Home-Built Portable Manure Cleaner

Home-Built Portable Manure Cleaner MANURE HANDLING Equipment 29-4-42 This portable manure cleaner was built by a neighbor of mine who operates a large feedlot. He uses the machine to drag sludge out of a shallow, flat-bottomed lagoon on one side of his feedlot. It has a 10-ft. dozer blade on back that's raised and lowered by a hydraulic cylinder that operates off tractor hydraulics. A hydraulic-operated steerable semi truck axle on back makes it easy to position the blade. The frame is off an old A-frame type combine trailer. The rig measures about 30 ft. long so the tractor driver can back it into a lagoon without getting stuck. To operate the machine, you back the blade down into the lagoon, keeping the tractor up on a hard surface. Then you let the blade down and drive forward to dredge the manure out. Once the manure is dragged outside the lagoon it can be hauled away or pushed into a field and spread out. Because of the rig's length the tractor driver can work the lagoon from all four sides without getting stuck. Unlike a pump, this unit can be used to remove both wet and dry manure. My neighbor built this machine two years ago but due to wet weather it hasn't been used yet. His employees Dale Dickson, Richard Lincolnfelter, and John Annett helped build it. (John M. Maxfield, 1407 Rd. 280, Admire, Kansas 66830 ph 620 528-3476)

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