Fliegl Universal Spreader KDS 270 muck control
DLG-APPROVED: "Muck distribution quality, Compost distribution quality, Poultry litter distribution quality, Digestate distribution quality"
The quality mark
The DLG APPROVED quality mark for ‘single, value-determining criteria’ is awarded to technical products that have passed a less comprehensive DLG usability test which is carried out and evaluated to independent and approved criteria. The purpose of this test is to highlight a product’s specific innovative and key features. The test is carried out to criteria that are laid down in the ‘DLG Full Test’ framework for technical products or may include further features and properties that confer a specific value to the product. DLG group of experts defines the minimum standards to be applied to the product and describes the test conditions and procedures as well as the criteria by which the test results are to be evaluated. These parameters reflect the acknowledged state of the art as well as scientific findings and agricultural insights and requirements. After a product has passed the test, a test report is produced and published and the quality mark is awarded to the product and will retain its validity for five years from the daate of award.
The Fliegl KDS 270 muck control universal spreader underwent DLG tests that assessed the quality of distribution in muck, compost, poultry litter and digestate. The machine’s spreading system comprises two wide-spreading discs and two horizontal beaters. The test examined the quality of distribution in muck (spread at rates of 10 t/ha and 30 t/ha), compost (5 t/ha and 25 t/ha), poultry litter (2.7 t/ha) and digestate (5 t/ha and 30 t/ha) by determining the quality of distribution across and along rows. No other criteria were tested in this test.
Assessment – Brief Summary
In the DLG test, the Fliegl KDS 270 muck control achieved mostly very good (++) and good (+) results when applying all four products (muck, compost, poultry litter and digestate) across and along rows. Table 1 is a synopsis of all results.
Table 1: The quality of distribution in muck, compost, poultry litter and digestate was determined by measuring the following parameters
* In line with the DLG assessment scale that has been effective from May 2020 (distribution across rows): CoV > 15 % to ≤ 20 % = “¡”; CoV > 10 % to ≤ 15 % = “+”; CoV ≤ 10 % = “+ +”
** In line with the DLG assessment scale that has been effective from May 2020 (distribution along rows): CoV > 15 % to ≤ 25 % = “¡”; CoV > 10 % to ≤ 15 % = “+”; CoV ≤ 10 % = “+ +”
*** In line with the DLG assessment scale that has been effective from May 2020 (dilation within the tolerance zone): > 45 % = “¡”; > 55 % = “+”; > 75 % = “+ +”
In May 2020, the DLG test commission on fertilisers and spreaders laid down revised and stricter standards for assessing the test results for this type of machinery. The revised standards reflect the technical progress that has been made in this field. These new standards supersede the previous standards applied by DLG in all its tests and in all DLG Test Reports prior to May 2020.
The Product
Description and Technical Data
The Fliegl KDS 270 muck control is a universal spreader that has a chain-and-slat floor and two spreading discs. The main specifications of the tested spreader are listed below:
| Model | KDS 270 muck control |
| Year of manufacture | 2019 |
| ID no. | WGJ112223LM400213 |
| Gross weight | 22,000 kg |
| Tongue load | 4,000 kg |
| Axle load | 9,000 kg on each axle |
| Kerb weight | 10,560 kg |
| Capacity | approx. 21 m³ |
| Running gear | tandem axle with mechanical springs (Gigant Plus); drawbar with hydraulic suspension and K80 hitch |
| Brakes | dual circuit air brake with automatic load-sensing control (ALB) |
| Tyres | VF 710/50 R 26.5 on 10-stud rims |
| Body | 1,400 mm · 2,150 mm · 7,000 mm (h · w · l) |
| Tractor spool requirement | 3 load-sensing couplers (feed, return, control) for the slurry gate, the tailgate and the chain-and-slat floor (further functions available);2 (double-acting) lines for the drawbar suspension system;1 (single-acting) line for the steered axle |
| Electric sockets required | 7-pin socket for the lights; 3-pin socket for the terminal control line |
| Spreading system | two 770 mm diameter horizontal beaters; two 1,100 mm diameter spreading discs, each with 6 adjustable vanes featuring replaceable wear-resistant steel plates; pto powered (max. 1,000 rpm); slurry gate between the loading space and the spreading system |
| Product feed | hydraulic chain-and-slat floor (two chains with 140 interlocking links; 50-tonne chain break strength) (infinitely variable speed control) |
The Method
The test method is based on the DLG test frame-work ‘Organic fertiliser spreaders’ and the DIN EN 13080 standard ‘Manure Spreaders – Environmental Protection Requirements and Test Methods’.
