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Melting 46-0-0 set-ups

22K views 39 replies 19 participants last post by  Big Cob 
#1 ·
Hi guys just wondering what kinda set-ups guys are using or heard of people using for melting 46-0-0 to liquid? Best kinda pump, hopper tanks and suck from bottom and chew up fert and circulate? Tricks for melting/heating tank?
 
#3 ·
think we might try and go with a 6,000 imp gallon plastic cone hopper tank. Fill part with water then start augering 10 ton 46-0-0 and use a honda trash pump or look at stainless pump? suck from the bottom of tank and return to top of tank.
 
#6 ·
Here's a video of someone

I know there other videos and some were posted on this site recently, but I cant find them right now. I goofed and did not bookmark them.

The larger pump you use, the better. If you have a 3" or even a 4" pump and plumbing, that will work faster. Things will ice up while melting.

I personally would rather see one incorporate the prills into a stream of water, than just dumping into the top. If you can sort of slurry the mix in a small tank while loading the larger tank, that would help. Not completely slurry it, but use a pre-melting/incorporating tank ahead of the main tank to get the process started with vigorous agitation. Think of it like an inductor on your sprayer.

When I worked for a liquid fertlizer plant many years ago, they had a large I think it was a 5" electric powered pump and inside the vat was a mechanical agitator that was off to the side. While pumping the solution one way to get it going around the tank, the agitator would then spin in the opposite direction,meeting the solution head on. Really caused a lot of violent agitation and melted the urea quickly. But that was a professional facility geared for high production.

One can get a similar effect with some creative plumbing and a large pump or pump(s).

IMO.
 
#7 ·
We are just in testing phase of dissolving urea in water and doing test strips with it before we go whole hog with it.
We rigged up an old 250gal chemical tote with a bottom draw and installed a 2" bulkhead in top of it as a return . Presently using a 2" honda pump to recirculate .
I took the formula that Patrick Fabian talks about in his video and divided it by 4 .
It takes about 25 to 30 mins of recirculation to dissolve 500 kg of Urea in 165 gals water if the water is warm to the touch , and 45 to 50 mins with well water that is cold.
So far we have tried the solution @ 5GPA , 7.5GPA and 10 GPA all cut with approx 3 to 1 water (15 GPA , 22.5 GPA and 30GPA total solution ) on both winter wheat and grass hay and things look quite promising as far as crop health and growth. We are going to try some at a 2 to 1 ratio in next day or so and also some with herbicide and fungicide .
 
#9 ·
#12 ·
In the picture you can see some holes toward the shaft. As I recall those are where the solution enters and the spinning of it throws the solution outward between the two disks. It creates a siphon. If you look on youtube, you can find lots of videos explaining Tesla's turbine. You can see the similarity.

IMO. But that needs to be confirmed before you take what I said as fact. I will try to find more info on it.
 
#16 ·
so far we are using a 1200 imp gallon flat bottom tank. We a "x" with black sewer pipe and drill holes in it and seems to work not to bad. We are mixing out Alpine in it was well and the alpine seems to help melt the 46-0-0 down quicker. Was using a Pacer Pump but sucking in fert i think is wrecking the plastic impeller inside pump doesnt seem to put out and was taking a long time to melt. Started using our 2" honda water pump and made a world of difference. We are mixing 2204lbs into 1200 imp gallons and only taking about 2hours. I know if we had some way to heat water it would melt quicker. I have been looking at a stainless hopper wine mixer thing just waiting on price back. We are seed placing the liquid 46-0-0 and putting it down our fert shank on seed hawk. Got rid on NH3 was always a waiting game up here and i am glad we are rid of the smell lol
 
#17 ·
sorry we are mixing 2 tons in 1250 imp gallons/1500 us gallons so 2026lbs of actual N and putting on 7 us gallons with seed and 25 or so us gallons in fert shank. Then we are going to top dress twice. Even with dry year last year we seen a big difference in the wheat after spraying protien was quite high 16.5 and 17.5 but we did spray it kinda late we were waiting and waiting for a rain to spray but then just went ahead and sprayed it anyways
 
#18 ·
Would injecting NH3 into the water help raise the water temperature thus speeding up getting the 46-0-0 into suspension ? Plus add more N in the solution . I was told that a farmer in the Worsley -Cleardale area was doing this with good results . The staff at Dunvegan Ag might be able to give you his name and number .
Magspec ,Tom at T& JAgri has been melting 46 and can help you out 780-351-3510 .
 
#19 ·
Ya i was told NH3 would help as well but same thing trying to get it from Neufelds up here. Guys putting on Nh3 this year were already sitting for a couple days as they were out so then a guy would be back at the mercy of them. But i guess if a guy just uses enough Nh3 to get water temp warmer a tank would prob go along way?
 
#20 ·
Probably ought to read up a bit on reacting anhydrous (no water) ammonia with water first. And consider the extra amount of safety gear needed when you are just using the product to warm water.

If you are going to react nh3 to water, may as well just go the full distance and make 21-0-0 aqua solution and eliminate the urea all together. Then you need heat exchangers.:( But the ph of the solution will be different than the melted urea.
 
#29 ·
I think once it is melted it is in solution. I did some 10% stuff last year and apart from the dirt that settled to the bottom of the tank it was fine, but that was only a few days. I did see some totes of 20% stuff at the local inputs place but it was like 10X the cost of the actual N!!!:rolleyes:

I bubbled air through mine to mix, was fast and easy.:smile:
 
#30 ·
Locally here, we have an acid fertilizer dealer/mad scientist that makes a 25-0-07. He says 18%, maybe 20%, is about as potent a concentrate you can melt from urea. However, if you add a little sulfuric acid to the pot, it warms things up nicely, and you can shove another 5-7% N into the solution. Anybody I know that has used his product says it holds solution fine, and for top dressing wheat is a bigger bang for the buck.

DISCLAIMER.. I would suggest doing some research before anybody went dumping sulfuric acid into water though. That being said, this guy claims about a 1/4" of sulfuric acid in the bottom of a pint jar, and then dumped into a hot tub, will eliminate the need for a water heater and all those pesky chemicals.:sFun_doh2:
 
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