Manure Spreader Advice Please

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Ridgefarmer63

Ridgefarmer63

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Joined
May 15, 2015
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377
City & State/Province
New Hampshire
Hello, I need a manure spreader and was looking for some input. I only have about 30 acres of field to spread on. I was planning on pulling the spreader with a JD 2240 or a JD 5320. I was thinking between 150-250 bushel. My thought was a horizontal beater with maybe an upper beater too. I am spreading primarily beef critter manure with an occasional load or two from a dairy farm. Any particular brand favorites? I might consider buying new as I've been raising cattle for maybe ten years and like it and don't plan on stopping anytime soon. Thanks in advance for any input. Mike
 
the price of manure spreaders might make your eyes pop.. they ain't cheap.

We have an old 220bu IH and it works really good.. if you want to do an even job of spreading, it needs to have a catch pan under the beaters, and it needs to have a gate as well.. they spread pretty good with just one beater though.

(guess what I'm doing tomorrow :P)
 
I would love to find one for rent! Impossible in my area, and I only need a half of a day to spread what I have from hay feeders over the last few years!
 
I have had several older spreaders and all seem to be the same the bed chain will break. Nothing worse than a load of crap and the chain breaks because then u have to fork it out by hand.
 
Nesikep":1fvbgzh5 said:
the price of manure spreaders might make your eyes pop.. they ain't cheap.

We have an old 220bu IH and it works really good.. if you want to do an even job of spreading, it needs to have a catch pan under the beaters, and it needs to have a gate as well.. they spread pretty good with just one beater though.

(guess what I'm doing tomorrow :P)
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The gate is what keeps the sh-t off the operator , correct? You think bushel size to tractor size is good? 150-250 bushel = 60 or so hp? From what I've read, for an operation as small as mine and the fact I have per pack primarily to spread a hort. beater is good verses a side slinger.

Tis the season. Wish I could too.
 
My preference is for the older ground drive top beater type. Doesn;t require PTO and I can spread/sling the stuff regasrdless of the weather by pulling it with my truck. Mine only holds 3 loader s full, but that has alwasy been adequate even when waiting a year to spread the stuff.
 
I have a Knight Easy Spread 1219. About 180 bushel. I pull it with a 50 hp 4wd tractor no problems. I've always had New Holland spreaders before and this Knight is no where as stout built as the NH I had. It's an okay spreader, but I wouldn't buy another one.
 
millstreaminn":s9fz9xak said:
I have a Knight Easy Spread 1219. About 180 bushel. I pull it with a 50 hp 4wd tractor no problems. I've always had New Holland spreaders before and this Knight is no where as stout built as the NH I had. It's an okay spreader, but I wouldn't buy another one.
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That's interesting. Is a Kuhn/Knight different from a Kuhn or Knight ? Maybe they merged. Reason being, that's the first thumbs down on a Knight I have heard. Heard decent things about New Holland too which is good since they seem to be more readily available in the Northeast. Made in PA. I believe. Thing I need is an adjustable apron speed so as I can get to the back of the field and back to the manure pile before running out. I would think all the ones talked about here in the size range I'm looking at would have a variable apron speed, eh ?
 
Ours has a 2 speed apron,.. I don't like the 'ratchet drives'... you can vary the delivery rate by the speed you drive.

the gate keeps the crap from falling/running out before you get to your destination.

We had one that always broke the chain... we forked it out ONCE... after that we'd flip it upside down with our crawler loader... a common cause is the screw heads for the planking getting caught on the apron bars.

We pull ours with the IH684 (70HP) but if we had to we could do it with the Massey 165 (55hp)
 
Mine has both Kuhn and Knight stickers on the side. What I don't like is this spreader won't spread a load (not a heaped load, a level load) of packed manure with the apron speed on high. The belt will slip on the drive pulley thus stopping the whole spreader. I though about putting a heavier spring on the belt tensioner but didn't want to tear up something else by doing that.

It's also a PITA to try to change apron speeds via the rope hooked to the tractor. It always ends up between gears, not in gear. It's best to leave it in slow all the time. I only spread a load of manure a week but even this this spreader is to "hobby" for my operation.
 
millstreaminn":284tuuk3 said:
Mine has both Kuhn and Knight stickers on the side. What I don't like is this spreader won't spread a load (not a heaped load, a level load) of packed manure with the apron speed on high. The belt will slip on the drive pulley thus stopping the whole spreader. I though about putting a heavier spring on the belt tensioner but didn't want to tear up something else by doing that.

It's also a PITA to try to change apron speeds via the rope hooked to the tractor. It always ends up between gears, not in gear. It's best to leave it in slow all the time. I only spread a load of manure a week but even this this spreader is to "hobby" for my operation.
Click to expand...

What do you think of the Peqeau 175? Right next to the New Holland factory I imagine?
 
Nesikep":3trmqxqj said:
Ours has a 2 speed apron,.. I don't like the 'ratchet drives'... you can vary the delivery rate by the speed you drive.

the gate keeps the crap from falling/running out before you get to your destination.

We had one that always broke the chain... we forked it out ONCE... after that we'd flip it upside down with our crawler loader... a common cause is the screw heads for the planking getting caught on the apron bars.

We pull ours with the IH684 (70HP) but if we had to we could do it with the Massey 165 (55hp)
Click to expand...

The IH's look good, just not too many in this area.
 
the IH we had has a "lifetime warranty" (to the original purchaser) that it wouldn't rust out as long as the rest of it was operational.. the steel on it is good stuff, and I'd guess it's from 1980 or something, and so far it is doing well... we are careful to clean it out between seasonal uses.. manure left in them is definitely a major cause of rust.

Our old Massey 205 spreader has seen better days, it's the one that perpetually broke the chain, and as I said before, we gave up on forking it out, so it's been flipped dozens of times.. Now it's a handy trailer with a walking floor, it was really nice for all the construction garbage while renovating the house... just back up to the burn pile and out comes all the wood. It has the ratchet style apron drive, and it's pretty bagged out.
 
For the odd time I spread manure, I use a 1952? Allis 95G ground drive spreader. If I thought I could ever justify a new spreader, it would be a hydraulic push spreader. They maintain value very well and no chains to deal with. I've never seen any hydraulic spreader, no matter the age or condition go for less than $5k here.
 

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