FARGO, N.D. – For all the advantages of liquid fertilizer, there is one significant drawback that sometimes turns into a big expense.
“Liquid fertilizer and fittings never get along,” says Ed Ferguson, owner of F/S Manufacturing. Once that little leak starts, it can become a big leak overnight.
Ferguson, who has been in the business of building chemical application equipment for 25 years, said the only way to lessen the corrosion problem is to reduce the number of spots where two components meet.
With that concept in mind, he designed his new 3,000 US gallon field tanks and patterned them after the F/S Tru Kleen chemical induction tanks he introduced years earlier. A limited number of the tanks are now available.
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“There are no fittings. No bulkheads. No seams. No gaskets.
“The entire tank funnels down into the spout at the bottom of the cone. It’s all moulded together as a single piece. Everything empties out completely and cleans up just like our chemical induction tanks.”
Ferguson said the cone slope is about 10 degrees while the spout is male threaded for a two or three inch on-off valve.
Although the new system was intended mainly for corn growers who top dress large volumes of liquid nitrogen, it is also useful as a water reservoir when spraying pesticides, especially fungicides that require higher water volumes.
“You still need a transporter to get the liquid out to your fields, but with this much storage at the field, it means you can keep your sprayer moving.
“It’s easy to move. When it’s empty, you just crank the wheels down with the hydraulic jack, hook up and pull it away. Once you’ve got it spotted where you need it, crank the wheels up to set the frame on the ground and fill ‘er up.”
When the tanks are full of liquid fertilizer, the entire unit weighs 60,000 pounds. Ferguson said that when pulling the trailer, 100 gallons of liquid is the maximum allowed in the tanks.
The original intent was that a producer would buy just one trailer with two tanks, and move it from site to site.
However, growers who have widely spaced fields may feel that the initial investment of $6,800 is a small sum compared to the cost of the sprayer and fertilizer.
“Instead of the trailer unit, a guy might decide he’s better off with a number of these tanks set up on stands at various strategic locations. And then just leave them there set up.”
Ferguson said that for 2009, the company will build a bigger trailer for three tanks that can hold 9,000 gallons in total.
“The bigger trailer really isn’t that much additional expense, because it’s strictly for pulling empty tanks. When you fill them, the trailer frame sits solidly on the ground.”
An individual 3,000 US gallon tank without trailer or ground stand sells for $1,350 US.
For more information, contact Ferguson at 701-281-1729 or visit www.fsmfg.com.
