Liquid Fertilizer Tank And Planter Cart

Liquid Fertilizer Tank And Planter Cart PLANTERS Planters 30-5-28 Instead of spending several thousand dollars to buy an 8-row planter with liquid fertilizer tanks, Mike Peterson built a tank and planter cart from the ground up in his own shop. The home-built rig carries a 1,000-gal. liquid tank on the main frame while a Deere 3-pt. mounted, 8-row Max Emerge planter mounts on back. Peterson says the setup worked like a charm on more than 1,000 acres last spring. The cart is 9 ft. 6 in. long and 5 ft. 6 in. wide, built with 4 by 6 by 1/2-in. box steel. A 4 by 8-in. by 15-ft. hitch extends under the cart to provide uniform support for the liquid tank and mounting points for the 3-pt. hitch. Lift arms on the 3-pt. are 2 by 5 by 1-in. thick bars that are 46 in. long. Two 4 1/2-in. cylinders raise and lower the planter bar. The liquid tank sits in a cradle made of 2 1/2 by 8 1/2-in. box steel. An operator can easily fill the tank from ground level through a valve at the front of the cart. A grate platform on front of the cart is ideal for carrying extra fertilizer supplements or for allowing the operator to check inside the tank. Fertilizer is applied with a hydraulic pump. For good flotation with minimum compaction, the cart rides on huge 18.4 by 26-in. turf tires. It hooks to the tractor with a 1-in. thick hitch that's 4 in. wide and 12 in. long. Five holes allow vertical adjustment and leveling for different drawbar heights. "We can plant up to 60 acres without refilling the liquid tank or the seed boxes," says Peterson, "which gives us a lot of capacity. The cart is easy to pull, easy to maneuver, and easy to plant with," he adds. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mike Peterson, 8391 Hall Avenue, Northfield, Minn. 55057 (ph 612 282-6583).

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