Hydroseeders!!

[Rollacosta]

Hi i'm looking to get into hydroseeding.Can you guys tell me what machines/seeders your using [website links would be great].Been looking at ''Easylawn'' hydroseeders,what opinions do you have of these machines? many thanks for replies..:)

Have you got any tips for a beginer you could share with me?

[Rollacosta]

Thanks for your replies...

[stumpslawncare]

Can't help you out there, don't have any experience with those machines.

[BobcatBoy06]

We are running a Kincaid machine, its worked out well for us so far, We will eventually upgrade to a bigger unit. I would go with something that is mechanical agitation and probably something that has a tower gun and a pull behind unit. There was a unit for sale on here within the past week that would make a good starting machine, it was a good deal too.

[Rollacosta]

We are running a Kincaid machine, its worked out well for us so far, We will eventually upgrade to a bigger unit. I would go with something that is mechanical agitation and probably something that has a tower gun and a pull behind unit. There was a unit for sale on here within the past week that would make a good starting machine, it was a good deal too.

Hi BobcatBoy06,I have only seen the Finn and Easylawn rigs.How many gallons does your rig hold? have you got a model number for it?

Have you found that jet agitation doesn't mix very well? can your rig take wood mulch?

I was only looking at a starter type rig,but i'm thinking I might go one step further,that is if my budget will cover it.:)

All the best thanks

[Mike33]

I own a turfmaker 500 gal. with a 500 gal. aux. tank i have on a 16' trailer. it works very well and you are able to pump the water out of the nurse tank with the main pump on the seeder. They are great people to deal with www.turfmaker.com ask for Ruthie if you would phone. please mention Mike from Bobcat service in Maeyland told you. they are a mechanical machine and you can visit my web site and see it working. www.bobcatservice33.com
Mike

[AintNoFun]

we have a finn t120 skid mount, its an awesome machine. we are looking to purchase or upgrade to a t330 hopefully in the spring if all goes well. while ive never owned another machine to compare too, but i do love our finn..

[Andyinchville]

Hi,

YOu may want to check out some of the hydroseeding forums....I think turboturf does have a good site but of course they will pitch their product there too....I have a Easy Lawn 600 gallon model....works great....As far as Kincaid brand I have heard alot of negatives about it in one or two of the forums....
Hope this helps.
Andrew

[Tim Wright]

turboturf.com

[Rollacosta]

I own a turfmaker 500 gal. with a 500 gal. aux. tank i have on a 16' trailer. it works very well and you are able to pump the water out of the nurse tank with the main pump on the seeder. They are great people to deal with www.turfmaker.com ask for Ruthie if you would phone. please mention Mike from Bobcat service in Maeyland told you. they are a mechanical machine and you can visit my web site and see it working. www.bobcatservice33.com
Mike

Thanks for your links Mike,great website by the way,I took the time to sign your guestbook,feel free to correct any spelling mistakes I may have made..:laugh:

And i'll be sure to take a look at 'turfmaker' machines..:)

[Rollacosta]

we have a finn t120 skid mount, its an awesome machine. we are looking to purchase or upgrade to a t330 hopefully in the spring if all goes well. while ive never owned another machine to compare too, but i do love our finn..

Wow the t120 looks like an awsome machine,what is the tank made out of ??

[procut]

Not to get off topic or anything, but heres a question for you guys. I'm not sure how many of you new this or not, but the actual term "hydo seeder" is a trade mark of Finn, thats why all the other brands are are called turbo turf, hydo mulcher, easy lawn ect. Thus, whats really the proper term for the act of "hydo seeding"???

[Mike33]

Thanks for your links Mike,great website by the way,I took the time to sign your guestbook,feel free to correct any spelling mistakes I may have made..:laugh:

And i'll be sure to take a look at 'turfmaker' machines..:)

Thanks, The easy lawn and turbo to my knowledge is jet. They will not pump a thick slurry thru 250' of 1.5" of hose up hill like my turf-maker will. My tank is heavy steel and the paddle is a large shaft design and will agitate the 70-30 wood blend mulch to nothing in seconds. There is no comparasion to the machines. Finn is good but overpriced on these size machines. I have less than 15k invested in my 550 turfmaker, nurse tank, honda portable pump, and 16' 12,000 gvw trailer.
Mike

[AintNoFun]

some type of steel. my best recommendation would be the biggest seeder you could possibly afford if your serious about seeding. while i love our t120 i regret not buying a larger machine...


Wow the t120 looks like an awsome machine,what is the tank made out of ??

[Rollacosta]

Has the tank being steel, corroded at all ??