The distribution across rows is measured with the help of 50cm x 50cm x 10cm dishes placed on the test course next to each other across the direction of travel. Then the tractor spreader combination travels down the test course, spreading the product. In the next step, the material collected in the dishes is weighed and related to the total area spread to determine the spread pattern without taking into account the overlaps. The quality of distribution is expressed by the coefficient of variation (CoV).
This reflects the accuracy of spreading the material across the rows, taking into account the rate of overlaps as the machine matches up with the previous pass. The CoV curve shows the point at which the accepted CoV threshold is undercut and also the range of the optimum work widths (smallest possible CoV).
The distribution along rows is assessed by measuring the mass flow. This is done by continuously measuring the axle and tongue loads on the stationary machine while this is being emptied. These measurements are used to compute the following parameters: typical spreading rate during unloading, dilation within the tolerance zone (percentage of unloading time during which the spreading rate is within the accepted tolerance range), the optimum overlap at match-up and the CoV at optimum overlapping levels.
The smaller the CoV the larger is the tolerance zone and the better the quality of distribution.
The Test Results in Detail
The test
The test was carried out in June 2020 at the company-owned test stand on the Fliegl Agrartechnik premises in Mühldorf, Germany. Prior to the test, the weighing systems were calibrated by an accredited partner lab (InfraServ Gendorf Technik GmbH, Burgkirchen) and the test stands were inspected for compliance with existing standards by DLG. Figures 2 shows the test facility for measuring the distribution across rows where dishes are placed on weighing cells. Figure 3 shows the weigh bridge which measures the changes in mass flow during the unloading process.
Table 2 lists the properties of the products applied.
The tractor used in the test was a John Deere 6190 R. The spreader was filled by a telescopic materials handler.
Setting up the spreader
The spreading rate on the Fliegl KDS 270 muck control is controlled by the speed of the chain-and-slat floor, the opening of the slurry gate and the tractor speed. The feed rate of the floor is set steplessly between 0.5 m and 6 m per minute. The chain-and-slat floor is driven hydraulically. A slurry gate controls the gap between the loading space and the spreading system.
The degree to which the gate is opened is also controlled steplessly from the operator terminal. The current opening is indicated on a scale from 0 to 16 on the front of the spreader (Figure 5).
Table 2: Properties of the materials spread in the DLG test
| Product | Bulk density [g/l] | Dry matter content [%] | Product source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle manure | 316 | 31 | from deep litter systems |
| Compost | 513 | 56 | organic household waste, sieved woodchips, green clippings |
| Poultry litter | 706 | 35 | fresh laying hen litter |
| Digestate | 406 | 23 | separated from a biogas plant, mainly consisting of silage maize |
All spreading elements on the Fliegl KDS 270 muck control are pto powered (max. 1,000 rpm). Two spreading discs spread the material across the direction of travel. Each disc has two adjustable vanes. Each of these has three holes that control three different spreading angles.
The spreading angle is set manually by undoing an M12 nut on each vane. The manual specifies the proper settings for various materials. The point where the material drops on the discs is set with the help of a so-called spreading plate. This plate is adjusted with the help of two perforated plates on both sides of the spreader at the rear (Figure 6).
The manual also specifies the base settings for individual materials and various application rates. Due to great variations in the material properties, users are recommended to first trial a specific setting in an initial test run and then fine tune the settings as necessary.
Settings
2nd run (one optimising run was required);
Feed rate: 23 %; Spreading plate: Pos. 1;
Spreading vane position: Pos. 2
Settings
1st run (no optimising run was required);
Feed rate: 29 %; Spreading plate: Pos. 1;
Spreading vane position: Pos. 2
Consistent application rate: 17.73 kg/s
Dilation within the tolerance zone: 75.93 %
CoV at optimum overlaps: 11.91 %
Optimum overlaps along 50 % line: 1.24 %
Distribution across and along rows spreading cattle manure
To apply muck at a rate of 10 t/ha, the feed rate of the floor was set to 23 %. Tractor speed was 7.1 km/h. The testers had to do one initial run to optimise the settings in order to achieve the optimum coefficient of variation (CoV) of less than 20 % for the 18 m work width.
Graph 7 shows the spread pattern for cattle manure spread at a rate of 10 t/ha – without overlaps after two runs and with overlaps.
The graph in figure 8 shows the relationship between the coefficient of variation and the work width for cattle manure spread at a rate of 10 t/ha. The CoV curve shows that the CoV is 14.5 % when the work width is set to 18 m. This percentage scores a good (+). Only when the work width increases to 19 m does the CoV exceed the 20 % line.
