I found an ad on craiglist for a 212 bushel New Holland International Harvest manure spreader, PTO. It seems fairly inexpensive, $700, but in the picture looks quite beat up. The seller says all is in working order, but needs new chain.
I’ve never own a manure spreader and have no idea the in and out of it. Is this a good idea, good price? Anything I need to know before bringing home a gigantic junk that I will need to dispose of? How much is a set of new chain?
New Holland is a great name in manure spreaders. If it has 3 “spreading bars” (the bars in the back which actually toss the manure out) it is a classic. Manure spreaders of today only have 1 bar and they do not spread manure; they just push it out the back.
If it is one of the good old kind, check for rust. Muck contains pee and pee will rust metal. Mine is all rusted out, but I was told it would still be worth $800 - $1200.
Mine is worth more than the one you are looking at because the chain is the core of the spreader. And it is expensive. $80 for 10’ and you will need about 40 - 50’. So 80 x 50 = $400. THEN you will need it put together and put it on the “sliding frame” (the part that moves the manure out to the back end of the spreader). When I had a link break last winter, it was hard to find someone to put the chain back together. I have not gotten a bill, but I am guessing it will be in the $200 range for just taking one side off, adding a link and replacing the chain. For both sides, I think you can easily pay $400.
So, my best guess is that the manure spreader will cost you about $1500 before it is in working order. This is not a bad price if the body of the spreader is in good condition.
Another question to ask: Is the spreader “ground driven” or PTO driven? My bigger one is ground driven (the chain moves and the spreaders spread only when the thing is actually in motion). A PTO driven one means you have to hook the spreader up to the PTO on your tractor. Hooking up a PTO is a PITA, so I really like that mine is “ground driven”. I have a feeling though that other people prefer the PTO kind, so it probably costs more when new.
Oh, what size is the model 212 spreader? I actually have 2 New Holland spreaders. The bigger one is a model 202. It can hold about 20 - 30 stalls worth of muck (I bed deep, so “one stall” is quite a bit of manure). I have no idea if the 212 is bigger or smaller than the 202.
Do you have enough places to spread the manure? If you are lucky, you will have an extra 20 acres where you can spread the manure in side by side rows. By the time you get around to starting over, the old manure will have disappeared into the soil.
After a year or two, that 20 acres will provide you with gorgeous grass from all the great fertilizer you have been putting on it. 
Another issue with manure spreaders is how do you get the manure in the spreader? 1. stand on the ground and tip a manure basket in. PITA. Other is (my way ) build a “loading dock” – a ramp, (mine is dirt) held back with railroad ties, so I can wheel a muck cart full of manure up and tip it in. Much easier.
Bottom line: Getting everything set up for a manure spreader can be an undertaking, but once you are set up, and if you have enough land to spread the manure on, it is SO MUCH easier than any other way of getting rid of manure.
This is PTO driven, and here is the picture: http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=5784464c336108db26cd1d30d33b21f1#1428354662074. I hope the link works… Not sure whether it is a classic. It certainly looks awfully old to me, lol. I know you can’t see many details, but assuming the seller is not full of it, that body is fine, does $700 + $ for chains still sound like a good price?
We have 15 acres, and a mountain of manure/compost. It is actually why I’m looking at manure spreader, to get rid of that mountain, lol. The plan is to run it a couple of times of year, and spread that compost to the pasture. That way, we don’t have to buy fertilizer. The pasture over the years has become poor (we have sandy soil) and I really would like to improve it. I’m thinking to use the front end loader to load up the spreader from the poop mountain, and go from there. We don’t plan to spread green manure. Of course that means hook, unhook, and hook up again.
That chains thing sounds like a gigantic pain. To be honest, neither my husband nor I are handy. Maybe I should talk to the seller to replace the chain for us? Where do I find the chain?
I would buy a ground driven if you are not handy. PTO driven manure spreaders are a lot less safe. Many people have been killed or gotten their arms ripped off because they forget to detension the PTO when the spreader gets clogged. They go back and use a pitchfork to unclog the spreader, the PTO re-engages and sucks them in, even if they thought things are turned off because the tension was still in it. It’s a stupid way to die. My dad is a real life farmer and wouldn’t let me buy a PTO spreader for my farm because he said he didn’t want his grandkids around one.
