Rear PTO

[ambrola]

Looking for a rear PTO for my Original to run a seeder. Please contact me at ronnie7564@att.net
I am in Newton, NC 28658

[Sam Mac]

Ronnie

I would suggest that you just pickup a tow behind spreader or a battery operated ATV type spreader unless you are looking for the cool factor. Even if you had a rear PTO I don't know of a compatible spreader. This is the POS I use. The out rigger wheels keep it from tipping over on my side hills. I have an area that grows really good after it tipped over with a load of fertilizer before I added the wheels LOL.

[J-Mech]

I know, this is a wanted ad, and I'm commenting...

Sam is kind or right Ronnie.... About how much easier it is to use a ground driven spreader. If you use a PTO driven Cyclone spreader, you can PTO drive it. The fan on the spreader can spin either way. Issue is, your going to pay more for a Cyclone and a rear PTO than you would ever spend on a brand new Agri-fab ground driven pull type. Plus, you do know that the rear PTO kit for an O is specific to the Original, and you will likely pay more for one than you paid for the last tractor you bought... maybe the last 2 combined. For the record, the only part that is specific to the O is the top shaft of the trans. All the rest of the parts off any other will work. You do have to completely remove and disassemble the top of the trans to change the topshaft. You know that right?

[ambrola]

Yea, I know. I think I am going to just go ahead and buy the Kubota Sam and I have been talking about. Then I can get a 275lb spreader and sprayer?

[J-Mech]

I think the Bota would be a bit overkill for those attachments..... but the loader would sure be nice!

[Oak]

I looked at getting a rear spreader for my Kubota but after looking at it you can't turn them down low enough for lawn maintenance.
Like this one.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...VvmhoCdRHw_wcB

But hey, I didn't see this one.
http://www.agrisupply.com/point-hitc...SYEhoC2iTw_wcB

Or this one.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Swisher-300...nyTRoCiUPw_wcB

Does anyone have either of those 2 or something similar?

[J-Mech]

What do you mean you can't turn it down enough for lawn maintenance?
Spread pattern width? Or the gate?

Spread pattern can be changed by slowing the engine down.
The gate is adjustable.

So, I'm lost......


I moved this to the GT section. Ronnie, if you want, I will copy the first post and put it back in the "Wanted" section. Just say so if you do.

I wanted to discuss spreaders anyway, but I didn't because I was trying to keep the chatting to minimum. Now it doesn't matter.


So, here we go. For you guys interested, here are some tips.
On big AG spreaders, everything is adjustable. Not so on these small units. You can correct it, but sometimes it takes some fab work. On the larger unit's like the one listed from Northern Tool, it may be built with adjustment, but I doubt it.

Fan speed:
The only real thing fan speed controls is how wide a pattern it throws. Now, if you run it too fast, the material can just bounce off of it, or get thrown hard to one side. If running a PTO driven unit, you can change your engine RPM, but when spreading, find a good RPM and set the spreader up for that speed. Don't change RPM even if you change ground speed, if anything, just reach back and shut the gate some. No matter what the rate, it will still broadcast the same pattern, just with less material hitting the fan.
With the ground driven units, you have to try to maintain a constant ground speed, or you won't get even coverage. I DO NOT recommend a ground driven fan unit. But that's just me.
Unit's with an electric fan, are touchy. The problem is, with small seed like grass seeds, or clover, alfalfa... (hay seeds) they tend to do fine. But when you go to something really heavy, like lime, sulfur, or other fertilizers, the electric fan gets pulled down under the load. So, you can put grass in it and it will spread, say 30', but with lime it will only cast it 15'. You have to really adjust things to get an even spread.

