spreading slurry with umbilical cord

viztopia · 06-02-2012 04:29PM #1

Don't know if I have the right description but its when you spread slurry with pipes and a pump, with no tanker. Has anyone ever tried it? We have done it the last few Tina and its a lot quicker and less expensive.

Stripey Cat · 06-02-2012 04:32PM

I've heard of people planting trees on the placenta, but never this.

pakalasa · 06-02-2012 04:52PM

http://www.slurrykat.com/slurrykat_dribble_bars.php

GERMAN ROCKS · 06-02-2012 04:58PM

i wouldnt do it as i have my own tanker. often wondered about the direct injection alright as it sounds a great idea to get full use out of the slurry only the cost is very high of adding it to the tanker.

reilig · 06-02-2012 05:03PM

We have done it in the past. He pumped out an 8 bay (14ft wide, 8ft deep) in under 4 hours. Its a great way of getting the slurry out fast and he charged about €600, but we had a number of issues with it.

You need to have all of your land around your tank - our guy had 2000m of pipe but wanted extra money for anything above 1km because of the extra hassle of rolling it out and cleaning it out afterwards.

Its not ideal to put the pipe across a main road and have cars and lorries crossing the ramps. the contractor and his assistant have one goal - to get the slurry out as fast as possible and move on to the next job. They spread it thick, usually don't cover enough ground with it and you end up with thick crusts of slurry. We haven't used it since because with the price of fertilizer, we try to get the most out of our slurry by spreading it when ground conditions and weather conditions are most suitable and spreading it in appropriate amounts which won't make the ground soft as hell in the future.

You usually have to bring water to your tank to be able to spread it because slurry needs to be a lot thinner than it does for a tanker - especially if you're pumping more than 500m.

Most of these issues are contractor specific, but I have seen similar issues with other contractors in the area.

tommylimerick · 06-02-2012 05:04PM

happy **** spreading

funny man · 06-02-2012 08:29PM

one of the best kept secrets in the country; best and cheapest way of putting out slurry.

dar31 · 06-02-2012 08:43PM

emptied the slurry lagoon fortnight ago with umbilical and trailing shoe.
4,000 gls/ac and you'd hardly know a tractor had been in the field.
pumped it 800m up a hill, 300ft climb, very watery though

pms7 · 07-02-2012 08:35AM

Great for lots of thin slurry

corkoian · 15-08-2012 10:21PM

Quick question lads. I've been thinking for awhile about the umbilical system and the handiness of the whole system. I've been thinking of buying my own piping and keeping it permanently rolled out along the farm roads with a T joint at the entrance to each paddock or every second paddock. My question is, how much would it cost? What would be the life span of the piping if a bit of water was pumped through the pipes after every use? And has anyone tried or heard of anyone trying this before?
Thanks in advance

reilig · 16-08-2012 09:29AM

corkoian wrote: »

Quick question lads. I've been thinking for awhile about the umbilical system and the handiness of the whole system. I've been thinking of buying my own piping and keeping it permanently rolled out along the farm roads with a T joint at the entrance to each paddock or every second paddock. My question is, how much would it cost? What would be the life span of the piping if a bit of water was pumped through the pipes after every use? And has anyone tried or heard of anyone trying this before?
Thanks in advance

The system that my contractor has which consists ov 2km of pipe, the reels, a pump large enough to pump 2km, a compressor to clean out the pipe after each tank, ramps for crossing roads etc cost somewhere in excess of €30k. He also has a 150hp tractor to pump and a 4wd tractor with 5ft rear wheels to carry the dribble bar and pull the pipe around. Its an awful lot of money for 1 man to invest.

How much slurry do you actually have to spread each year?

The pipes have to be cleaned after each tank and all of the water blown out of them in order to prevent them from becoming brittle. This is done by blowing a large sponge through them with the compressor. I think that leaving a pipe permanently on damp ground would reduce the lifespan of the pipes dramatically.

I don't know how well T joints would work for each paddock. Even the initial cost of a pipe for each paddock would be crazy - It would propably be cheaper to just buy long lengths and roll them out/up as you need them.

IMO, spreading with a tanker is a more financially viable option for any farmer. The pipe works best on land that cannot be accessed with a tanker.

corkoian · 16-08-2012 05:59PM

reilig wrote: »

The system that my contractor has which consists ov 2km of pipe, the reels, a pump large enough to pump 2km, a compressor to clean out the pipe after each tank, ramps for crossing roads etc cost somewhere in excess of €30k. He also has a 150hp tractor to pump and a 4wd tractor with 5ft rear wheels to carry the dribble bar and pull the pipe around. Its an awful lot of money for 1 man to invest.

