Articulated manure spreader could redefine large capacity units

As manure spreaders get bigger, with larger tanks and more sophisticated steering mechanisms, challenges such as how to turn in fields, floatation and weight per axle have become greater concerns.It's also a challenge to marry on-road handling and speed with off road nature of manure spreading.

Dennis Nuhn's simple solution to some of those problems came right to him at night in his hotel room after spending time at World Pork Expo in Iowa in June. Farmers there told him that per weight axle weight restrictions for agriculture equipment were on the way.

He realized that if Nuhn Industries, an Ontario-based maker of manure handling equipment, were to stay in buisness in the large tanks, they would have to come up with an alternative to making big tanks bigger.

The solution he came up with was to hitch one tank behind another, linking them with Kevlar-covered hoses and a recirculating pump, creating an articulating manure spreader unit. It's called the Quad System. Some like to call it the QT Qaud, and others call it the Nuhn Quad Train.

Once he came up with the idea, Nuhn quickly brought the product to market. Two have been sold to a large operator in Iowa and one to Andy Groenestege, about five miles north from the Nuhn shop in Sebringville.

Groenestege had been using the system for a week spreading hog maure when reached last week.

"There's a lot less actual weight on the drawbar and you can turn into a lot smaller fields and laneways," says Groenestege, who doubled his manure moving capacity by buying a 10, 000 gallon Quad system.

Nuhn gave him the option of trading it back in if he wasn't staisfied, but he says the results have been "just excellent." Interested farmers have been dropping into the Groenestege hog farm to take a look.

"I look at the the Quad as a significant change in the industry," said Nuhn. It's significant enough that he has applied for patents on the design. Nuhn Industries hasn't worried about patening other innovations, but Nuhn says this one could be important enough that patenting will be worthwhile.

The unit is an intetgrated system, not just two tanks stuck together. The "geometry" of it makes it easy to back up, says Nuhn, and the two tanks track well behind each other.

"It's a complete unit which happens to hinge in the middle." The tanks can be set up to load from the front tank or from the back tank. The manure moves well between the tanks, says Groenestege. He says a 300 HP tractor is needed, but a front wheel assist tractor will do. But, if you have hills, you'll want 300 HP.

Groenestege was impressed by how the unit handled in the wet weather of the past week. He expected they would have to spread half-full loads, but found full loads pulled well enough across the fields.

The product is targeted to larger operators and will be available in 8 000, 10 000, 12 000, 13 500 and 15 000 gallon units. Nuhn has had interest in a 15 000 gallon unit from a massive farming operation in the mid-western United States, in which the unit would never have to hit a public road.

Using two basic spreaders also reduces the price, compared to a large tank with complex steering systems.

The QT Quad, as it is called, is a simple idea, in line with what Nuhn says is one of his goals - build very strong spreaders, with a simple design.

More information about the Quad Train