My friends!!
The latest field updates on the 620 is unreal. Best machine on the ranch, Annie, New Mexico.
Great results looking to add a third 620 to our lineup, Tri States Power, Colorado. Guess you can see me grinning ear to ear.
On a more sober note, I get a lot of questions as to cost of the units, cost per acre, per hour. All reasonable and I will attempt to address them here.
When analyzing the cost of equipment, our burrowing rodent control machines are no different than any production oriented equipment. Total cost of the equipment to be used divided by the acres it will be used on. This will include the cost of the ATV, its trailer and of course the unit itself. Included must be calculated the acres per hour that can be covered as well as the efficiency of the kill by the carbon monoxide. I will emphasize here that the efficiency of one unit compared to another of our equipment is different. The bigger the unit, the more efficient it will be in rodents killed. More cfm gas delivery, higher kill rate.
All of this is totally dependent on the actual infestation of the acreage involved. More gophers, less acres per hour. The real time figure is comparing the actual acres per hour, or acres per machine to the cost of the mounds in machinery repair, stand loss and hay value loss because of dirt in the hay.
In truth, it is impossible to estimate the actual time per acre and cost per acre untill the field involved is treated. Usually around 15 to 25 dollars per acre, labor plus equipment cost is ballpark. Custom treatment will be a bit more.
Prospective customers look at the cost of our rodent control machines and have a first reaction that the investment is way out of their budget. Reality is that the burrowing rodent is costing them much more than the control costs will be. Per acre cost is reasonable, per ton cost is eye opening.
We are in the hot pursuit of a new line of motors for the PERC units. We sent Honda all the information on what we do, how it works and they told us that it was acceptable for us to put Honda motors on our equipment if we bought them retail. I cannot do that it would force us to either mark up prices from Honda’s retail or not make anything for our mounting Honda motors on our units. This is not acceptable and in our opinion, very arrogant on Honda’s part.
My goal is to move to a main stream motor manufacturer that is available in the numbers we require, has both the parts supply and the technical support we need and will price their motors at a level that is both acceptable to us and our customers.
These are rather demanding requirements, but as of today, we are negotiating with both Briggs and Stratton and Kohler.
Did a 2.8 acre trial with a new 620 Monday. 230 mounds treated. 8 mounds after 48 hours, about 12 to 15 new mounds after 5 days. Great percentage, but with the untreated field next to what we treated, it is suspect in that the gophers will move quickly into old burrows, even with dead gophers in the burrows.
No question, the huge increase of carbon monoxide delivered with the 620 makes a difference in the kill rate. 7.5 cfm per probe with a 412 compared to about 11.5 plus with the 620.
We have signed up for booths at both the December 2nd and 3rd alfalfa conference in Reno and the mid January alfalfa conference in Kennewick, WA. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Treated gophers and moles in the yard this morning and the new single tube wand holders are nice. Easy in, easy out, easy to keep hoses straight.
We are installing the single tube wand holders on both the 412 and the 620. I will also look at changing over on the next run of 206’s. this may or may not happen because the single tube on the 206 is accessed from each end which prevents hangups.
A couple years ago, I changed the hoses and reels to rubber hoses and ReelCraft reels. Reason was to put a better dependable reel on the units and the consensus then was that rubber hose was better than poly hoses.
Times have changed, we have better, more durable poly hose available and it is much lighter with a small outside diameter. The decision to change has not been finalized yet, but I have a sample hose that we will be testing and if it is as flexible as claimed and resists kinking, we will most likely be offering several colors of hoses on new units. A couple of custom operators have put different colored hoses on their units and have found that it helps in keeping the tangles out of the hoses in the field. The cost will be the same because we will put a quality hose on the reels.
Stay tuned.
Matt in Colorado said that he was treating between 70 and 80 prairie dog holes an hour with his 620 compared to about 30 holes an hour with the 412. This would indicate that the 620 will treat about 2.5 times the rate per hour of the 412. Actually this was not a surprise, the actual gas delivery is 2.1 time the gas delivery of the 412. The bigger compressor builds tank pressure much faster between sets delivering full 110 psi at the start of each set. Also, when all six probes are in the ground, the pump will keep the tank pressure between 50 and 60 psi compared to 40 and 50 psi for the 412. It all adds up to faster and better treatments.
We have identified several modifications from field experience that have promped changes in the current models of the 620. Moving the axle back to put more weight on the hitch, raise the bed 3 inches to give the walking beam more vertical travel and put the wand tubes on the frame that supports the cooling coils.
Stay in touch, I will report updates and the new stuff here as it happens.
I have had complaints over the use of the wand holder tube on the top of the tank. It is hard to use, operators have to always take the top or outer wand regardless of which side of the machine the reel is on. I think we have solved this problem by putting two smaller tubes on either side of the pressure tank. The wands are still accessed from the rear of the machine, but every wand is available at any time. It is easier and quicker to take wands out an put them back in. The Kiss method at work (keep is simple stupid!). Pictures will follow.
Experience has proven that treating gophers in the fall produces the best results. usually a second and even a third time across the field is needed, but the final kill rate can come close to 100 percent.
Rod, Eastern Oregon custom operator found first hand that the mounds that came up after the first time across the field were numerous, even disheartening. But he also saw that the size of the mounds were only a fraction of a normal new mound. We have seen this before. The gophers got the gas, but it made them sick, not dead. They may or may not survive the winter. But as Rod found out, after a second time across the field, no new mounds showed up. This is more the norm.
Demonstration day complete with pizza put on by Chuck Guetz in Colorado was a huge success. He said the 620 worked great and the volume of gas it produces was really impressive. We are confident that that huge increase in volume will put money in the pocket of the custom operator. Not only will it cover a lot more ground in the same time frame, the actual kill rate will increase the first time over. We will monitor closely field results and report in on the web site.
Two PERC 620′ are on the way to the field with high expectations. Pictures are posted along with a lot of information. We are taking orders for additional 620’s — expect about three weeks for shipping date.
Look for future updates as reports from the field, kill rates are available.
Uncategorized | admin November 29, 2009 | 
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