I know lots of people use PTO spreaders and remember perfectly well not to do this, but it only takes one moment of absent minded-ness to cause a serious farm accident so that is why I try to avoid tempting myself! Plus, my DH is a city boy and is the first to admit he has no common sense, and I wouldn’t trust him not to get sucked into a spreader.
OP, that model manure spreader was made back in the 50s and 60s so it is indeed quite old, especially for a machine subjected to corrosive materials. The design of the axle made it particularly subject to rust as well. Finding original parts will be very difficult, if not impossible to find, too. Some folks enjoy rehabbing old farm equipment but it does not sound like this is something you or your hubby are wanting to do, so all told, I think you’d be better off finding another used spreader in better shape, or investing in a new one. Whatever you do, using your mountain of manure/compost to enrich your pastures is an excellent idea!
Fordtraktor brings up some valid concerns about PTO drive, though many find it convenient. For some insight into the pros and cons of PTO vs. ground-drive, check out this video: http://youtu.be/6cGXuBtwqwA
Good luck and hope you find a suitable machine!
[QUOTE=fordtraktor;8096751]
I would buy a ground driven if you are not handy. PTO driven manure spreaders are a lot less safe. Many people have been killed or gotten their arms ripped off because they forget to detension the PTO when the spreader gets clogged. They go back and use a pitchfork to unclog the spreader, the PTO re-engages and sucks them in, even if they thought things are turned off because the tension was still in it. It’s a stupid way to die. My dad is a real life farmer and wouldn’t let me buy a PTO spreader for my farm because he said he didn’t want his grandkids around one.
I know lots of people use PTO spreaders and remember perfectly well not to do this, but it only takes one moment of absent minded-ness to cause a serious farm accident so that is why I try to avoid tempting myself! Plus, my DH is a city boy and is the first to admit he has no common sense, and I wouldn’t trust him not to get sucked into a spreader.[/QUOTE]
Yes, PTOs are dangerous!
Thank you ladies, for pointing out the potential dangers of PTOs. Hopefully with so many losing limbs horror stories:eek:, we will not be as careless as those unfortunate folks. My husband grew up at a farm, and a kid from his town lost an arm from a farm equipment (something to do with harvesting) so he wasn’t a city kid. When I said we were not handy, I really meant that we didn’t have time, or the desire to fix something that requires constant fixing, like fixing a constantly malfunctioned chains or something. We have all sorts of PTO attachments so are not unfamiliar with it. We tend to get something new when stuff is broke instead of spending time trying to fix it ourselves, so I want to make sure that an used manure spreader is not another one of those headaches.
[QUOTE=Gloria;8097950]
Thank you ladies, for pointing out the potential dangers of PTOs. Hopefully with so many losing limbs horror stories:eek:, we will not be as careless as those unfortunate folks. My husband grew up at a farm, and a kid from his town lost an arm from a farm equipment (something to do with harvesting) so he wasn’t a city kid. When I said we were not handy, I really meant that we didn’t have time, or the desire to fix something that requires constant fixing, like fixing a constantly malfunctioned chains or something. We have all sorts of PTO attachments so are not unfamiliar with it. We tend to get something new when stuff is broke instead of spending time trying to fix it ourselves, so I want to make sure that an used manure spreader is not another one of those headaches.[/QUOTE]
My dad told me a story about a very seasoned, very safety conscious farmer who had an accident with a PTO. They were able to reattach the arm, but it wasn’t as good as it used to be: He had to change professions after. And my dad considered him to be lucky!
That’s fair, Gloria, and I wasn’t trying to imply you aren’t competent! I have plenty of equipment with PTOs as well that I don’t worry so much about, just a spreader tends to be particularly dangerous because of the scenario I described. Many other PTO-driven things are safe once the tractor is off so you can work on them. With the spreader you have to go the extra step and remember to detension it for sure before touching it, and not doing that can have fatal consequences. I think the newer ones might have safety mechanisms built in to prevent this (maybe they detension themselves?), but the older one we had on our farm as a kid did not.
Everything breaks at some point, but I have an older manure spreader (an IH from the 1960s) and have found it to be pretty sturdy all things considered. Now that I’ve said that, though, I’m sure it will start giving me trouble! I try to store my inside and treat it reasonably kindly – I only spread with it during the thawed seasons (spring/summer/fall) and it gets a vacation during the winter when spreading frozen poop will strip out the gears and break the chain, in my experience.
