Reprint from the dlz agrarmagazin

Issue 10/2009Postfach 40 05 80D-80705 München

Telephone 089-12705-276reddlz@dlv.de

www.dlz-agrarmagazin.de

ww

w.d

lz-a

gra

rmag

azi

n.d

e

Special Issue

Danish PrecisionDanishPrecision

Presented by:

BOGBALLE A/SDK 7171 UldumTel.: +45 7589 3266Fax: +45 7589 3766www.bogballe.combogballe@bogballe.com

BOGBALLE DeutschlandLangeoogstr. 1645665 RecklinghausenTel.: 02361 44080Fax: 02361 499940Mobil: 0171 3513840kkr@bogballe.com

The agricultural magazine

dlz Long-term test The factthat Bogballe builds goodspreaders is well-known. Nowwith a new terminal and evenmore exact weighing techni-que the Danes will add onemore with the M-line. To testif the new M2W base with2350 litres capacity can deliverit’s promises, it will be tried onapprox. 600 ha spread area.

Bogballe is a small, specialist manu-facturer of fertiliser spreaders fromDenmark. The company was foun-

ded 75 years ago by the farmer Anders Pe-ter Laursen in Bogballe and is still familyowned. In Germany the market share isstill far behind the local manufacturersAmazone and Rauch. But the technicalfeatures are not behind the others, on thecontrary: Bogballe was the first manufac-turer of spreaders with weighing techni-que, which is a trend that has widelycaught on. Also interesting are the highmanufacturing standards used in Den-mark. Processing is strongly emphasised.Stainless steel is used for parts in hard en-vironment, and each steel part is groundbefore processing. In this way the surfa-ces are roughened and the edges smoo-thed. Advantage: The powder paint sticksbetter, especially on the edges. And pro-tection against rust is always a must forfertiliser spreaders.

Different rotation directionAnother characteristic of the Bogballespreader is certainly the direction of rota-tion of the spreading discs. The Danishmachine has the spreading discs turninginwards (In-Center)and not outwards (Off-Center), like for example the Rauch orAmazone. This has as consequence: Thespread pattern always overlaps 4 times,when spreading on the field. Bogballe pro-mises that this way offers a better distribu-tion precision and talks about a “fault for-giving system”. (See the graphics “4-dou-ble overlap”). Opposite to the competitors,the right disc does not spread only to theright and only a little to the left, but com-pletely from right to the left. Theoreticallythis is sound. When the fertiliser falls 4 ti-mes instead of 2 times on the same surfa-ce, the part quantities spread are only halfas big. Possible spreading faults will thisway be of no importance. The distributionbehind the spreader is more flat but morewide and provides a good spread pattern.

We could convince ourselves about that,both in the field and in the test hall. Theprecision is stated by the coefficient of va-riation (CV): Good is a value lower than 10percent. The figure tells how the valuefluctuates around the middle value. At aCV of below five percent the spreadingprecision across the driving direction ischaracterised as very good. If the CV is bet-ween 10 and 15 percent the precision is sa-tisfactory.

Headland spreadingThe large overlap between two workingwidths in field is wise and good, but notwanted along the border. Here the fertili-

T e c h n i q u e

Danish Precision

600 ha

Long-term

ser will fly over the border to the neigh-bour or even worse – in the waterways.That means that you need a system forheadland spreading. Competitors make

for instance headland spreading to bor-der by placing lamella or deflectors inthe fertiliser stream, which limits thefertiliser to fly only to the border. Bog-balle changes the driving direction ofthe spreading discs, thus exploiting theback of the vanes. From the special de-sign of the vanes and the lower revolu-tion speed, the fertiliser does not flythat wide and makes the required spre-ad pattern with steep falling quantity atthe border. At the same time the changeof the spreading direction (from in-wards to outwards) offers the possibilityto spread the fertiliser from the borderwith one disc shut off, which is a systemlike the one offered by the competitors.The spread pattern from the discs tur-ning outwards gives a steep fallingquantity behind the spreader and spre-ads approx. to the outside of the tractor.

