Rebuilt Spreader Works "Better Than New"

Rebuilt Spreader Works "Better Than New" MANURE HANDLING Equipment 34-5-40 When the box on a customer's Knight manure spreader wore out, repair shop owner Al Kilburg, Zwingle, Iowa, replaced it with a heavier-built one, adding a few improvements along the way. The spreader still has the original wheels, axles and drive mechanism. "Many farmers want to keep their old spreader instead of spending the money for a new one. By rebuilding, the customer was able to save a lot of money," says Kilburg. "We spent about $9,000 to rebuild it. A new spreader of comparable capacity would have cost $12,000 to $14,000 and wouldn't have been built nearly as heavy." He started with a 15-year old Knight 7716 swinger manure spreader that was 14 ft. long, 6 ft. wide, and 5 ft. high. The box V's down to a 24-in. dia. auger at the bottom, which moves manure forward to a set of hammers mounted on the left side. A hydraulically operated door opens to let manure into the hammers. The spreader's sides and bottom were originally built from 3/16-in. thick material and were badly rusted. Kilburg cut the old box apart in sections and used a 4-ton overhead crane to lift them off the frame. He built a new box on the shop floor, using heavier 1/4-in. thick steel to build the sides and bottom. The new box is 8 in. higher than the old one, with a length of 3 1/2-in. sq. tubing welded around the top edge of the box. He used the same crane to set the new box into position before welding it on. "The box's original sides were topped with wood, which took a beating from skid loader buckets. The steel tubing does a much better job of withstanding the blows," says Kilburg. He mounted a 1/4-in. thick steel plate on front of the box and bolted a pair of 4-in. high tapered splashguards onto the front and back end of the box. He also rebuilt the back end, installing 3 new bearings in the chain-drive mechanism. And he straightened out any parts of the auger flighting that were bent. "We applied a 2-part epoxy coating inside the box to keep moisture away from the metal. And the spreader's rear end is bolted on so if anything has to be reworked inside the box, it can be removed," notes Kilburg. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Al Kilburg, Kilburg Welding, 10278 Manderscheid Road, Zwingle, Iowa 52079 (ph 563 773-8894).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.