Hydraulic drive vs PTO on material spreader

[Dreaming Green IN]

I am looking to buy a pull type material spreader with spinning disks to spread compost. Size in the six ton range. Wondering about hydraulic drive vs. PTO. Seems to me that PTO would be better use of tractor power, but several nice spreaders use hydraulic drives for apron and spinner disks.

I will be using a 90 HP tractor with closed center hydraulics. Should I be afraid of the hydraulic drive spreaders?

 

[farmersamm]

I suppose it depends on the capacity of your hydraulic pump in GPM if it's the tractor hydraulics that run the hydraulic motors on the spreader.

 

[caterpillar guy]

The issue will be the courseness of your compost to get through the chute and down to the spinners. If you are talking about something like a fertilizer spreader for commercial fertilizer. If you are talking about a more moderen manure spreader then disregard this part. Big thing will be if you only have one set of couplers at the back. I would expect it would require 2 sets one for the spinners and one for the apron.

 

[showcrop]

I am looking to buy a pull type material spreader with spinning disks to spread compost. Size in the six ton range. Wondering about hydraulic drive vs. PTO. Seems to me that PTO would be better use of tractor power, but several nice spreaders use hydraulic drives for apron and spinner disks.

I will be using a 90 HP tractor with closed center hydraulics. Should I be afraid of the hydraulic drive spreaders?

I used to rent two different spreaders of that size. The spinners of both were PTO drive but the apron chain of both was driven off a tire. This made it easy to maintain the application rate with changes of speed.

 

[Destroked 450]

A number of the larger spreaders have a self contained hydraulic system driven by the tractors pto
The one I was looking at last year had the hydraulic pump mounted near the front of the spreader with a pto shaft connecting it to the tractor
The one I have has a hydraulic pump that mounts onto the tractors pto
Mine has an adjustable flow control to control the speed of the floor chain

A nephew had one that was mechanical pto drive, he had a lot of issues with the chain that drove the spreader fans, he sold it and now has one that is all hydraulic

 

[Texasmark]

I used to rent two different spreaders of that size. The spinners of both were PTO drive but the apron chain of both was driven off a tire. This made it easy to maintain the application rate with changes of speed.

I had an an operational JD N that I have had for many years that decided to retire itself last year. It was PTO driven slinger but ground drive for the deck scraper that moved the material to the rear. The wheels must have been 30" in diameter, maybe 5" width, with regular sidewall height R1s....to ensure traction to drive the deck scraper. The "Ladder Chain" that was pulled along the deck broke at one section and with me having a heavy load on it when it broke it drove a couple of cross braces through the floor and jammed up. So I now have an item of antique "yard art" with a fair amount of horse manure and hay contained therein.

 

[showcrop]

I had an an operational JD N that I have had for many years that decided to retire itself last year. It was PTO driven slinger but ground drive for the deck scraper that moved the material to the rear. The wheels must have been 30" in diameter, maybe 5" width, with regular sidewall height R1s....to ensure traction to drive the deck scraper. The "Ladder Chain" that was pulled along the deck broke at one section and with me having a heavy load on it when it broke it drove a couple of cross braces through the floor and jammed up. So I now have an item of antique "yard art" with a fair amount of horse manure and hay contained therein.

You probably got the "good" out of it.

 

[Texasmark]

You probably got the "good" out of it.

Yeah, I picked it up at auction house, cash sale prior to auction and didn't pay much. Had a broken chain link which was easily fixed from parts I bought at TSC. I think I did ok.