Test spreaderWe had a M2Wbase with 2350 l capaci-ty in Test. The M-line spreader is availa-ble in a width of 2,40 m and a hopperheight of 1,24 m (base) and also in aPlus variant with a 2,90 m wide and1,40 m height. The M-line spreader isavailable with a capacity from 1250 to4050 litres depending on type andheight of the modules. Our spreaderhad a width of 2,40 m, good if you aredriving on a lot on narrow roads, insmall villages or wherever you have nar-row passages. Without modules the M2W base capaci-ty is 1250 l. We had fitted two 18 cmhigh modules. Maximum capacity ispossible by fitting an additional 11 cm

The operation with Calibrator Zurf is simple. The data can be exchanged between PC and the Zurf Terminal usingthe USB stick.

The program Zurf.com makes setting possible on the PC. The necessary fertiliserdata is supplied from the internet. It workseasily and without problems.

high module, when you can load up to2675 l of fertiliser. Our test machine hada net weight of 548 kg. That means that abase machine with an allowed totalweight of 3000 kg carry almost 2,5 tons offertiliser.

Calibrator Zurf with weighing systemThe W in the name stands for the weig-hing technique. We were very satisfiedwith the weighing technique. When youhave a bulk fertiliser in the barn you wo-uld normally only know afterwards, if itwas all ok. This way you have always an

Bogballe is testing not only its spreaders butalso a lot of fertilisers. Therefore there is foralmost every fertiliser a spread chart and theappropriate calibration value.

The spreader is hanging in a weighing frame. Intelligent Control makes spreadingon slopes even more exact.

Meter

30

20

10

0-30 -26 -22 -18 -14 -10 -6 -2 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXMenge/Gramm

exact overview of how much fertiliser isspread where. Also the hectare counterturns out almost exact in the new termi-nal. These spreaders are now equipped withthe new terminal Calibrator Zurf. Nowyou can transfer the data that are savedby the weighing system to your PC. Thenew terminal Calibrator Zurf also workswithout weighing technique but only ifincluded you will get its full potential.Bogballe uses only one load cell. Therefo-re the hopper hangs in an extra framethat works in a parallelogram.The load cell stands 6000 kg, enough foralso violent influence when drivingthrough a pothole or on bad trails. Wehad no problems with the weighing tech-nique. Due to the frame the centre of gra-vity will be displaced only 4 cm back-wards. At the top the frame is fixed bytwo spring plates and at the foot by twojoints with needle bearings. New is alsothe sensor “Intelligent Control” whichcontrols the measuring values of theweight and discards “incorrect” measu-ring values, for instance on slopes. Theweighing system is this way working evenmore exact.

Easy to useThe operation of the spreader is very ea-sy with the Zurf Calibrator: Find andmount the vanes for the requested wor-king width. For late application you can

place the lifting arms in a lower posi-tion. Then tilt the spreader about 2 de-grees compared to spread chart or com-puter. That is easy to adjust by the bub-ble level on the frame. The angle willchange somewhat according to load andsoftness of the tyres. But in our test it didnot make much influence to the spreadwidth; we had when spreading and alsolater when growing seen no big differen-ce. Here is a hydraulic top link good, inthat way you can adjust tilt angle andworking height in the field, which is notpossible with a normal top link. In prin-ciple it is then enough to set the reques-ted application rate and the workingwidth. The rest will be done by the elec-tronics. Here you can from the begin-ning get a small inaccuracy. But alreadyafter 25 kg the weighing system has ad-justed itself. The one who makes an in-put of the calibration value for the ferti-liser in question will spread preciselyfrom the beginning. By the weighingtechnique the computer compares 10 ti-mes per second the expected applicationrate with the real application rate andadjusts automatically the outlets. The

4 Special Issue

The agitator goes easy on the fertiliser.The small outlet is for small grains andslug pellets.

For calibration and emptying of rest quantities there is an opening and a guideplate in the spreading disc.

Technical Data

Dimensions / Weight

Capacity 1250 + 1100 lSpread width (depending on vane type) 12–42 mWidth (base = narrow hopper) 240 cmLoad height (without back gate) 98 cmLoad opening (width x length) 238 x 121 cmNet weight (M2W) 548 kgMax. load 3000 kgTotal weight ca. 3500 kgApplication rate (from/to) 0,5/ca. 1500 kg/ha

RPM

PTO speed 540 RPMDisc speed 750 RPM

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 -10 -20

30 20 10

0

Meter

Menge/Gramm

3 Headland spreading from the border

30

20

10

070 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10

Meter

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXMenge/Gramm

2 Headland spreading to the border

1 Normal spreading in the test hall

When spreadingfrom the border al-most no fertiliser isflying outside theborder and the fieldwill be spread in-wards from the bor-der. The curve is evenmore steep. The re-sult is very good.

