When is it too windy to spread solid fertiliser?

[Feldspar]

I've very little experience with fertiliser spreading hence the question. Situation is spreading to 24m with Nitram, Doubletop and Kieserite with an Amazone Hydro Profis. How windy in mph is too windy (i.e. when you would no longer be confident of doing a good job)?

 

[Jim75]

Depends on individual material but I have tray tested materials so know its right and then on the day look out the back window and monitor it. Generally once it starts pinging off side/ back windows it was time to stop, touch wood apart from spreader sabotage never had stripes ( keeps touching wood)

 

[JACK F]

Found can spread in the field centre in quite windy conditions. Tray tested and has always been even. Headlands are a different matter and needs to be as calm as possible. Find if windy you may leave 6m down one side of field untouched and be spreading into the hedge the over side of field. Right now for example my bloke is spreading just headlands on 4 fields as forecast windier tommorrow but hopefully ok to finish the field centres then.

 

[AlfM]

Will stay accurate when windier than you'd imagine with a decent spreader, and decent fert. Don't make a habit of it, but most years i start out early morning when its still, and wind will pick up and always end up with 2 ton in the spreader at the end as its getting blustery, but never noticed any stripes. Thats always Nitram or Doubletop with a Kuhn Axera H-EMC.

 

[Steevo]

If it's too windy to spray, it's too windy for fert spreading.

 

[Robigus]

Never if you've got a pneumatic.





That probably wasn't very helpful.





But why the hell has everyone stopped making pneumatic spreaders?

 

[Brisel]

Never if you've got a pneumatic.

But why the hell has everyone stopped making pneumatic spreaders?

All the pneumatic spreaders I have seen spread upwards from the deflector plates, so there must be a bit of wind shear, especially if you are using cheap & very dusty product with uneven size granules/prills.

Pneumatic spreaders are expensive, heavy & haven't had great boom suspension or any break back. They have a lot of frame & boom to corrode away, plus you can't drive as fast as a well shod & suspended tractor with a mounted spinner.

Has anyone on here bought a new one recently with variable rate control etc? Can they be made with wide boom widths of 30m+?

 

[Feldspar]

Thanks for the replies. Also I wanted to ask, is spreading at night a problem with granular fertiliser in terms of the dew causing problems with the flow? The spreader obviously has weigh cells so should compensate for decreased flow due to damp. It's all hooked up to the GPS so seeing where to switch on and off shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Brisel]

I can't see how higher humidity levels should affect the spread distance any more than wind will, not for what you are doing. I'm sure some geek has tried tray testing 42m spreading in thick fog vs. normal weather...

 

[Robigus]

All the pneumatic spreaders I have seen spread upwards from the deflector plates, so there must be a bit of wind shear, especially if you are using cheap & very dusty product with uneven size granules/prills.

Pneumatic spreaders are expensive, heavy & haven't had great boom suspension or any break back. They have a lot of frame & boom to corrode away, plus you can't drive as fast as a well shod & suspended tractor with a mounted spinner.

Has anyone on here bought a new one recently with variable rate control etc? Can they be made with wide boom widths of 30m+?

OK so you don't like pneumatic spreaders.

I don't like them much myself, and you are right they are heavy, the hoppers are small, the booms are a pain in the but, and they do cost more.
But all the ones I've ever had blew downwards - some of them you can also alter to blow upwards, but the big advantage was that I am never spreading more than half a metre either side of an outlet.
That means I can spread the cheapest crap fert I can get my hands on and pay back the extra cost in a couple of seasons. It also means that I can spread fert,slug bait or granular pesticides and know that none of it is going in the ditch no matter how breezy it is.
Also you can get a 36m trailed pneumatic the Khun ATG 6030, it costs about the same as a good second hand combine!
But don't worry I've already placed an order to change for a spinning disc this autumn as the one I've got is nearly knackered and no one makes a mounted spreader now.

 

[Brisel]

Apologies for my bias - I only ever used knackered old pneumatics.

You have partly answered my next question - do you think that you get value for money with a pneumatic? Has the cheaper crap put through it paid for the extra cost & hassle of your type of spreader?

 

[Elmsted]

For spreading one of these IME is hard to beat.

http://www.krm-ltd.co.uk/Innovative bredal.htm

 

[Brisel]

I used to have a mounted Bredal - very accurate application rate thanks to the belt feed. The hopper was mounted quite far back which made it heavy on the tractor. It died when the top link snapped with a full load & I replaced it with a Kuhn MDS 1141 that was VRA compatible.

 

[eastcoast]

AGT6036 fantastic machine

 

[Thick Farmer]

For spreading one of these IME is hard to beat.

http://www.krm-ltd.co.uk/Innovative bredal.htm

I've got one of these and they are good, simple machines. I particularly like the ground drive system which means I can slow down on rough ground without altering the application rate.

 

[General-Lee]

Was wondering this myself the other day, and tried searching for wind gauges/detectors(thingies) but couldn't find anything on the internet. Obviously use hedges/trees as a guide, what do other people do that or just poke their head out the door?

 

[foxbox]

Was wondering this myself the other day, and tried searching for wind gauges/detectors(thingies) but couldn't find anything on the internet. Obviously use hedges/trees as a guide

You mean if it's going in the hedges and up the trees it is too windy?!

 

[General-Lee]

You mean if it's going in the hedges and up the trees it is too windy?!

Haha no no if they are blowing/moving.

 

[Brisel]

Was wondering this myself the other day, and tried searching for wind gauges/detectors(thingies) but couldn't find anything on the internet. Obviously use hedges/trees as a guide, what do other people do that or just poke their head out the door?

Spaldings & APM sell Kestrel anemometers with varying levels of sophisitication.

 

[foxbox]

Haha no no if they are blowing/moving.

Ooooh