Operation
4.
Reference the
Spreading Charts
section to
determine the appropriate rate dial setting (see
Figure 7).
5.
Fill the hopper approximately half-full with the
desired material.
6.
Set the impeller speed to the appropriate
broadcasting rate.
7.
Pull the granular gate control to the open position
and drive the spreader, at the appropriate speed,
over the center pan. Repeat this several times,
moving in the same direction each time, until
enough material is dispensed to fill the center
graduated measuring cylinder half full.
8.
Label each graduated measuring cylinder to
correspond with the distribution pans (i.e. ...L2,
L1, Center, R1, R2....) (reference Figure 18 and
Figure 19).
9.
One at a time, take a collection pan and dump
the contents into the corresponding graduated
measuring cylinder. Record the amount of
material collected and return the pan to its
location. Repeat this until all pan contents have
been emptied.
10.
With the graduated measuring cylinder in the
same straight line as the pans, evaluate the volume
of material in each cylinder to determine the
quality of the distribution from the spreader.
11.
To adjust the spreader pattern, refer to the
Spreader Pattern Adjustment
section.
12.
Repeat steps 5 through 11 until an uniform
pattern is achieved.
Determining the Effective Spreading
Width
The effective width is used to determine the uniform
distribution of the material.
Note:
The spreading width range is 3 ft (0.9 m) up
to 25 ft (7.6 m).
1.
After the spreader pattern is correctly adjusted,
evaluate the amount of material in the center
graduated measuring cylinder.
2.
Locate the two tubes, one each side of center, that
contain 1/2 the measured amount of the material
that you observed in the center graduated cylinder.
3.
Go to the two corresponding pans. Starting from
the outer edge, measure and record the distance
between left pan, through the center pan, to the
outer edge of the right pan.
Note:
This measurement is the effective
spreading width.
Calculating the Application Rate
1.
Determine the amount of product to be applied.
2.
Determine the calibration course
A.
Determine the amount of product to be spread
per 1,000 ft
2
(93 m
2
). Use the recommended
rate from the
Spreading Charts
section or
the product manufacturer’s label as a guide.
B.
Determine a course length by dividing 1,000
ft
2
(93 m
2
) by the effective spread width.
For example, if the effective width is 6 feet
(1.8 meters), then the calibration course length
equals 167 ft (51 m).
Course Length
1,000 ft
2
(93 m
2
)
6 ft (1.8 m)
=
167 ft (51 m)
C.
The calibration course is 6 ft (1.8 m) by 167
ft (51 m).
D.
Measure and visibly mark the course length.
Make sure to allow ample distance before the
starting marker to ensure the spreader is at
full speed when crossing the first mark of the
course.
3.
Set the appropriate gate dial setting (reference the
Spreading Charts
section as a starting point).
4.
Add material to the hopper (for example, 25 lb
(11.3 kg) was added).
5.
Drive the spreader over the calibration course
while applying the material.
6.
Empty the remaining material of the hopper into
a clean bucket.
7.
Weigh the bucket containing the material and
record the weight. Pour the contents back into
the hopper and then weigh the empty bucket.
Subtract these two amounts to determine the
amount of material remaining in the hopper (for
example, 20 pounds (9 kg) remains.)
8.
Subtract the amount remaining in the hopper
(step 7) from the amount originally added (step
4); the result is the amount applied to the course.
Amount Applied
25 lb (11.3 kg) – 20 lb (9 kg) =
5 lb (2.3 kg)
26
