New Slatted tank

badgerhowlin

Hi,

In the process of planning on building a new slatted tank.

14m * 9m * 2.5m.


My issue is I'm wanting to make a feed passage over one half of it and the onther half covered.
So 4.5m is going to be normal open slats for cows to walk around on it
the other 4.5m im hoping to have it with a solid floor and have it as the feed passageway.(Ie driving tractor on it.)

Has anyone on here done this on their farm?

Thanks

Bass Reeves

badgerhowlin wrote: »

Hi,

In the process of planning on building a new slatted tank.

14m * 9m * 2.5m.


My issue is I'm wanting to make a feed passage over one half of it and the onther half covered.
So 4.5m is going to be normal open slats for cows to walk around on it
the other 4.5m im hoping to have it with a solid floor and have it as the feed passageway.(Ie driving tractor on it.)

Has anyone on here done this on their farm?

Thanks

I would use any other option than that. It is done in places mostly by big dairy units however tank is very hard to agtitate. You will need to use pillars and beams. I be inclined to go deeper and longer on my tank than that wide.
A tank 23M long by 2.7m deep with 16'6'' slats will do the same job but be cheaper in the longrun

Cavanjack

badgerhowlin wrote: »

Hi,

In the process of planning on building a new slatted tank.

14m * 9m * 2.5m.


My issue is I'm wanting to make a feed passage over one half of it and the onther half covered.
So 4.5m is going to be normal open slats for cows to walk around on it
the other 4.5m im hoping to have it with a solid floor and have it as the feed passageway.(Ie driving tractor on it.)

Has anyone on here done this on their farm?

Thanks

Yeah no problem with that.
If I understand you right You’ll have one big tank 9m wide with a spine wall in the middle. The slats will be on one side and a suspended passage on the other to use as the feeding passage.

50HX

Done it here with no issues, nó prob agitating

2 bays with slats+ 2 bays of covered feed passage

Who2

I’ve a 2 bay double tank here and it’s the easiest one to mix from a single point in one corner.

GrasstoMilk

Bass Reeves wrote: »

I would use any other option than that. It is done in places mostly by big dairy units however tank is very hard to agtitate. You will need to use pillars and beams. I be inclined to go deeper and longer on my tank than that wide.
A tank 23M long by 2.7m deep with 16'6'' slats will do the same job but be cheaper in the longrun

They're 2 15ft tanks side by side, easy agitate, spine wall down the middle

DBK1

Bass Reeves wrote: »

I would use any other option than that. It is done in places mostly by big dairy units however tank is very hard to agtitate. You will need to use pillars and beams. I be inclined to go deeper and longer on my tank than that wide.
A tank 23M long by 2.7m deep with 16'6'' slats will do the same job but be cheaper in the longrun

There’s absolutely no need for pillars and beams and it would be recommended to avoid them if at all possible in any tank.

What’s being described is a very simple side by side tank which is done in thousands of sheds all around the country and one of the simplest tanks to agitate.

The cattle side of the tank will be the normal slats and have agitation points at both ends of possible. Have a spine wall down the middle and then the feed passage side is basically a solid slat. You will still have an agitation point at both ends if possible as well and you have a very easily agitated tank.

It’s probably manageable with the agitation points at just one end but if there is space to have them at both ends it would be a super job.

148multi

DBK1 wrote: »

There’s absolutely no need for pillars and beams and it would be recommended to avoid them if at all possible in any tank.

What’s being described is a very simple side by side tank which is done in thousands of sheds all around the country and one of the simplest tanks to agitate.

The cattle side of the tank will be the normal slats and have agitation points at both ends of possible. Have a spine wall down the middle and then the feed passage side is basically a solid slat. You will still have an agitation point at both ends if possible as well and you have a very easily agitated tank.

It’s probably manageable with the agitation points at just one end but if there is space to have them at both ends it would be a super job.

Neighbour has one, no problems with it.

Bitten & Hisses

I have 2 side by side tanks like this, 27 metres x 3.8M each, with a spine wall up the middle and an open section constructed with beams at each end to allow the slurry to flow. The gable walls of the shed are built on beams too.
The essential thing is to have 4 agitation points, then you just move around when agitating. Usually, I need to go to 2 or 3 points to get the tanks fully agitated, rarely need to visit all 4.

sandman30

Bitten & Hisses wrote: »

I have 2 side by side tanks like this, 27 metres x 3.8M each, with a spine wall up the middle and an open section constructed with beams at each end to allow the slurry to flow. The gable walls of the shed are built on beams too.
The essential thing is to have 4 agitation points, then you just move around when agitating. Usually, I need to go to 2 or 3 points to get the tanks fully agitated, rarely need to visit all 4.

Do you find the side by side tanks like this agitate easier and quicker than a single tank, because the slurry can circulate?

Bitten & Hisses

sandman30 wrote: »

Do you find the side by side tanks like this agitate easier and quicker than a single tank, because the slurry can circulate?

I actually have no experience with a single tank, but I think the thickness of the slurry and the size/capacity of the agitator would have a bigger bearing on how easy it is to agitate. And of course, the length of the tank.
Adding a few loads of pig slurry speeds up the job a good bit!

1373

The wider the tank ,the easier to agitate. Have a 90ft x 16 x 8 and I agitate from one end usually. When I start spreading, I put the agitator in the other end and turn it on for a blast every few loads

Bass Reeves

I am working off what a few contractors said. Tanks around 16' wide seem the easiest to agtitate. My own was done in less than two hours last Tuesday. If there is 4-8'' of freeboard on top it helps. When you go to wider tanks you do not get the belt of slurry coming back off wall narrow tanks make it harder for slurry to travel along the length.

Crusts can hold on around pillars as well as material that should not be in the tank such as netting or plastic can catch on pillars and build up over years. The belt of the slurry off the corner near the agtitation point helps break down solids. Any gaps there is usually unhelpful.

Mind you with better silage the crust is not as hard to break up as with really stemmy late season silage

badgerhowlin

Bass Reeves wrote: »

I would use any other option than that. It is done in places mostly by big dairy units however tank is very hard to agtitate. You will need to use pillars and beams. I be inclined to go deeper and longer on my tank than that wide.
A tank 23M long by 2.7m deep with 16'6'' slats will do the same job but be cheaper in the longrun

If only I could. Im stuck between 2 sheds. thats why I have to go that way

MikeSoys

hi prob wrong post, but ive noticed fast rusting on the downward steel h-beams in the slatted shed where manure is against it at the back wall. is there a plastic type coating paint i could put on to protect the beam spots - i think ive seen it (the paint) somewhere no idea where though.

sandman30

MikeSoys wrote: »

hi prob wrong post, but ive noticed fast rusting on the downward steel h-beams in the slatted shed where manure is against it at the back wall. is there a plastic type coating paint i could put on to protect the beam spots - i think ive seen it (the paint) somewhere no idea where though.

I think some people use bitumen

MikeSoys

sandman30 wrote: »

I think some people use bitumen

hi thanks thats is good stuff, google says its non toxic too thanks for that