To apply muck at a rate of 30 t/ha, the testers set the feed rate of the floor to 29 % while the tractor’s forward speed was 3.7 km/h. In the first run during which the work width was set to 18m, the CoV on the quality of distribution was smaller than 20 %.
The graph in figure 9 shows the relationship between the coefficient of variation and the work width for cattle manure spread at a rate of 30 t/ha. The CoV curve shows that the maximum CoV is 14.7 % when the work width is 18 m or less. This percentage scores a good (+). Only when the work width increases to 19 m does the CoV exceed the 20 % line.
Assessing the quality of distribution of muck along rows, the computed coefficients of variation at both rates were 11.9 % at 10 t/ha (good (+) and 16.7 % at 30 t/ha (passed, o). The dilation within the tolerance zone was 75.9 % (very good (++) when spreading muck at 10 t/ha and 62.5 % (good (+) when spreading muck at 30 t/ha.
Figure 10 shows the results for distributing muck along rows at a rate of 10 t/ha.
Settings
1st run (no optimising run was required);
Feed rate: 41 %; Spreading plate: Pos. 1;
Spreading vane position: Pos. 1
Settings
2nd run (one optimising run was required);
Feed rate: 39 %; Spreading plate: Pos. 2;
Spreading vane position: Pos. 1
Consistent application rate: 31.18 kg/s
Dilation within the tolerance zone: 87.40 %
CoV at optimum overlaps: 10.84 %
Optimum overlapping along the 50 % line: 1.27 %
Distribution across and along rows spreading compost
To apply compost at a rate of 5 t/ha, the feed rate of the floor was set to 41 % while forward speed was 10.3 km/h. In the first run at a work width of 10m, the CoV on the quality of distribution was less than 20 %. Graph 11 shows the spread pattern of compost at a rate of 5 t/ha – without overlaps after two runs and with overlaps.
The graph in figure 12 shows the relationship between the coefficient of variation and the work width in compost spread at a rate of 5 t/ha. The CoV curve shows that the maximum CoV is 13.9 % when the work width is 10 m or less. This result scores a good (+). The CoV increases beyond the 20 % mark only when work width exceeds 12m.
To apply compost at a rate of 25 t/ha, the feed rate was set to 39 % while forward speed was 5.6 km/h. The testers had to do one initial run to optimise the settings in order to achieve the optimum coefficient of variation (CoV) of less than 20 % for the 14 m work width.
The graph in figure 13 shows the relationship between the coefficient of variation and the work width for compost spread at a rate of 25 t/ha. The CoV curve shows that the CoV is 14.4 % when the work width is set to 14m. This percentage scores a good (+). Only when the work width reaches 15 m does the CoV exceed the 20 % line.
Assessing the quality of distribution of compost along rows, the computed coefficients of variation for both rates were 8.3 % at 5 t/ha (very good (++) and 10.8 % at 25 t/ha (good (+). The dilation within the tolerance zone for 5 t/ha compost was 92.4 % (very good (++) and for 25 t/ha compost 87.4 % (very good (++).
Figure 14 shows the results for distributing compost along rows at a rate of 25 t/ha.
Settings
2nd run (one optimising run was required);
Feed rate: 29 %; Spreading plate: Pos. 3;
Spreading vane position: Pos. 1
Distribution along rows in poultry litter (2.7 t/ha)
Consistent application rate: 18.92 kg/s
Dilation within the tolerance zone: 91.24 %
CoV at optimum overlaps: 8.35 %
Optimum overlapping along the 50 % line: 1.53 %
Distribution across and along rows spreading poultry manure
To apply poultry litter at a rate of 2.7 t/ha, the feed rate of the floor was set to 29 % while forward speed was 12.1 km/h. The testers had to do one initial run to optimise the settings in order to achieve the optimum coefficient of variation (CoV) of less than 20 % for 12 m and 22 m work widths. Graph 15 shows the spread pattern without overlaps (distribution measured after three runs) and the spread pattern of poultry litter with overlaps at a rate of 2.7 t/ha.
The graph in figure 16 shows the relationship between the coefficient of variation and the work width for poultry litter spread at a rate of 2.7 t/ha. The CoV curve shows that the CoV is 8.9 % when the work width is 12 m. This percentage scores a very good (++). At a 22 m work width, the CoV is 19.3 % which scores a passed (). However, the CoV exceeds the 20 % line at work widths of 9 m and between 15 m and 21 m.
