KV geo-spread weigh cell failure.

[Phil P]

Swap the vanes about, the leading one wears more than and in different places to the two behind. Then next time swap the sides as well. Wear is also much more noticeable when you continually spread the same product, different products hit the vanes in different places.

Not on a center flow as product is fed from the centre of the dish rather than been dropped into the veins. They’re also all different lengths.

 

[Sharpy]

Unless they have changed you would have to switch automatic adjustment off, you do on mine anyway. Iffy calibration gives wonky dose rates.

 

[Sharpy]

Not on a center flow as product is fed from the centre of the dish rather than been dropped into the veins. They’re also all different lengths.

It still hits differently, been using an EDW for 19 years now, 14,000 acres in the first year so I have a fair bit of experience with the rotaflow system, didn't realise yours had different vane lengths though , sorry about that.

 

[Phil P]

It still hits differently, been using an EDW for 19 years now, 14,000 acres in the first year so I have a fair bit of experience with the rotaflow system, didn't realise yours had different vane lengths though , sorry about that.

CL and TL have different lengths of veins so they can’t be swapped round.

 

[willy]

And also KV seem to be pretty poor in relation to helping.

Had it new summer 2018, but its actually a 2017 model. It's not so much the actual vane snapping but the bolt/stud which is welded to it which secures it. Im sure its a very rare occurrence and probably wont happen again.

This is the same as mine snapping where the bolt is welded on I presume

 

[quattro]

CL and TL have different lengths of veins so they can’t be swapped round.

Is that the equivalent of the Vicon rom then

 

[Phil P]

Is that the equivalent of the Vicon rom then

I’ll be honest I’m not to well up on the vicon versions/equivalent models.

 

[quattro]

I’ll be honest I’m not to well up on the vicon versions/equivalent models.

I’m not on th Kv, Vicon rom is middle range

 

[Phil P]

I’m not on th Kv, Vicon rom is middle range

The rom looks like the equivalent to a KV TL.

 

[farmer steve]

CL and TL have different lengths of veins so they can’t be swapped round.

Zeroing the scale in the operator menu shouldn’t affect the flow rate. It would only affect it if the weigh cell calibration was incorrect in technician mode on (think it’s pin 5 or 8) but as soon as you dropped a bag in you’d know if that was incorrect.
I think there is a separate calibration for flow rate, although I have a feeling it should do this automatically. It may be worth checking the auto rate calibration is turned on as I’m sure it can be switched on/off.

I will try zeroing it when pto is turned off rather than it running then. Just means when I drop a bag in and discs are at full speed it will display 625kg instead of 600kg. Will see if it cures our application rate error. I was thinking It might be more flow rate related. We always run it in auto calibration mode though so guess it should sort itself out. Only time we've had it in manual is for putting slug pellets on.

 

[Cloonpotatoes]

I just had to get 2 new actuators for the width on mine it took them a bit too long for my liking but got it sorted in the end .

We have put an actuator on ours and a neighbour has replaced all 4 of his. It was meant to have happened because the actuator can not get to the closed point/voltage so keeps trying to close. New software is meant to cure this problem.

 

[Phil P]

I will try zeroing it when pto is turned off rather than it running then. Just means when I drop a bag in and discs are at full speed it will display 625kg instead of 600kg. Will see if it cures our application rate error. I was thinking It might be more flow rate related. We always run it in auto calibration mode though so guess it should sort itself out. Only time we've had it in manual is for putting slug pellets on.

You can adjust how often it self calibrates, you’d need to read the book though. Field size can have a big affect on the calibration apparently so you can set it to small medium or large (what they class as small and large though I don’t know!).

 

[willy]

Made me laugh yesterday, when I rang dealer and said it’s broken down again, he repeated they never have any problems with KV spreaders and I am just unlucky. Anyway I told my bloke to take it to their yard and they can sort out some issues over the weekend. Got there and low and behold another farmer was their with a KV spreader on his tractor and it had just had the gearbox replaced and it was only a 18 plate machine.
Fills me with confidence not!

 

[farmer steve]

Made me laugh yesterday, when I rang dealer and said it’s broken down again, he repeated they never have any problems with KV spreaders and I am just unlucky. Anyway I told my bloke to take it to their yard and they can sort out some issues over the weekend. Got there and low and behold another farmer was their with a KV spreader on his tractor and it had just had the gearbox replaced and it was only a 18 plate machine.
Fills me with confidence not!

I guess as they are getting more and more popular any problems are becoming more apparent. However when we looked at getting ours all we heard was good things about them. I guess all spreaders have their problems. It's still an impressive machine, section control seems to work well etc.

 

[Phil P]

I guess as they are getting more and more popular any problems are becoming more apparent. However when we looked at getting ours all we heard was good things about them. I guess all spreaders have their problems. It's still an impressive machine, section control seems to work well etc.

I was going to say, out of all the “which spreader” threads on this forum over the past two years I think the centre flow/geo-spread was the only spreader no one had a bad word to say about. That’s until now that is!