How much slurry do you actually have to spread each year?

The pipes have to be cleaned after each tank and all of the water blown out of them in order to prevent them from becoming brittle. This is done by blowing a large sponge through them with the compressor. I think that leaving a pipe permanently on damp ground would reduce the lifespan of the pipes dramatically.

I don't know how well T joints would work for each paddock. Even the initial cost of a pipe for each paddock would be crazy - It would propably be cheaper to just buy long lengths and roll them out/up as you need them.

IMO, spreading with a tanker is a more financially viable option for any farmer. The pipe works best on land that cannot be accessed with a tanker.

I'd only have about 240,000 gallons. The main reason was just to utilize my slurry more instead of calling in a contractor and emptying the whole thing at once. Like i have a 2000 gallon Hi-Spec tanker but that can cause a lot of damage to the ground and is awkward to get in and out of fields. It also only has a splash plate which is grand but you cant beat the regrowth speed from injection. I know you can get a injection system put on the tank but that is very expensive and makes the whole process even slower.

I had taught with the pipe around the farm i could just connect the implement to the hose and drive on. Once your in the field you don't leave it again till your finished. Basically i wanted it as fast as spreading chemical fertilizer!

Looks like a pipe dream

Bubblesacc3 · 23-01-2013 02:06AM

corkoian wrote: »

I'd only have about 240,000 gallons. The main reason was just to utilize my slurry more instead of calling in a contractor and emptying the whole thing at once. Like i have a 2000 gallon Hi-Spec tanker but that can cause a lot of damage to the ground and is awkward to get in and out of fields. It also only has a splash plate which is grand but you cant beat the regrowth speed from injection. I know you can get a injection system put on the tank but that is very expensive and makes the whole process even slower.

I had taught with the pipe around the farm i could just connect the implement to the hose and drive on. Once your in the field you don't leave it again till your finished. Basically i wanted it as fast as spreading chemical fertilizer!

Looks like a pipe dream

I was wondering what decision did you come to. And if you went with the pipes what did you spend?
I'm on a similar train of thought as you. We have capacity for about 270,000 gallons and probably spread another 100,000 along with that. I have a 15year old 2100gal abbey tanker but job can seem never ending at times. With pipes I could spread 5-7 days of the year when it suits me and do way less damage. Id have almost 200 acres accessible with the pipes with the furthest point 1500m. Contractor would still cost me €4000 a year and would be done when it suits him.

1chippy · 23-01-2013 09:31PM

More gadgets to go wrong and machinery to depreciate. It might make it handier but you would want to be spreading a lot more than 3-400,000 gallons to make it a viable option. you need a second man sitting at the pump end.
We get it done here evry so often and the contractor has no issue coming and putting out 20-30,000 gallons at a time if thats what you want. There a re a lot of lads out there that dont charge for rolling out the pipe.

lakill Farm · 23-01-2013 11:20PM

corkoian wrote: »

I'd only have about 240,000 gallons. The main reason was just to utilize my slurry more instead of calling in a contractor and emptying the whole thing at once. Like i have a 2000 gallon Hi-Spec tanker but that can cause a lot of damage to the ground and is awkward to get in and out of fields. It also only has a splash plate which is grand but you cant beat the regrowth speed from injection. I know you can get a injection system put on the tank but that is very expensive and makes the whole process even slower.

I had taught with the pipe around the farm i could just connect the implement to the hose and drive on. Once your in the field you don't leave it again till your finished. Basically i wanted it as fast as spreading chemical fertilizer!

Looks like a pipe dream

The old agricultural college in Multyfarnham had a pipe system installed about 30 years ago and piped to each grazing paddock. They had a massive springler type thing on a set of wheels which they moved down the paddock and spread the slurry. As far as i know the pipes are still there (All steel as far as i know) Anyone here go to Multyfarnham college that might know? Woops from there only reason i know about it

23-01-2013 11:52PM

lakill Farm wrote: »

The old agricultural college in Multyfarnham had a pipe system installed about 30 years ago and piped to each grazing paddock. They had a massive springler type thing on a set of wheels which they moved down the paddock and spread the slurry. As far as i know the pipes are still there (All steel as far as i know) Anyone here go to Multyfarnham college that might know? Woops from there only reason i know about it

they were a good set up and worked well but i think i needed to be very watery slurry

freedominacup · 24-01-2013 01:31AM

6480 wrote: »

they were a good set up and worked well but i think i needed to be very watery slurry

When were you there? I was there 22 years ago (Jeebus:eek: 22years) and I don't remember that system. They had the tower on the dairy unit and I remember spreading with a vac tanker but no pipe system.

spreading slurry with umbilical cord

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