Oil Tank Makes Great 3 Pt Bunk Feeder

Oil Tank Makes Great 3 Pt Bunk Feeder LIVESTOCK Beef 18-1-3 "It was fairly easy to make and didn't cost much to build," says Warren Teates, Rust-burg, Va., about the 3-pt. bunk feeder he made from an old 275-gal. oil tank. Teates cut an opening on top for loading and put a 4-in. dia. auger along the bottom that runs into a 4-ft. long steel pipe that extends out the end of the tank. Feed drops through a hole at the end of the pipe and into the bunk. Theauger is powered by a hydraulic motor that runs off tractor hydraulics. "It works good and holds up to 1,600 lbs. of feed," says Teates, who fills the tank with pelleted feed or grain for the 200 to 300 beef cattle he feeds each year. "I lower the tank and back it up under my elevator to fill it, then raise it and drive alongside the bunk to unload. I can adjust the 3-pt. top link to set the tank at whatever angle I want. My feed bunks have fairly low walls. It might work better with a high wheeled tractor for bunks with higher walls." Teates cut a 2-ft. square hole in the top of the tank to make an opening. He welded lengths of strap metal to the bottom and side of the tank so that it can be hooked up to a 3-pt. hitch. He welded a rectangular steel flange onto the end of the tank, then bolted the pipe to the flange. A steel plate is welded onto the end of the pipe to support the end of the auger. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Warren Teates, Lakewood Farm, Rt. 1, Box 42, Rustburg, Va. 24588 (ph 804 332-6289).

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