I would spend more money, find a machine in working order, instead of trying to save and hope “someone” can make it work for you. We have done the older spreader thing, and it works as long as someone mechanical is around to keep it working. Stuff does wear out, need replacing, and a spreader works very hard in conditions that will rust it away before his time.
I use mine daily, empty daily, which I think helps keep parts flexible and dried after each use. However you don’t wish to use a spreader that way, so you need to figure on greasing it when you do decide to get it out for removal of the whole pile. You will want to store it under cover to prevent water collecting on the wood floor and metal parts, which might rust up more standing and not being used often.
We lucked into a NICE older spreader, smaller size at about 40 bushels, but an OK chain and bar set, good sharp gears, solid floor and walls. It was priced at about $2500, but husband talked them down quite a bit, they had not other folks interested after a month. It was WORTH the money, but we got lucky to get it for less. I would not SELL it for less, works like a champ. The farmer ran it for us before purchase, showed me the gearing to change unloading speeds, we could see the entire chain and bar set as it ran. It was very rusty, tires are OK, not great. But this was the first one we had seen as nice, needed nothing done so you could put it to work. It was parked alongside the road with a sign on it.
We had done a lot of other looking in all the usual places, dealers, not found anything suitable or reasonably priced in 2 months of looking. Husband said he didn’t want another spreader needing constant attention.
Husband decided to paint the metal before we used it, put a protective layer on the metal to slow any more rusting. Looks great now. I do like the gearing option, spreads the same amount (pto driven) in a much shorter time on the field. Never had a spreader with options before! Husband has made up some metal covers to protect the gearing on the side, make any loose bedding fall off the axles instead of piling up. There were holes for covers over the gears, which he used. Must have gotten taken off and never put back on years ago.
I am hoping this spreader lasts a long time. Sure it will need new bars and chain at some point, which husband will do. I try to prevent it from being often with daily spreading and letting things be dry except the hour to clean stalls and spread. It is kept inside, so should have a nice working life for us. I hate manure piles as being a source of bugs, smelly at times, taking up space I can use for other things. I hate using a wheelbarrow for moving dirty bedding, way too much work when I can dump bedding into the spreader and BE DONE handling it ever again!
I think I would pass on that old spreader. Cheap purchase price, then you have to put the chains back on, make things work again. Our old spreader before this, had ONE gear that needed replacing. It was always causing trouble at the end because it was worn. But the cost of that gear was $900, and even fixed, the spreader would not be worth that much! I sold the spreader as is, use it as a wagon or take off the parts, which one man was happy to do. He rubbed his hands with glee to find it, paid the money and hauled it off. Probably made more on the parts than he paid! But old spreaders are like that. We hunted for a matching spreader to get that old gear, could not find one over two years or they wanted huge prices for almost junk spreaders.
Good luck hunting. You also might ask locally, see if anyone would come to spread the pile with their equipment if you paid them. Then you have nothing invested for your annual cleanup, nothing to keep running yourselves.
I’ve had a couple of manure spreaders over the years and I highly recommend them. Different people will have different needs and different opinions, so get as many opinions as you can. The PTO-driven spreaders usually will have more power to distribute difficult loads and/or spread it over a wider area but the ground-drive ones have the advantage that you don’t need a tractor to use them; you can pull them behind a truck, for example. The muck is definitely corrosive and your machine will last longer with fewer maintenance problems if you hose it thoroughly inside and out after using it. Yes, it’s a bit of a nuisance but it will definitely slow rust. I recommend you don’t dump muck in it until you’re ready to use it because the stuff sitting in it for days or weeks at a time will promote rust. However, if you don’t have a loader, dumping your muck in it every day until it’s full may be the most practical option. And before you use it, check to be sure no animals have climbed inside. 
[QUOTE=Bombproof;8099814]
And before you use it, check to be sure no animals have climbed inside. :([/QUOTE]
Ummm what the… OK. No, I don’t think I want to know the details. :eek:
Talked to the dude putting the spreader on the ad. First he said it was all functional, and then needed new chain, then it looked like the PTO shaft was missing, and he has been silent since we asked him to send us pictures showing the back and floors… So not very promising at this point. Sound like more trouble than what we want to deal with. Oh well. I guess I will just have to keep an eye out and be patient. The very tempting price should have been a big give way I guess. We have been looking at everywhere for an used manure spreader. Who knew a good manures spreader could be so pricey… It’s manure…:no:.
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