Low-Cost Weigh Wagon Built From Fuel Tank, Grinder- Mixer Scale

Low-Cost Weigh Wagon Built From Fuel Tank, Grinder- Mixer Scale CROPS Miscellaneous 22-3-6 If you want to check yields of corn hybrids and soybean varieties but you can't justify the cost of a commercial weigh wagon or combine yield monitor, you might be interested in how Charles and Norbert Weitl of Templeton, Iowa, turned a 1,000-gal. fuel tank into a low-cost weigh wagon. They fitted the tank with an electronic scale off a grinder-mixer. They paid $1,200 for the scale, which came with an axle equipped with sensors wired to the scale. They paid $20 for the fuel tank and cut out both ends of it. Then they welded a sloping floor into the bottom and mounted it upright on a home-built frame affixed to the axle. A slide gate on back is used to empty the tank. They use a hand-held calculator and mathematical equations to figure yields. They start with the corn or bean weight provided by the scale. Then, they enter into the calculator the length of the row and the crop's grain moisture content. To determine row length, they mounted a measuring wheel on the weigh wagon that trips a counter as it turns. "It's really interesting to see the differences between different hybrids and varieties. We've found that it's not necessarily the highest priced seed that always yields the best. Looks can be very deceiving. Of course, one year of data isn't nearly as meaningful as two or three years," says Charles. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Charles Weitl, 28682 Hwy. 71, Templeton, Iowa 51463 (ph 712 669-3670).

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