 

[James 6920]

My 2016 exacta tl geo has now had all original actuators replaced, it’s had a hell of tonnage of Fert through it in that that time tho. In regards to hopper weight, i get 10-12kg of weight added when i run the discs up to 950rpm, was told it was the suction from the discs spinning and creating the suction through the dosing cup etc, rightly or wrongly i just zero it with the hopper empty but with discs running at opera speed.
I also think mine was under applying, but the spreader does have two options to display the “calculated” or “actual weight” that’s been spread, so mine is set for actual, but the maths didn’t add up, i was then told that I needed a exact area of the field then divide that over that area and the rate would be spot on, so now I’ve been using the John Deere screen with RTK to create a boundary on all our fields, i then use that Ha, with the weight spread and the rate seems spot on... Kverneland man said that the spreader only works on calculating the area spread or something...
Automatic calibration can be set to field size, mine is running in the mid size which I believe to be calibrating every 50kg, the big field setting is 75 and small 25. I think...
Not a fan of washing it down, there’s far to many nooks and crannies, that harbour Fert dust, I’m also not impressed with the hoper grids, seems such a ball ache to get in the hopper to open em, especially with 3 extensions fitted, and as they are angled you can very easily go arse over head in there.

The “section control” works well and you can visually see the fan of Fert being reduced in angled short work, only issue I discovered is just how unevenly the hopper empty’s due to the rate reduction on the side that’s doing more short work, fine in square fields not in awkward shape ones, can have up to 120kg left on one side, and nothing in the other, so I fitted a camera in my hopper so I can monitor the way it’s emptying. Works really well and the money spent on a decent camera has seen its last in there for 4 years with no problems with corrosion or water ingress.

 

[farmer steve]

My 2016 exacta tl geo has now had all original actuators replaced, it’s had a hell of tonnage of Fert through it in that that time tho. In regards to hopper weight, i get 10-12kg of weight added when i run the discs up to 950rpm, was told it was the suction from the discs spinning and creating the suction through the dosing cup etc, rightly or wrongly i just zero it with the hopper empty but with discs running at opera speed.
I also think mine was under applying, but the spreader does have two options to display the “calculated” or “actual weight” that’s been spread, so mine is set for actual, but the maths didn’t add up, i was then told that I needed a exact area of the field then divide that over that area and the rate would be spot on, so now I’ve been using the John Deere screen with RTK to create a boundary on all our fields, i then use that Ha, with the weight spread and the rate seems spot on... Kverneland man said that the spreader only works on calculating the area spread or something...
Automatic calibration can be set to field size, mine is running in the mid size which I believe to be calibrating every 50kg, the big field setting is 75 and small 25. I think...
Not a fan of washing it down, there’s far to many nooks and crannies, that harbour Fert dust, I’m also not impressed with the hoper grids, seems such a ball ache to get in the hopper to open em, especially with 3 extensions fitted, and as they are angled you can very easily go arse over head in there.

The “section control” works well and you can visually see the fan of Fert being reduced in angled short work, only issue I discovered is just how unevenly the hopper empty’s due to the rate reduction on the side that’s doing more short work, fine in square fields not in awkward shape ones, can have up to 120kg left on one side, and nothing in the other, so I fitted a camera in my hopper so I can monitor the way it’s emptying. Works really well and the money spent on a decent camera has seen its last in there for 4 years with no problems with corrosion or water ingress.

Agree with all what you've said there. I know what you mean about the grids, plus the emptying of one side first, could do with a bigger window in the front so you can see in the hopper better really when it's getting low.
I've been recording field boundaries with the spreader, setting it to record while spreading the headland to try and get accurate field sizes. They match up well with the sprayer area which is on gps auto shut off. So these are the areas I've been using to do the maths for the rate.

Only thing I don't like about the control box is not being able to switch each side off individually while section control is switched on, you can't override it unless you switch section control off. Only times I've wanted to do this is when spreading on rape where there's some failed patches from flea beetle, pigeons or wet woodsides and is nothing there. Or also when in a triangle shaped field in the corners on the headland when you need to switch one side on before the other.

 

[KB6930]

Agree with all what you've said there. I know what you mean about the grids, plus the emptying of one side first, could do with a bigger window in the front so you can see in the hopper better really when it's getting low.
I've been recording field boundaries with the spreader, setting it to record while spreading the headland to try and get accurate field sizes. They match up well with the sprayer area which is on gps auto shut off. So these are the areas I've been using to do the maths for the rate.

Only thing I don't like about the control box is not being able to switch each side off individually while section control is switched on, you can't override it unless you switch section control off. Only times I've wanted to do this is when spreading on rape where there's some failed patches from flea beetle, pigeons or wet woodsides and is nothing there. Or also when in a triangle shaped field in the corners on the headland when you need to switch one side on before the other.

The thing about corners sorts itself out once you've made a boundary it won't spread outside it but the first time through it will .

 

[Reg]

New cell ordered £400! Maybe warranty but not sure at this point as the second year has to be applied for apparently

Just had weighcell shear in two on 2011 Amazon ZAM. Around £1350 the dealer said

 

[farmer steve]

The thing about corners sorts itself out once you've made a boundary it won't spread outside it but the first time through it will .

Yeah like you say it's only really an issue when you haven't recorded a boundary. For fields like that I have sometimes left section control switched off for headlands but turn it on for the up and downs. Took a while to get used to recording boundaries successfully, rembering to pause it and start it again in awkward corners else it draws some right weird shapes! Found it very easily to accidently press the finish recording button though instead of pause... which totally buggers the boundary up!