Steve Wilson
Well-known member
This is an ancient, rubber tired spreader. When I started playing on the farm a few years ago, they were struggling with it spreading right. The flinger auger wasn't hooked up because they said the chain kept jumping off the sprocket. They asked if I would have time to spread it, if they filled it up. Sure. Well, it was as dismal as they said. The two beater bars worked, but with no slinger, it didn't fling out to the sides any. Got to see what is up with this situation.
I see the problem, the idler sprocket needs adjusting. WOWEE, look at the rust on that bolt and nut. I sprayed it down a couple times with PB Blaster and let it sit for a few hours. The nut backed right off and adjusting it was child's play. I also took the time to replace any stubborn grease fittings, poured used motor oil on all the chains and told them to fill it up again. This time, with the auger now running, it flung manure all over hell and back. I was worried that some of it would land on me as I pulled it with my old David Brown 52 HP diesel tractor. I escaped without harm.
Each weekend, they would have it loaded to the gills again, and I would chug it slowly up the road and commence to spreading on a particularly weak ridge in one of the pastures. Untold loads were spread over the past two years. The goat barn, sheep barn and chicken houses were emptied of all manure in due time. Every time I took it out to spread, I had this satisfied glow about me. This old devil has been doing this task for at least 50 or 60 years, maybe more. I'm betting it will keep doing if for a very long time still.
That came to a sudden halt Sunday morning. The old David Brown was still sitting in a shed at another of the farms a few miles away. So I hooked it up to my Allis Chambers 190XT. Off I went, limping the old thing down the gravel road and into the pasture. Going slow, never wanting to put it under any undue stress from going fast. I still need to figure out how to take a link or two out of the main drive chain. You can't get it to clear its idler sprocket, so the beater bars and slinger spin all the time.
I spend more time looking back at the spreader, than to where I am driving. All you have to do is point the tractor straight and keep in mind where ditches and other obsticals are. The spreader was near empty and I needed to turn around. There was only about a foot of manure left on the drag chains as I made the turn. When I got straightened out and looked back again, the drag chain was all catywhompas. I shut down and walked back to see what was up.
One of the bars on the upper beater had lost a bolt on one side. The lower beater was missing an entire bar. The drag chain had let go on each side, at the same place. Something had gone wrong. But what? My guess is the top beater bar came loose on one side, dropped down and caught a bar on the lower beater....sending it off to who knows where. And also jobbed into one of the bars on the drag chain and cause them to break. I walked the entire manure trail three times, and followed my tracks back through the pasture, while standing outside the cab door. Looking for the missing bar. Not wanting to leave a flat causing land mine laying in the field. To no avail. I never found it.
Fixing it won't be much of a job, but I sure hated loosing a piece of metal in the pasture. Where surely, the sickle bar hay conditioner will find it wrapped up in its teeth. Or sticking out of a tractor tire. Uggggggg.
I see the problem, the idler sprocket needs adjusting. WOWEE, look at the rust on that bolt and nut. I sprayed it down a couple times with PB Blaster and let it sit for a few hours. The nut backed right off and adjusting it was child's play. I also took the time to replace any stubborn grease fittings, poured used motor oil on all the chains and told them to fill it up again. This time, with the auger now running, it flung manure all over hell and back. I was worried that some of it would land on me as I pulled it with my old David Brown 52 HP diesel tractor. I escaped without harm.
Each weekend, they would have it loaded to the gills again, and I would chug it slowly up the road and commence to spreading on a particularly weak ridge in one of the pastures. Untold loads were spread over the past two years. The goat barn, sheep barn and chicken houses were emptied of all manure in due time. Every time I took it out to spread, I had this satisfied glow about me. This old devil has been doing this task for at least 50 or 60 years, maybe more. I'm betting it will keep doing if for a very long time still.
That came to a sudden halt Sunday morning. The old David Brown was still sitting in a shed at another of the farms a few miles away. So I hooked it up to my Allis Chambers 190XT. Off I went, limping the old thing down the gravel road and into the pasture. Going slow, never wanting to put it under any undue stress from going fast. I still need to figure out how to take a link or two out of the main drive chain. You can't get it to clear its idler sprocket, so the beater bars and slinger spin all the time.
I spend more time looking back at the spreader, than to where I am driving. All you have to do is point the tractor straight and keep in mind where ditches and other obsticals are. The spreader was near empty and I needed to turn around. There was only about a foot of manure left on the drag chains as I made the turn. When I got straightened out and looked back again, the drag chain was all catywhompas. I shut down and walked back to see what was up.
One of the bars on the upper beater had lost a bolt on one side. The lower beater was missing an entire bar. The drag chain had let go on each side, at the same place. Something had gone wrong. But what? My guess is the top beater bar came loose on one side, dropped down and caught a bar on the lower beater....sending it off to who knows where. And also jobbed into one of the bars on the drag chain and cause them to break. I walked the entire manure trail three times, and followed my tracks back through the pasture, while standing outside the cab door. Looking for the missing bar. Not wanting to leave a flat causing land mine laying in the field. To no avail. I never found it.
Fixing it won't be much of a job, but I sure hated loosing a piece of metal in the pasture. Where surely, the sickle bar hay conditioner will find it wrapped up in its teeth. Or sticking out of a tractor tire. Uggggggg.