[AintNoFun]

we put fertilizer in almost every load. but i am also a clean freak and the machine is cleaned out almost every day so the rust is very minimal and the machine is 2 years old..


Has the tank being steel, corroded at all ??

[Rollacosta]

It would be good if the tanks were made from stainless steal or polyurathene,i'd have no hesitation paying the extra

[AintNoFun]

but then you'd never need another machine, lol they need job security ya know...


It would be good if the tanks were made from stainless steal or polyurathene,i'd have no hesitation paying the extra

[Rollacosta]

but then you'd never need another machine, lol they need job security ya know...

Exactly lol :laugh: :laugh:

[B. L. Landscaping]

Rollacosta, turbo turf makes a mechanical agitation with a 500 gallon capacity poly tank. I have never had a problem with my jet agitation though.

[Mike33]

There is no comparision with the turbo turf and the turf-maker, My paddle on the shaft would destroy a poly tank. Mt shaft is 4" thick with steel paddles 1.5' long. I dont see how a 500 gal jet machine could mix 200 lb. of 70-30 blend mulch.
Mike

[muddstopper]

There is no comparision with the turbo turf and the turf-maker, My paddle on the shaft would destroy a poly tank. Mt shaft is 4" thick with steel paddles 1.5' long. I dont see how a 500 gal jet machine could mix 200 lb. of 70-30 blend mulch.
Mike


My first hydroseeder was a jet agitated machine, it wasnt a turboturf and probably not as good a quality as the turboturf. After a few modifications I could mix and spray 200lbs of 70/30 Profile brand mulch. The thing about a jet agitated machine and the wood mulches is the resistance in pumping the slurry. The slurry is going to take the path of least resistance and in a jet agitated machine, that least resistance in back thru the recirulation jets used for the mixing. Another thing to consider is the actual tank size, most if not all, mechanical agitated machines are rated as working capacity and not actual water holding capacity. What this means is a 500 gal mechanical machine will probably have a water holding capacity of around 600 gal. a plastic jet agitated machine is rated at the water holding capacity of the tank. What usually happens is you end up with 200lbs of mulch in a 500gal water capacity jet machine but you only have around 400gals of water. In a 500gal mechanical machine you are mixing 200 lbs of mulch in 500 gal of water because the tank will actually hold 600 gal of water. This skews the perception that jet machines wont mix as thick a slurry as a mechanical agitated machine, but the 200lbs of mulch in the 500gal "water capacity" jet machine is actually a thicker slurry than the same amount of mulch in the 500 gal "work rated" mechanical machine.

I am not promoteing anybody buying a jet agitated machine if their budget will allow buying a mechanical machine, but hopefully I can clear up a few misconceptions about the comparisons.

Jet machines are excellent entry level machines, especially in the more northern climates. They are cheaper to purchase, easier and cheaper to maintain, lighter to tow or hual. They are also limited in the types of mulch and mix rates they can spray efficently. Yes you can mix and spray wood and even BFM materials, but you will find life easier using those materials if you go with a mechanical machine. Every jet agitated machine I have ever seen used a centrifical type pump which will last a long time, even using corrosive fertilizers in the slurry and the plastic tanks dont rust and are easy to replace if damaged.

Mechanical machines are more expensive to purchase and maintain, they are heavier in weight, which makes hualing and towing a little harder on the truck. Fertilizer will corrode metal tanks, rusted tanks require sanding and repainting periodicly. Severely rusted tanks can require patching rusted out places. (cutting and welding). Lots of mechancial machines use the same type of centrifical pumps as jet machines to pump the slurry and dont work as well as the mechanical machines that use positive displacement pumps when it comes to thick slurries or the BFM materials. All centrifical pumps will have limitations pumping long distances, especally if uphill. The jet machines will have even more limtations because of the recirculation, (path of least resistance) of the slurry.

The Turfmaker mentioned in the previous post uses a Bowie type gear pump and will pump longer distances thru hoses than the Finn or Easylawn with their centrifical type pumps. The Turboturf hybrid can be bought with either a Centrifical or the same Bowie Gear type pump as the Turfmaker. Finn does have a positive displacement mono type pump available, but better pull out the checkbook if you really want one. The Kincaid, also mentioned earlier, is almost the same exact machine as the turfmaker, infact, Kincade used to build Turfmakers machines for them. Easylawn also makes a mechanical agitated machine, as well as jet agitated machines. The C60 and C75 models are available in Stainless steel or regular steel, depending on how much money you want to spend. I dont know if Easylawn offers a positive displacement pump on any of their machines. Never heard of one if they do.
Bowie offer centrifical an positive displacement pumps on their mechanical agitated machines. Guess where Turfmaker, Kincaid and Turboturf get their Bowie Gear Pumps, that should say something about the quality of Bowie's products and their hydroseeders. ( Actually turfmaker has switched to a Bowie gear pump knock off made by Raven. Raven and Bowie pumps are so similar that most parts will interchange between the two manufacturers)

