cattle slats rocking

vanderbadger

lads I replaced slats in an old shed before last winter, purchased from a well known crowd in offaly. anyway they came and fitted them, now its an old shed so they had to level them up in spots, anyone i noticed 1 slat rocking abit last winter but didnt pay much heed, this winter heaps of them are rocking, when you go to feed the cattle you can hear that noise as the cattle scrable about, its very annoying and a bit worrying! my question is should I ring the slat company and give out or is it my problem, to my mind the slats there for the previous 25+ years never moved about and they must have made a ****e job of leveling them, what do ye think

dryan

Had the same problem myself - same crowd did the job too - would they be based in a little town on the banks of the river shannon?

Anyway, when i got the tanks emptied during the summer, i broke up a few slates and got down into the tank and went along on each slat and wherever they were rocking, i packed the broken slate in underneath - problem sorted.

vanderbadger

ya they would! ya i suppose not much can be done now till its emptied but still it worrying when you hear them jangling

BENDYBINN

go and have a few pints vanderbadger and stop worrying over nothin!!!

pakalasa

How will having a few pints stop the slats rocking!

mossfort

its up to you to have the tank ready for the slat company to fit the slats.
was it an old block tank or precast concrete?
probaly best to try and pack a few slates under them but it wont be easy if the tank has been used plus there could be dangerous gases down there even when you empty the tank .
they are not going to go anywhere if they are concreted in.
thats company slats are regarded as one of the best finishwise etc.

bk1991

mossfort wrote: »

its up to you to have the tank ready for the slat company to fit the slats.
was it an old block tank or precast concrete?
probaly best to try and pack a few slates under them but it wont be easy if the tank has been used plus there could be dangerous gases down there even when you empty the tank .
they are not going to go anywhere if they are concreted in.
thats company slats are regarded as one of the best finishwise etc.

are the slats not concreted in around edges ?

mossfort

if all is done properly they should be.

vanderbadger

ya they are concreted in around the edges alright, its a full leanto thats slatted, there is a precast beam thru the middle that the slats rest on along with the surrounding walls which are concrete, the day they put them in they used these little plates uder slats to level up but the feckers must have fallen out, you just wonder if a slat moving about could damage itself over time, scary enough when i got a good look at the old ones when they came out..all cracked!!

irish_bob

this is something that needs to be sorted , eventually , the slats will break , slats are fragile in this regard

blue5000

I suggest you contact the supplier and get more plastic shims, they come in 3 different thicknesses. Some of them must have fallen out. Put them in when you empty the tank.:)happy christmas

mossfort

blue5000 wrote: »

I suggest you contact the supplier and get more plastic shims, they come in 3 different thicknesses. Some of them must have fallen out. Put them in when you empty the tank.:)happy christmas

be careful you dont get knocked out with slurry gases which might remain in the tank.

Wishbone Ash

mossfort wrote: »

be careful you dont get knocked out with slurry gases which might remain in the tank.

Wouldn't the gases be lighter than air and rise up through the slats and disperse?

bk1991

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Wouldn't the gases be lighter than air and rise up through the slats and disperse?

the other way around air lighter than gas and stays in tank

pakalasa

The gases you have to worry about are methane, carbon dioxide, ammonia and hydrogen sulphide.

Lots of people & livestock killed over the years with these. They will be in the tank even when the slurry is taken out. You should wear a breathing appartus to be safe.

You could also leave the pipe of the slurry tanker in the tank and keep the pump going to keep the gases sucked out. Either way it very dangerous so take care.

Have a look at this ;

It says -Never enter a slurry tank unless you are wearing breathing apparatus with its own air supply and you are connected by harness and
lifeline to two people outside.
www.hseni.gov.uk/slurry_gases_can_kill.pdf

PaddyJules

Built new shed 3 years ago and slats were rocking after 1st year. I solved this by pouring petrol on the Polysterene which is between the slats and the concrete. The petrol dissolved the polysterene and I then filled the gap with a light mixture of sand and cement. This solved the problem for me. Just to say never go down into the tank even when empty as the fumes can kill you instantly. Let me know if this works for you.