Sod Cutter Jr. 16" blade

In Georgia we get a lot of 16" sod. We have a Sod Cutter Jr. with a 18" blade. Ryan offers a 16" blade (p/n:4132716.7) for their heavy duty model. To make the blade fit the wheels have to be shortened and add a spacer to the blade mount.

I started by cutting off 1" of the outside of each wheel. I used a 10" horizontal band saw to make the cut.

After the wheels were cut, we decide to make them so they could be reattached for use with the 18" blade. I sprayed blue layout fluid on the wheel to aid in seeing my scribe marks. I center punched each scribe mark to help center the drill bit. I drilled (6) 3'8" holes 60 degrees apart in the middle of the cast iron. When drilling I always start with a small bit and work my way up to the final diameter.

I lined up the 1" section of the wheel to the large section. Then I used a 3/8" transfer punch to mark the holes in the large section.

I drilled 3 holes 120 degrees apart with a 3/8" bit and the other 3 holes with a 5/16". The 5/16" holes were tapped with a 3/8"-16 tap. In the picture below I installed setscrews in the tapped holes and plastic rivets in the 3/8" holes to keep dirt out.

I used a piloted counter bore to recess the holes for the socket head cap screws.

 

I center punched the 3/8" stainless rod so it would stay in the 1" section of the wheel. I also used red loctite on the rods to prevent them from coming out.

I made (2) 1/2" spaces to go on both sides of the blade. I used a piece of 1/2" X 2" flat bar cut 1-1/2" long. I used a 5/16" transfer punch to mark the holes using the blade as a guide.

I also added 2 extra wheels to the rear to aid in stability. I used 1/2" round bar for the axle and washers to space the wheels a part. I cut the axle to length and drilled a 1/8" hole in each end. I installed cotter keys to keep the wheels in place.

Here's the finished product.

If you have any questions shoot me an email.

Fertilizer Mix Tank

After we decided to go to a foliar fertility program, I was tasked with designing and building a fertilizer mix tank. First, I turned to Google, this was not much help. I found a few post showing mix tank setups but that was it. I couldn't find any specs on pumps, piping size, flow rates or design diagrams. This was going to be fun.

I talked to a tech at Dultmeier Sales, they cater to the agriculture industry, he gave me a good starting point. We decide on a 500 gallon cone bottom tank with a 2" 3HP centrifugal pump that would pump 150GPM. I drew a schematic of the plumbing of the tank and pump on graph paper. From the schematic I made a parts list of all the fittings and hoses I would need.

Before I could build and install a mix tank we had to build a containment area for the 500 gallon tank. We made a monolithic form so we could pour the floor and the walls of the containment at the same time.





















We extend the roof of our existing chemical building to cover the new containment area. We also closed everything in to have a dry mixing area.

I installed an exhaust fan to get rid of any fumes while loading the sprayers.

I built a platform around the 500gal tank for safety concerns and to make it easier to pour in fertilizer.

The pump is mounted behind the tank. I have a 100 mesh strainer installed to protect the pump. I also install a pressure relief valve with pressure gauge for pump protection. The suction hose connects to the ball valve with the yellow handle. The pump discharge is teed, with the green hose for mixing or filling and the blue hose for recirculation.

The eductor increases agitation 5 to 1.



The green discharge hose connects to a 3 way ball valve where flow can be directed to the tank for mixing or to fill the sprayer. The electrical switch turns the pump on and off.

The shower, eyewash and garden hose are connect to a fresh water line. The pipe with the 100 mesh strainer is a irrigation line for filling the mix tank and sprayers.

The overhead fill is connected to a 1.5" electric valve that is controlled by a switch on the wall. The box below the switch has a 24 volt transformer to operate the the valve. The valve is a standard irrigation valve. We can fill our 300 gal sprayer in 4 minutes with the irrigation line. We can fill the sprayer with liquid fertilizer in 8 minutes from the mix tank.

This was a fun project! If you have any question concerning the mix tank shoot me an email.