When spreading tothe border (crop op-timized version) onlyvery little fertiliser isflying over the border(0,11 percent). Thatis a very good value.You see the steep fal-ling curve.

The picture shows theresult of normal spre-ading of ammoniumsulphate at a workingwidth of 24 metresand an application ra-te of 288 kg. The VCis 5,1 percent, almostvery good.

Application rate/Gram

Metres

Application rate/Gram

Metres

Application rate/Gram

Metres

600 ha

Long-term

new terminal can now also exchange da-ta between terminal and PC by means ofa USB stick. It is moreover possible tomake fertiliser folders on the PC. Thenyou must make an input in Zurfcom forall fields. Now you can for instance ma-

ke a folder for the first application. Inthe program you can make 4 folderswith each 100 fields. When connectedto the Internet the program will after in-put of fertiliser type and application ratesearch all necessary settings for the spre-ader. All necessary settings will nowautomatically be transferred. These datacan now by the stick be transferred tothe terminal. In the field you must nowjust choose the required folder for thejob, choose the field, set the correct tilton the spreader and you can go sprea-ding. If the spreader is used in a commu-nity or if you want to use more fields, itis possible to make more folders on thePC and to transfer them to the Calibra-tor. In this way the number of fields is inpractice unlimited. A very nice featurebut a pity that it is not compatible withany card index system. The data can on-ly be exported as for instance an Excel-table. This way the data can be used asinput but not as output from the card in-dex. So you will not be spared to createall data by hand. The terminal itself isnot ISO-bus compatible but can by a serial plug be connected to all commonsystems for transfer of the necessary data.

Headland spreading from the cabinIn practice the procedure is as follows:Stop the PTO shaft, press the button onthe Calibrator for headland spreading.

5Special Issue

-Test mirror

�+ �+ = very good, �+ = good, �–o = average,

�– = bad, �– �– = very bad

Criterion Judgement

Operation/function

Mounting on the tractor �+Setting of application rate �+ �+Calibration �+ �+Exchange of vanes �+Setting for headland spreading �+ �+Function weighing system �+ �+Emptying rest quantities �o Filling (240-cm-hopper) �+Setting of spreading values �+Agitator �+ �+Spread chart �+Suitability/spread pattern in practice

CAN normal 21 m �+ �+CAN headland spreading to border �+CAN headland spreading from border �+NPK (800 kg) 21 m �+ �+NPK (250 kg) 21 m �+ �+Ammonium Sulphate (250 kg) 21 m �+Maintenance

Cleaning �oGreasing �+

The nice shaped terminal makes the jobwith the spreader very simple. Zurfstands for the connection to the PC andto the internet. Therefore spread chartsare no more necessary. Just find by thePC the fertiliser from the comprehensiveinternet based data bank, state the re-quired application rate and speed, andall values for the spreader such as tilt an-gle, vanes und calibration value are set.These data will be transferred to the Zurfby a USB-Stick and you can start sprea-ding. This way you can start spreadingwith a very high exactness. If you onlyenter application rate and speed, the Ca-librator works with the last calibrationvalue and adjusts the spreader by the ex-pected/real application rate setting ofthe weight. Also the headland spreadingcan easily be set on the terminal. Nice isalso the installed help function, whichexplains very well.

Calibrator Zurf

Simple and logic operation characterises the Zurf. The most important information is visible,the application rate and also spreading on non-rectangular fields can easily be changed.

Then you can choose from the menu ifyou want to spread from the border or tothe border. Finally you start again thePTO shaft and start spreading with therequired reduced revolution speed. Thebest spread pattern is achieved whenyou spread at first around the field andthen along the tramlines. Headlandspreading from the border is always do-ne counter clockwise, because the rightside is closed. If possible, it is better tospread to the border, because here bothdiscs are running so that the hopper isregularly emptied. If you spread fromthe border, the left side of the hopper issooner empty than the right side. So itmight happen that you must stop sprea-

T e c h n i q u e

The vanes can easily be exchanged, even ifnot without tools. The spread pattern, alsofor headland spreading, is first class.