Chute/Gate/Discharge:
The little gate, or the area where the material falls out onto the fan should be adjustable. By that I mean, either the fan position or the gate/chute itself. Some small seeds need to feed into the outer edge of the fan, whereas the heavier stuff needs to feed further to the inside of the fan. (May have gotten that backwards, I can't remember off the top of my head.) Reason is, that because of their weight, some things tend to fly off the fan faster, thus spreading hard to one side. Uneven coverage. You may have to adjust the fan forward, backward, or to one side of the other to get an even coverage. You may have to make a chute between the discharge point and the fan so you can direct the material to the section of the fan it needs to hit. Some unit's have adjustments built in for that. The Cyclone brand spreader does. ( Google "PTO driven Cyclone Spreaders" to see pics.)

What I do, is buy extra material. Then I set up the spreader on say a driveway. I sweep the area really good, then put some material in and turn it on. Let is run just a min or so, then shut it off. Then look to see where it spread. Longer you run it, the more obvious it is where it's spreading heavier. If you have a ground driven fan unit..... that setup is a little harder. You can drive down the driveway, or lay plastic out.... We used to use a piece of pole barn steel. Just laid it out on the ground and drove over it. Wasn't perfect, but worked. Back to the beginning; I get extra material, but you can sweep up what you spread and use it. You just can't always get it all.


Some say this isn't worth the work. If you have a small yard, it may not be. BUT, if you plan to spread the same fertilizer year after year, it's worth it. Putting down extra material is a waste of money. Not getting an even spread is worse. My burn some of the yard, and starve other areas. It really is worth it. If you switch between seed and fertilizer, take a picture or record your settings, then you can readjust it when go to that particular material.

I've spread with Big A's, fertilizer buggies, PTO and electric fan Cyclone spreaders and ground driven fan styles.... Every time I used one I took the time to set it up. My person favorite for a yard or small area was the PTO driven Cyclone. It had fan position adjustment slides, and an agitator gate. (Some brands only have an agitator in the bottom, but the Cyclone has an agitating gate so the material keeps flowing.) With the PTO driven fan, the spread width was always the same. If I had to get in a tight area and needed to slow down, all I had to do was reach back and shut the gate some.

All in all, if you get a new one, it should come with a material chart that gives gate setting and speed, corresponding to material output. It may be in pounds per square foot, or acre... but you can convert. 43,560 sq ft in an acre for those who don't know.

Hope this was informative, and not just a waste of time.

[Oak]

I looked at 2. One was at a JD dealer and the other was at the Kubota dealer. I looked at what the spread rate was for what I was putting down and both just put out way too much on the lowest setting. I guess you could just barely open it but I'm not sure how accurate it would be.

The one I listed from Northern Tool can be tuned down to 21lbs/acre but you need to go 7.5 mph and I'm thinking that is pretty fast unless you have long straight lines. I'm not saying you can't use it but in my application I don't think it was a good choice.

[ambrola]

I think the guy at Kubota was just trying to sell me something, that's their job. The Kubota BX series with the FEL and a 60 inch finishing deck runs around 15k. I have a lot of use for the FEL, but could do with a plain jane pull behind seeder. My current mower is 25 years old, and I hope this will be the last one I will ever buy. I was thinking about my Original, but let's face it, it won't be used for yard work. I need something to use hard, and the Kubotas are nice tractors. They seem to hold their value? I looked into buying a used one, but I always like to buy new. Jonathon is right about the spreaders, overkill for my needs.

[J-Mech]

Originally Posted by Oak

I looked at 2. One was at a JD dealer and the other was at the Kubota dealer. I looked at what the spread rate was for what I was putting down and both just put out way too much on the lowest setting. I guess you could just barely open it but I'm not sure how accurate it would be.

The one I listed from Northern Tool can be tuned down to 21lbs/acre but you need to go 7.5 mph and I'm thinking that is pretty fast unless you have long straight lines. I'm not saying you can't use it but in my application I don't think it was a good choice.

That's really low. What are you spreading that is less than 21lbs/acre? Most fertilizers go on at thousands of pounds per acre, (lime is spread in tons to the acre) and seed is up around 200lbs/acre for new seed. Even inter-seeding I wouldn't go less than about 40-50lbs/acre. So..... what are you spreading?