allow you to source from whoever but there's a capital cost. You need tank capacity for at least a week's fertilising as lorry logistics get tight in March/April so out of season prices reflect this. N37 is priced relative to UK AN so will be a bit dearer if you are used to cheapo urea at 24m. As above, if you think about shed & fork lift demand then bulk liquid is cheaper to handle so it's worth a small premium.

The beauty of liquid is the ability to run wider booms knowing that the placement is 100% accurate in everything but the strongest winds. No prills in hedge bottoms or under dosing on headlands. You may wish to consdier this if you want extra spray capacity - with your sprayer tied up on fert, logistics need thinking about. I have a mix of both solid & liquid, running 2 men on a spinner with forklift + trailer at the headland plus the sprayer running on chemical work. When the wind gets up or it starts raining I stop the spinner & move to liquid fert which is why I get scorch trouble. If you're a one man farm this is less complicated. For bowser backup I have bought a 10,000 litre Endurmaxx liquid tank which sits in a 14t grain trailer which gets parked on a headland somehwere it is needed.

When buying a sprayer, make sure it is capable of liquid fertiliser. That normally (though not always) means a stainless steel tank, lots of stainless steel fittings, uprated pump & chassis. Liquid fertiliser is up to 1.35 times as dense as water so ignore a sales man that tries to sell you a standard sprayer as you will exceed rated weights. Pumps are normally centrifugal for that capacity & I recommend a priming circuit. Keep the framework clean & well painted. Liquid N is very corrosive. Auto section control is useful especially with wider booms - most have the ability to be set so they don't double dose on headlands/overlaps, but remember to change that setting to no misses for spraying. I have a Chafer Sentry 6000l 30m trailed machine & can recommend them highly.
 

Wheatonrotty

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
MK43
Thanks for the replies so far.
The reason for going to liquid is that my sprayer driver has left and I'm not planning to replace him, so looking to go wider with the sprayer possibly out to 36m.
Being on my own I think liquid will be easier to get decent output than running the loader about or running back to the yard each time for 2t of solid.
Does aluminium cope with liquid n? We have an old tunnel cement bowser which we use for spraying which could be used.
 
OK as far as we're concerned Dribble bars are by far the best option and we'd recommend either the Billericay Dribble bar (Standard) or the Newer Autostreamer version which is specifically designed for sprayers with rate controllers.
If you don't want to be fart arsing around changing them back and forth then twin lines is best although as @Brisel stated earlier, a few fittings and a piece of pipe can remedy that obstacle. If dribble bars aren't an option for you and Nozzles are what you are after, you wont go far wrong with the Hardi Quintastream jet. Don't be put off by the fact that Hardi make them, they are not manufacturer specific. You can get them in a jet only configuration so the will fit in any standard ISO cap. They are little if at all longer than an AI nozzle so will rotate freely if fitted to a multijet nozzle holder.
Alternatively there is the Variable rate Fert caps that BFS manufacture which as the name suggests adjusts flow according to pressure and covers a large range of flowrates. This is available with either three outlet holes or five.

I hope this helps!
 
Agree with @SimpersTradeCounter in that streambars are the best option for application, obviously we disagree around the brand of choice though ;)

A couple of examples of streambar mounting options we offer for reference. The first is clipped to the boom and pipe fed from an additional nozzle body. The second is a Hypro Duo React body, where the streambar (or nozzle) can be mounted directly to the single outlet, leaving the quad part free for spray nozzles. Both of these options only require one spray line, but can be switched from the cab. If you have any questions @Wheatonrotty please ask away.
 

Attachments

  • Chafer-3409.jpg
    Chafer-3409.jpg
    433 KB · Views: 585
  • Chafer-6900.jpg
    Chafer-6900.jpg
    427.1 KB · Views: 531
@Steevo to be honest these are waning in popularity when compared to the Duo React option. The advantage of clip on type is that the bar is securely clipped to the boom, out of harms way. However, people seem to be opting more for the Duo React option as they can take the streambar off when not in use and add another spray nozzle. This then gives the operator the ability to switch to a different droplet size from the cab if conditions etc. change. The other problem is the clips only exist on the bigger triple fold boom, not on the twin fold boom which I think would be an issue for yourself.
 

Steevo

Member
Location
Gloucestershire
Thanks for the info. :)

I'm considering trialling a field or two of liquid next season but haven't got any further with it yet. Bars are the most sensible option I think, although rather more expensive and less easy to swap than nozzles given we only have single lines. Duoreact look smart but are even more mega money!
 
