NEW Zealand machinery manufacturer Giltrap unveiled a new range of broadacre spreaders at the Henty field days recently.
The spreader range covers trailed units with capacities of 2.5-10 tonnes which are made for large-scale precision broadcasting, according to Giltrap Ag's Eric Crosby.
"Not only are the spreaders extremely well built but they have a range of precision features and controls that make them very accurate," Eric said.
The spreaders are based on a popular NZ design, originally built by Bucktons Engineering.
Giltrap has secured the manufacturing rights to the Bucktons spreaders.
"Bucktons has more than 20 years experience building spreaders and they have been proven to be highly accurate," Eric said.
One of the design features of the spreaders is a low centre of gravity which makes the machines safer for use on slopes.
"The spreaders' low centre of gravity make them ideal for work on dairies or hillier country," Eric said.
"Only the two largest-capacity spreaders are slightly higher than two metres and the rest are between 1.45m and 1.98m tall."
The Giltrap spreader bins are made of 3mm thick stainless steel and bolted, rather than welded, to the chassis.
Eric said bolting the bins to the chassis means they are easily removed for servicing.
Standard equipment on the spreaders includes an 850mm-wide vulcanised, endless rubber conveyor belt to move the fertiliser to the end of the bin.
Twin spinners at the rear of the bin counter rotate to spread the fertiliser accurately to a width of 24m.
Like many of the spreaders' controls, the speed of rotation for the spinners can easily be adjusted from a control box in the tractor cabin.
"All the spreaders' functions are hydraulically controlled by a Land Manager console in the tractor cabin," Eric said.
"You can adjust the belt speed and the spreading rate on the large LCD monitor," Eric said.
Application rates can be varied from less than 40kg/ha for products such as trace elements to 10 tonnes a hectare for manures and lime.
The Giltrap spreaders are available in single and dual axle models.
Optional extras include a PVC bin cover, row crop axle spacings, hydraulic brakes and a road lighting kit.
For more details phone Giltrap Ag equipment on 1800 127 030.
