EASIER CLEANING OF FARM DRAINS WITH SIDE-MOUNTED EQUIPMENT FOR TRACTORS

Te Ao Hou, December 1958, Page 53

EASIER CLEANING OF FARM DRAINS WITH SIDE-MOUNTED EQUIPMENT FOR TRACTORS A hydraulically controlled drain cleaner which is side mounted on a wheel tractor is a further improvement to the many mechanical aids to drain cleaning already available in New Zealand. This equipment mounted on the side of the tractor has eliminated the tedious manoeuvring necessary to discharge filled buckets on front- or rear-mounted cleaners, states an article in the January issue of “The New Zealand Journal of Agriculture.” A machine with a side-mounted cleaner can be driven parallel to the drains, depositing the sludge behind it. This allows quicker clearance with minimum disturbance of drain edges. The bucket has an are of travel of about 270 degrees and can deposit cleanings in front, behind, or at the side. A hydraulically controlled foot has a counterbalance attached and is used when the cleaner is working on drain edges. Such machines have eliminated much of the drudgery from one of the very necessary and more arduous routine jobs on farms that depend on open drains to remove surplus water.