Mechanical drive or hydrostatic used SP?

[Highashgrange]

I’m looking at buying a used self propelled. Probably 3000l with a 24m boom. Price wise it’ll be ideally around £30,000 but definitely no more than £50,000 so going to be well used with hours on the clock. Reading the forum it seems hydro motors are around £3000 each service exchange so 4 can add up quickly if I’m unlucky with the purchase. So the question is are mechanical drive SP’s a safer buy? I know Kelland stuff is mechanical drive (multi drive and aggribuggy) but what else?
Edit: we are mostly flat ground with slight undulations and very little road work so high speed is not important. We just want a simple sprayer with auto shut off and maybe boom height control. I’ve got an old JD ATU RTK steering system I can add for autosteer but not sure that can run section control?

 

[Flatlander]

im on my third hydro sprayer and have had a few issues. Mostly oil seals but on my sprayers they are an easy change. Clean oil checked on a regular basis is key. Keeping it simple with auto shut off and boom height involve some degree of electronics both which are not simple or cheap. My height sensors are 1500$ each and 5 across the boom which like to fail.

 

[Salopian_Will]

You might find a Kellands/McConnel Agribuggy with fewer hours on but they’re rare and so you’re more likely to find a Househam, Bateman Sands that fits the bill. And you get the benefit of ground clearance which you don’t with the agribuggy. We are on our second Househam. No complaints and plenty about. Most with have section control already fitted. A nice AR3000 will fit the bill nicely. You could go for one of the other two makes but they will have a lot more hours on them and be heavier.

Auto boom height is not that vital particularly on flat ground. Ours hasn’t worked for years and I don’t miss it (on hills too).

 

[Spud]

For mechanical look at sprayranger, similar to agribuggy but less money.
Bargam worth a look if you're near back up, they are similar to a combine transmission with a hydro unit powering mechanical axles instead of wheel motors.
I bought a 10yr old hydro sprayer for nearly 40grand back in 2015. Sold it after a year, bloody thing. Slow, noisy, unreliable, lack of traction, it was like a needy teenager - when you weren't spraying with it you needed to be fiddling with it. I wouldn't have another in a rush.
Auto section is brilliant but personally I don't see the need for auto height at 24m. Better putting the money into auto steer and rtk signal than auto height

 

[Nearly]

@Drillman

 

[clbarclay]

Chaviot is another option, though it's been a while since they were made and they only went up to 2000 litre.

Being 2wd however is not an issue. Ours travels over soft land far better than a 4wd hydro sands. It has fair ground clearance for spraying OSR, but a belly sheet helps.

The transmission is about as robust and cheap to fix as they come. Being older though means there can be quite a bit of wear and plenty of little things that need fettling.

 

[Drillman]

Older spray rangers are fine newer ones are a bit delicate I’m told

Clayton or Multidrive is the answer

 

[Superted820]

Look at H Curtis the machinery dealer. They have a lovely Multidrive for sale. Just seen it in the agricultural trader.

 

[cousinjack]

I just bought a Agribuggy 2700 with 5k hours…. Well within your budget…

Looks to be a huge improvement on my previous Lightspray

 

[Nearly]

I just bought a Agribuggy 2700 with 5k hours…. Well within your budget…

Looks to be a huge improvement on my previous Lightspray

Most things are.

 

[KB6930]

We ran a Clayton 4105 excellent sprayer changed that for a new 09 agribuggy 2500 again excellent sprayer both would go anywhere .
Tried a new McConnell agribuggy in 2019 we both hated it didn't like the gearbox and didn't have the power of the older machine .
We changed to a househam spirit I really don't like it it's regular driver has got used to it neither of us will spray steep stuff with it now because it won't go up and feels very dangerous coming down so we no longer contract spray grass for a neighbour that we do the rest of his work .

Hydro is very nice to drive for getting a set s
speed turning etc but mechanical drive will pull better

 

[nxy]

At this point I would take mechanical every time. Funny this comes up today having spent yesterday unable to go spraying in near perfect conditions with a our Hardi Alpha 2500 which firstly refused to release its brakes with out being rocked backwards and forwards and then allowing us out on to the road where after 100m it put them on again. Bit of rocking back and forwards and we were off again for 100m then the same again till we got back to the yard with a tank full of fungicide. All very amusing. Anybody shed any light? It has no brake pedal so I assume oil flow to the motors releases the brakes so the default is for the brakes to come on?