Vortex Advantage AG Drone Spray Trailer Mods And Upgrades
Вставка
- Опубліковано 29 чер 2024
- Since our last video posted of our agricultural drone spray trailer, we have made some nice changes that will improve efficiency and make life easier for us in the field. Hope you enjoy!
Thank you for sharing your ideas and design of your trailer. Not many people out there would be as open as you have been. It shows the kind of heart you have. Unselfish spirit…
Thank you very much for your kind comments. We feel the same way. There’s plenty of work out there and if you do your craft well, you will stand above the rest so that’s not been a worry of hours. Best of luck to you and yours and have a merry Christmas!
Its not officially a video of a trailer unless the phrase “That’s not going anywhere” is used. You sir, didn’t disappoint. Thanks for the video.
Thank you!
This is amazing! Thanks for sharing!!
My pleasure!
The video with 2200 views is probably the most detailed.
i love ur trailer setup. im little jealous! Best regards!!! Greetings from chile!
Thank you so much! It’s been a long time in design and putting together over the past year but I think it turned out nice and I’m getting a lot of comments like yours. Feels good to see people appreciate the work you’ve put into something. It’s not a practical trailer for every application but then again, what is? I would say this trailer is very well suited for larger fields with good road access. I will be building smaller more mobile and maneuverable units moving forward and keep this as the “mothership“
One of my best friends has a house in Chile and loves it. It’s right on the coast at an epic surf spot called Pichilemu.
Thank you
You’re welcome, my friend!
Really insightful - great setup! If you don't mind answering, what's the function of the hose coming off the 3rd tee from the discharge side of the pump?
Thank you! I don’t mind answering at all. The guy who helped me plumb the tanks on the trailer said that he installed that valve as a way to manage the maximum PSI the pump would get. If you notice the handle is taken off of the valve. We have it set to roughly 28 psi and if I’m not mistaken, the flowserve CT6 has a max psi of 30. In hindsight, I read that the pump ( a diaphragm pump) has a built-in pressure relief bypass system so I’m not sure why exactly that third valve was needed but that was the intended use of it. hope that helps!
Hey, this was a great video as I continue to evolve my 16 foot enclosed trailer to be as functionable as possible. Can you provide a link to the 50 amp receptacles? I know you mentioned them being on Amazon but there are so many and can't seem to find the ones in your video. Also, I love the deck on top. Had a guy who was going to do something like this and then reached out saying he was going out of town. That was 3 months ago! lol I would probably do it for the length of my trailer in order to land drones on top for refilling and battery exchanges. Truly like your set up and how bright your trailer is! -Frank
Thanks for the kind comments! Yeah, the deck on top is nice. I thought about building it full length but really just use it for observation. Here is a link to the electrical cord and receptacle box for a 50 amp circuit. Good luck with your build!
a.co/d/3pfQtUW
How do you figure herbicide rates when nothing is labeled for drone applications?
That’s a great question, and as I understand it, the EPA is aware of the shortfall with regard to labels not applying to the use of drones. I believe that will change soon with the drastic increase in use of drones in agriculture. I never provide recommendations for a specific chemical or application rate. I rely on Field agronomist who work for the chemical companies to provide the recommendation. I stay in my lane as the applicator not the agronomist.
We only use chemicals that are approved for aerial application so far. That has been my experience.👍🏻😎
how is the inverter and remote switch working? not sure whether to go with a 110v pump or use the system like you set up. have a multitude of 12v pumps around the farm so not sure if I need to buy another pump. please let me know if you think the inverter and switch is going to hold up.
Hey there! Given the price of pumps and the fact that you already have a bunch of 12 V I would go that route if I were in your shoes. The converter I bought at camping world has been working great. It just converts the AC power from the generator to 12 V, and that pump is the only 12 V I have pulling from the converter. Either way you go, you’re pulling power from the generator as you know. You could also back that up with a battery in the event the generator wasn’t running for short periods of time it could run off the battery. The remote switch has been working awesome. It has pretty good range I would say. I keep it clipped on my belt loop and turn the pump on and off when I’m at the drone I’m just gonna filling up or at the tank mixing station mixing up a batch.
Great build! How are you acquiring customers? Does it “sell itself”?
Thanks a bunch! Appreciate the positive feedback. Acquiring customers is something that comes with knowing how to market yourself and the belief that you can provide a better service than the next guy. Just get yourself out there in front of decision-makers in your area who can drive business your way.
I noticed in both of your videos you use a ball valve on your hose reel. What’s the advantage of that versus say a “fuel pump” nozzle?