The bars will mount to your existing nozzle bodies, no problem. Streambars do cost more, but it's worth noting you only need one to achieve a wide range of rates, where as you may well require more than one cap to cover it. The Chafer bar uses a slider to select the rate range of choice (rate chart).
Streambar MR - 0.5m - TeeJet cap (1200).jpg
 

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
@Steevo to be honest these are waning in popularity when compared to the Duo React option. The advantage of clip on type is that the bar is securely clipped to the boom, out of harms way. However, people seem to be opting more for the Duo React option as they can take the streambar off when not in use and add another spray nozzle. This then gives the operator the ability to switch to a different droplet size from the cab if conditions etc. change. The other problem is the clips only exist on the bigger triple fold boom, not on the twin fold boom which I think would be an issue for yourself.

Is there a kit for fitting the streambars to twin fold booms? Lifting the spray lines within the booms isn't practical due to the location of the folding rams on my twin fold 30m setup. Part of the reason for having them protected is going down the road. I replace at least a dozen nozzle holders every year where the branches at the side of the roads catch the parts.
 
Just to let you know the Hardi Quintastream nozzles are ISO colour coded so rate calculation is as simple as it is with your usual nozzle selection.
Also the BFS autostreamer will more than likely cover all your rate needs, but if you want to go for a cheaper option where you have to select the rate, the standard BFS Dribble bar has to be the easiest to use as it just has a disc that you turn to the corresponding orifice size
 
Thinking about switching to liquid fertiliser, but have never looked into it before so could do with some basic information. It would tie in with swapping the sprayer so what would I need to look for on the replacement? What are the best nozzles to use? Will they go on the multiple nozzle bodies so it is easy to swap back to spraying? Logistically what sort of volumes are normally used/what level of n in it? Any other issues those that have swapped have come across or the more experienced can guide on would be appreciated. TIA

Simplest thing to do is just get 1 tank and use 1 product.

We use this stuff. 24N + 7.5SO3 x 833 kgs/ha (660 L/ha) = 200N + 62SO3.

Done as Gordon Ramsey says. Then just top up with protein spray if your milling wheat. Doesn't matter if you've got a bit of the n24 left as it just gets diluted.

We've got a nearly new set of BFS Autostreamers for sale in classifieds which will do 60-900l/ha without touching them. Really good nozzles.
 

Oscar

Member
Livestock Farmer
Not sure what sprayer you are considering but Bateman also make Accurate bars for liquid fert [google them] which fit to their sprayers neatly but would work on other makes too. I have used them for 15 + years and think they are excellant , much better than nozzles from a scorch point of veiw [I ve tried nozzles off and on].
 

ewald

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Mid-Lincs
I have been using liquid N for 15 years - would agree with what has been said about logistics and accuracy - compared to a basic spinner you can be far more accurate both on rates and placement. Be aware that the application cutoff line will be obvious if your tramlines are not accurate (I have sometimes had a double dosed strip between bouts) and tapered garings at ends will either be double or nothing - there is no feathering effect that you get with a spinner. I have always used dribble bars (BFS and Chafer) - just be careful about breakage as they can hang below the boom - have had few problems with scorch.
Another advantage is zero wastage - you don't have the problem of where to put the last half bag at the end of the field - it can be pumped straight into the storage tank
I wouldn't worry about corrosion - my old Gem sprayer looks much the same for rust now as 10 years ago - I do wash it, but not obsessively!
Some years it can be expensive relative to urea - with an owned tank you are not obliged to use it every year if the price is wrong.
 
Not sure what sprayer you are considering but Bateman also make Accurate bars for liquid fert [google them] which fit to their sprayers neatly but would work on other makes too. I have used them for 15 + years and think they are excellant , much better than nozzles from a scorch point of veiw [I ve tried nozzles off and on].

We are using accurate system because our Autostreamers won't fit on the Bateman VG boom unless you set them low which means breakages and at £25/bar it can get expensive. I don't like the accurate system much though because I think they scorch more compared to the Autostreamers. The fert 'sprays' more than the auto streamers which does not help scorch. Throw in some wind that dew axes the leaves and they can scorch seriously. scorch your flag leaf badly and you've had it.

Also with accurate I find the rate I want to suit the forward speed and field conditions is always at the change over point in the bar which means manually changing across 36m which is a pain. With the auto streamers you just alter the rate in the cab and carry on.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 77 43.5%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 62 35.0%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 28 15.8%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 4 2.3%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,284
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top