Phot

os b

y Fe

uerb

orn,

Mum

me,

Bog

balle

ding with 200 to 300 kg of fertiliser inthe hopper. And if you are just about tospread the last tramline, it might be an-noying. The fully automatic calibrationwill stop at a rest quantity of 200 kg andcontinue at the last measured value.Emptying of the spreader works, but so-mebody must go down in the spreaderin order to remove fertiliser. The rearguard invites for stepping up, but is notmeant for that. But when putting stresson this guard, it will slide downwards

out, so that nobody can stand on it. Werecommend the ladder which is suppliedas option. If you want to spread more orless in the field, you can without pro-blems make the application rate change.Just press plus or minus. With whichpercent you reduce the application rateat one push can be set in the terminal. Ifyou stop the spreader and start again,the originally set application rate is backagain. When spreading on corners ornon-rectangular fields you reduce the

spread width on the terminal. But in re-ality you reduce the application rate. Atthe beginning it sounds strange but ifyou spread yourself, you will see it isworking, because the general overlapbetween the tramlines will equalize thereduction of the application rate. Themethod was confirmed in the field, whe-re there was no sign of too high or toosmall fertiliser application. If you spreadsmall quantities of fertiliser and you donot drive fast enough, then the terminalwill tell you. And it is the same if youspread big quantities. Here you have thepossibility to change the size of the out-let by 40 percent up or down. Just chan-ge the mechanical setting and tell theterminal that you made the change.

ResultThe M2W spreader with the new Cali-brator Zurf is simple to operate and has agood spread pattern. It is a pity that theterminal is not ISOBUS-compatible andthat the data can only be exported to acard index programme. The setting ofthe spreader and the fertiliser planning,when the fields have once been created,is very simple, also due to the integratedspread charts from the Internet. The ca-libration – a job that almost no farmerdoes – can be left out, because the weig-hing technique will very fast lead to theoptimum. By means of the new function“intelligent control” the spreadingexactness particularly on slopes becomeseven better. In the test hall and also inthe field we were very satisfied with thespread pattern. The processing is verygood, also the paint is convincing. All inall the M2W is a spreader which is exactand easy to operate. (sm/fe)

T e c h n i q u e

6 Special Issue

+

=

4-double overlapThere are 2 spreadingsystems at 2-disc spre-aders: At Off-Center sprea-ders the discs turnsoutwards, at In-Centerspreaders inwards.The graphics showhow the spread pat-terns overlap from theright and the left disc.At the In-Center ope-ration, such as used byBogballe, each discwill spread full widthwith 4-double overlapwhen spreading as re-sult.

We had also spreaders from Rauch andAmazone for choice. Because of the spreadpattern and the 4-double overlap webought a M2W Bogballe. Another reasonfor buying was that everything on the spre-ader is electrically changeable. Moreoverthere was no big price difference as compa-red to the competitors and the spreaderhas a USB stick on the terminal for transferin the card index system. The specificationsare very extensive and very good for thedocumentation. The terminal Zurf is easy tooperate: The menus are very understanda-ble and the display legible. The memoryholds 99x4 fields and is very big. The weig-hing system makes the operation much ea-sier and if driving correctly it is possible tomake the spreader totally empty. Fitting onour Fendt tool carrier works better than onour Fendt Vario 716. We would buy thespreader again. Maybe we will buy an extramodule in order to increase the capacity.Raimund Högen, 92685 Floß

We run 400 hectares ofarable land. With ourM3Wplus spreader anda 3300 litres hopper wehave until now spread1000 hectares, hereof600 hectares calcium

ammonium nitrate and 200 hectares urea.The basic frame is processed and paintedvery well. The agitator works well. Due tothe electric operation no hydraulic connec-tions are necessary. As only the tilt angle isdifferent, the setting is very easy. Also set-ting of the application rate succeeds simplyand exactly on the terminal. The weighingsystem works well and without problems.Headland spreading is working exactly.That is for us a special plus point at thespreader. The window in the hopper is toosmall and not waterproof. At a load of 3tons it is necessary to have ballast on thefront axle. Manfred Huber , 86551 Aichach

This is what dlz readers say about Bogballe spreaders

Bogballe makes up it’s mind …

… about the point ISOBUSThe Calibrator ZURF was especially deve-loped in order to make an optional func-tionality and operation of each single ma-chine function. The ISOBUS compatibilityand therefore the ISOBUS terminal is analternative for the operation of the machi-ne. The Calibrator ZURF can communica-te with an ISO terminal for instance whenprocessing input of application rates. AlsoBogballe will at Agritechnica 2009 showan ISO-solution, but still the CalibratorZURF is the best terminal for a fertiliserspreader.

600 ha

Long-term