Condor spreads contractor's wings

Launched in Australia in 2014, Agrifac has undertaken an almost continuous, demo program across Australia spreading the word on the merits of the Dutch built sprayer’s high capacity, wide booms and unique chassis.

Mr Irving understood the opportunity the Agrifac’s dimensions offered to his wheatbelt contracting business, Cunderdin Ag Services, and put 700 hours on a demo unit before taking delivery of his Condor Endurance in August

“The decision was a combination of different factors - one was the capacity obviously which was quite exciting - an 8000 litre tank and a bigger boom but also the technology these machines have on them,” he said.

“As opposed to our other sprayers which are standard 6000 litre, 120 foot (36m) the productivity is very good - but it has to be,” he said.

“As a contractor I’ve done the sums and the return on investment is very similar to a standard machine, but the technology and the quality of the work, the spray job, is better and that’s where we get ahead,” he said.

“The boom size and tank is just about productivity and less crop damage for me.

“I do a lot of late season work and everybody wants less and less wheel tracks.”

The 51 metre boom is fitted with a breakaway tip which can be folded over.

“This takes the spraying width down to 45 metres so I can run on 50’ (15m) tramlines. I've got other sprayers to work on 40’ (12m) tramlines for controlled traffic farms,” Mr Irving said.

For such a wide boom - the self propelled standard is generally 36 metres - Mr Irving said the ride and performance is good.

“The country here is open but some clients have quite tight and undulating land and for such a big heavy boom it performs really well in tighter country.”

Mr Irving’s Condor Endurance has stepless adjustable wheel track width from 2.8 to 3.8 metres and is mounted on Agrifac’s ‘StabiloPlus’ chassis which pivots from a central point to run smooth on uneven ground, deliver even weight distribution and traction. Each wheel is fitted with pneumatic suspension.

Fuel consumption is “much same as all hydros,” Mr Irving said. “I run two Rogators and they are pretty much on par.”

The boom ride, important for accurate chemical application, has surprised.

“I knew it would be good - I have seen these things about and I went across to the factory in February so I was confident it would be a good ride on the boom but it is probably the best ride on the market,” he said.

“The wheel track width doesn't really have an impact on boom performance,” he said.

“The boom rides really well and is completely independent of the machine but it does give you a smoother ride when the wheels are out.”

The boom is optioned with ‘HighTechAirPlus’ which combines traditional spray performance with air injection and mixing in the nozzle body. This allows a wider range of droplet sizes to be produced from fine to very coarse without changing nozzles.

“It has compressed air injected into the pre-nozzle orifice so you can alter the droplet spectrum on the go just by altering air pressure,” Mr Irving said.

“It also gives you a more accurate droplet spectrum. If you imagine a standard nozzle on a standard boom and you try to do a medium droplet you’ll get probably 20 per cent fine droplets that blow away and you’ll get 20 per cent that are coarser than you want and 60 per cent that are actually target size.

“This system gives 95 per cent of the droplets in your target size so you are getting more chemical on the plant and a better spray job with reduced drift - there’s a whole host of benefits,” he said.

“It can give more spraying time in windy conditions but it gives you more efficacy as well - which is important when the farmer is watching what is happening.”

Mr Irving said the boom’s auto height control offered good control and limited ground strikes and was complemented by the unique centre section design.

“Agrifac also has a pendulum design in the centre section so it keeps the boom stable when you turn - it maintains level,” Mr Irving said.

“It's pretty bloody good. There’s a bit of yaw but when you’ve got 25 metres sticking out the side you should expect a bit but having said that they've got hydraulic dampening rams in the centre to take the shock out of the booms - that's a good thing.

“I don't think yaw is a bad thing and all sprayers have it - this is probably slightly more than others but it is also a much bigger boom.”

One thing a 51 metre wide boom and 8000 litre tank can do is cover ground. Generally spraying at 28-30km/hr there’s also no compromises when it comes to refilling.

Fitted with a novel front mounted and operated, hydraulically powered 75mm fill pump with a stored suction hose, Mr Irving fills the Condor from a mother tanker in just eight minutes.

The Condor’s standard chemical induction hopper is a weak point.

“I optioned another hydraulically driven chemical pump - to speed things up and I am going to make a few mods to the hopper. It is probably a bit slow on big volumes of granules but it’s going to be quite easy to modify to take them a bit quicker,” Mr Irving said.

“To date I'm very happy with it. It’s not perfect, there's a few things they have to change but they are aware of it and are working on it - so ask me in 12 months time.

"Agrifac have been open to suggestions and they react pretty quick.

“When I was looking at the machine there was a few things I wasn't happy with and they changed them and they were significant things as well.

“It has created a bit of interest and that is good for my business as well. They've thought outside the square to get such a big machine in to the dimensions they need for Europe.

“The whole design concept is pretty good and it is four wheel steer so it turns very quickly.

“They're not the cheapest sprayer so they've got to be good.”