A concerned was raised about the durability of the plastic tank on the mechanical agitated machine that turboturf builds. I have seen the machine, havent seen it work, but the agitator shaft is supported in bearings mounted on pedestals at each end of the tank, the paddles never strike the sides of the tank so tank durabilty shouldnt be an issue, a metal tank will probably need repaired or repainted before the plastic tank wears out. Plastic tank is probably cheaper to replace than the cost of sandblasting and painting or patching the inside of the mechanical machine.

I own a Finn and a Bowie machine, it aint the machine that grows grass, its the person operating the machine

[Mike33]

I wonder why Finn is so expensive? When i was purchasing mine ( turf-maker 550 ) i think around 11k or so Finn wanted 26k. They told me there pump would last longer, but the price different i could buy 10 replacement pumps over the years and still be in money. I know Finn has been around but turf-maker seemed to roll out the carpet for me where finn wanted to charge me for a demo. I got a bad taste for jets when i had a guy hydro-seed 2 yards for me before i got mine and did not really know the practice. He gave me very little mulch application and would have to stop a lot and re- mix the load. I just figured later when i learned hyds. that they was not capable of working with mech. machines. Looking at my paddle system i fill machine half full of water add 100 lb of mulch and in seconds it is mixed. With this heavy of shaft and paddle i felt it would only work in a steel tank. I basicly waited to i could even afford this unit which is not really big money compared to larger machines because many reps told me there is a lot of turn over in smaller machines due to being to small. My main yards in my area is around 12-16k sq' and we have streams almost everywhere for filling. I have a 500 gal. nurse tank which i go down the road with 1000 gal. cap. which helps a lot and normally 4 mixes will do most of my jobs.
Mike

[klkanders]

Muddstopper, Good info!

We bought a new FINN single axle 500 gal. model over 10 years ago. It has done a great job for us. I think the biggest residential job was 8-9 tanks all filled with the homeowners hoses. Long day! After each job it is rinsed inside and out then put inside our heated shop with hopper door open and drain plug out so it can air dry. Very minimal rusting.

As muddstopper said its not the machine that makes for a nice lawn its the operator and also good soil prep. Good Luck!

[muddstopper]

KlKanders, my Finn is a 1985 model and my Bowie is a 1969 model!!!. These machines will last if they are taken care of. I will put my 37 year old Bowie up against a new one anyday for regular hydroseeding. It has the Deming 4x3 centrifical pump so it might not pump the BFMs like the gear pump machines, but it will spray 200ft out of the tower.

My take on the Bowie versus Finn is pretty simple. I like the hydraulic agitation of the Finn better than the one way agitation of everybodies elses machines, other than that there really isnt that much difference in the mixing ability of the machines. Wait until you get a big chunck of mulch hung up in the agitators of the Bowies, Turfmakers, ect, and have to climb in to free up the agitators and you will see why I like the reverse hydraulic driven agitators on the Finn. Of course I can also mix about 600lbs of material in my Bowie without water, cant do that with a Finn. I often mix the materials dry in my bowie to increase the amount of material I am able to hual to a job site, just fill with water and spray. Those Finn hydraulics also cost extra, hydraulic pump $400, Hydraulic motor $400, hoses and valves, ect, they all add to the cost of the machine. One thing I dont like about Finn is replacement parts, Finn really likes to stick it to you when it comes time to replace bearing and tank seals. Try buying the electric clutch on a Finn. I got fed up with it and called Warner Clutch company and saved $300 on a clutch ( was able to order the replacement thru JThomas). I can find the bearings at Tractor Supply and save about $200 more. The seals are just 1/4 inch neoprene rubber you can buy in sheets and punch your own holes in. No reason to pay $400 for a bearing&seal kit from Finn.

Might want to start checking on material pricing for this year, Seed has jumped almost $10 per bag,(this week), mulch pricing is going up $0.60-80 a bale, and dont forget fertilizer. I have already notified most of my contractor customers of a price increase for seeding. Its hard to believe some of their responses to the news, some wanting me to absorb the increases, yea right.

[klkanders]

Muddstopper,

Thanks again for all your valuable information! I will keep it in mind when we have to replace some of those parts on the FINN. Take Care and have a great season!