Hey there. Yes I do and got that design idea from Taylor Moreland @agrispraydrones. I had initially purchased the fuel pump style nozzle, which was a GPI I believe. The downside of that which I believe is a big one Is that when you insert that nozzle into the quick fill hole of the T40 tank cap and let go while it’s filling, the 1 inch hose with product and the pump itself puts a lot of stress on that plastic cap. In other words, it is pulling downwards on the side of the cap and I’m sure that cap would break over time . If you look at the way, we’ve created a “U” on either side of the ball valve It rests nicely onto tank and the tank itself bears the weight of the hose and the valve rather than the cap. I’ve been using the banjo 1 inch ball valve with 1 inch, 90° barbed elbow on the inlet side, and a 1 inch to three-quarter inch barbed valve on the outlet side. If you lightly grind off the barbs on the outlet side, it fits perfectly into the speed fill cap hole.
@@VortexAdvantageAg thank you sir! I hope to have a rig setup like yours soon.
Awesome man happy to help anyway, I can.
Why did you go away from the large generator to the smaller ones? What was the advantage for you to invest in the smaller generators rather than run the large one you had
Good question. The main reasons I went with two generators instead of one were twofold. The first reason is for redundancy of my two drone operation. If one genny happens to go down on a particular day I am not completely dead in the water and can run one drone until I resolve the issue. The second is cost. I can buy four of the smaller ones for the cost of one big one ($900 vs. $3800 each). I also had the need for a new whole home backup generator so the big one will fill that role and be a backup to the drone operation if needed👍🏻
Gotcha. Another question. I keep thinking ahead for the future for my drone operation of bigger drones which will require bigger batteries, thus more power to charge them. The 9500 rw westinghouse is a great generator but if the future gets even bigger, wouldnt they become undersized and have you buying bigger, more expensive generators again?
@theohiofarmer5631 that is certainly a possibility. However, if things go the way, I hope they do I will run these things long and hard so I presume I will get my 900 bucks out of them either way. Unless you are on really large fields, I don’t see needing more than two drones on one rig set up. I think if I had the need for more power. I would go over to a diesel generator although they are crazy expensive.
@theohiofarmer5631 I am learning what works and what doesn’t along the way just like most are at this time. This industry is moving at a very fast pace with the technology and awareness of this type of application. I’ve had to do a lot of things twice because the first attempt may have not been as efficient as it could have been.👍🏻
Got it. I ran the dji generator for 2023 season and it was great but i only ran 1 t40 last year. This year i have 2 rigs with 2 drones per, and the generators cant be as close to the operator as it was this past season. With that said, im considering selling my dji generator and getting either the 28k westinghouse like what you have for 1 rig and the 9500s for the other, or 9500s everywhere. My theory is that i can (for the cost) do an even swap of the 28k Westinghouse with the dji generator (as far as $ i would get back from it). Then, if the future is much bigger, i at least have 1 generator sized accordingly and capable of handling the larger pull. Just bouncing ideas around as of right now
Why no separate chem inductor? It seems like no inductor would cause serious mixing issues? An 80 gallon batch is around 30-40 acres, depending on the chemistry that is a heck of a lot to get mixed into 80 gallons of solution without an inductor, not to mention the compatibility issues it could potentially cause.
Not trying to be negative here, I’ve just been spraying and mixing chem for around 12 years and this just doesn’t seem quite right.
By no means is it a perfect system and not trying to sell it as a perfect design or system. Just sharing our setup with folks who are interested in seeing it. We haven’t had compatibility issues running the herbicides We’ve been spraying with a combination of four different products. Two are always surfactants (MVO- Xtra and Downforce) and the other two chemical for target species. I keep the tank well agitated constantly, so it just hasn’t been an issue thus far. Laying down Rezilon, glyphosate, Triumph 22K, etc I’ve been working just fine without the inductor. My next set up will be much smaller and have a larger hot load tank. I think having 300 gallons of whatever I’m spraying for the day already in one large tank will be more efficient than having to mix new batches constantly as the day goes on. I’m constantly learning what is more efficient with every job I do.
Please show us the battery change process? We are scratching our heads to improve the ergonomics around the lifting and carrying of the heavy battries.
Apologies for the delay in responding to your comment. The swapping of the batteries is a fairly straightforward process and should be secondary to starting to fill the drone tank when it comes in for a landing. Our process is to be ready with the fully charged battery at the time the drone is landing. Once the propellers stop spinning, we place the fill nozzle into the drone cap and open to start the filling process. Then we turn off the battery in the drone, pull it out, and replace it with the new battery and turn it on. By the time the drone tank is full the drone has reconnected And is ready to takeoff again. Then just rotate that battery you just pulled out into the charger so you have another one on deck fully charged when the drone comes back. I run four batteries per drone so as to not ever have to wait on anything charging
What are you spraying.
We spray many things, but primarily herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and other aerial applicated products. I don’t get into specific products we use on social media, but we use recommendations from local agronomist and adhere to label instructions. Thanks for commenting!