Assessing the quality of distribution of poultry manure along rows, the computed coefficient of variation at a rate of 2.7 tha was 8.4 % (very good (++). The dilation within the tolerance zone was 91.2 % (very good (++).
Figure 17 shows the results for distributing poultry litter along rows at a rate of 2.7 t/ha.
Settings
3rd test run (two optimising runs were necessary);
Feed rate: 35 %; Spreading plate: Pos. 2;
Spreading vane position: Pos. 1
Coefficient of variation relative to the work width when applying digestate at a rate of 30 t/ha
Settings
1st run (no optimising run was required)
Feed rate: 50 %; Spreading plate: Pos. 1;
Spreading vane position: Pos. 1
Consistent application rate: 26.36 kg/s
Dilation within the tolerance zone: 83.20 %
CoV at optimum overlaps: 13.31 %
Optimum overlapping along the 50 % line: 2.75 %
Distribution across and along rows spreading digestate
To apply digestate at a rate of 5 t/ha, the feed rate of the floor was set the 35 % while the forward speed was 5.6 km/h. The testers had to do one initial run
to optimise the settings in order to achieve the optimum coefficient of variation (CoV) of less than 20 % for the 16 m work width. Graph 18 shows the spread pattern without overlaps after two runs and the spread pattern with overlaps for digestate spread at a rate of 5 t/ha.
The graph in figure 19 shows the relationship between the coefficient of variation and the work width for digestate spread at a rate of 5 t/ha. The CoV curve shows that the CoV is 7.9 % when the work width is set to 16 m. This CoV percentage scores a very good (++). However, the CoV exceeds the 20 % line when work widths range between 10 m and 14 m and also at widths larger than 18 m.
To apply digestate at a rate of 30 t/ha, the feed rate of the floor was set to 50 % while the forward speed was 3.2 km/h. In the first run during which the work width was set to 20m, the CoV on quality of distribution was smaller than 20 %, which marks the best quality of distribution.
The graph in figure 20 shows the relationship between the coefficient of variation and the work width for digestate spread at a rate of 30 t/ha. The CoV curve shows that the CoV is 14.7 % when the work width is set to 20m. This percentage scores a good (+). However, the CoV exceeds the 20 % line when work widths range between 12 m and 18 m and also at work widths larger than 21 m.
Assessing the quality of distribution of digestate along rows, the computed coefficients of variation for both rates were 13.3 % at 5 t/ha (good (+) and 14.1 % at 30 t/ha (good (+). The dilation within the tolerance zone was 83.2 % (very good (++) when spreading digestate at a rate of 5 t/ha and 69.7 % (good (+) when spreading at a rate of 30 t/ha.
Figure 21 shows the results for distributing digestate along rows at a rate of 5 t/ha.
Summary
The DLG test measured the Fliegl KDS 270 muck control universal spreader in cattle manure (spread at rates of 10 t/ha and 30 t/ha), compost (5 t/ha and 25 t/ha), poultry litter (2.7 t/ha) and digestate (5 t/ha and 30 t/ha).
The coefficients of variation which indicate the quality of distribution across rows was found to be smaller than 20 % in all four products and scored a good (+) for the two application rates in muck and compost. The quality of distribution across rows in poultry litter scored a very good (++) at 12 m work width and a passed () at 22 m work width. In digestate, the distribution across rows was very good (++) at a rate of 5 t/ha and a 16 mwork width and good (+) at 30 t/ha and 20 m work width.
With one exemption, the results on distribution along rows were very good (++) and good (+) in all products. The exemption refers to the application of muck at 30 t/ha along rows where the coefficient of variation was 16.7 %, which scores a passed (o) according to the DLG scheme.
The manual specifies the base machine settings for the various materials and required application rates. Due to great variations in the material properties, users are recommended to first trial a specific setting in an initial test run and then fine tune the settings as necessary.
Based on the above test results, the Fliegl KDS 270 muck control universal spreader is awarded the DLG APPROVED quality mark 2020 after passing the test modules ‘Quality of distribution in muck, compost, poultry litter and digestate’.
Manufacturer and Test implementation
Manufacturer and Applicant
Fliegl Agrartechnik GmbH
Bürgermeister-Boch-Straße 1
84453 Mühldorf am Inn
Germany
Test implementation
DLG TestService GmbH,
Groß-Umstadt location
The tests are conducted on behalf of DLG e.V.
DLG test scope
Manure spreaders and secondary nutrient fertiliser spreaders (effective from May 2020)
Department
Agriculture
Head of Department
Dr. Ulrich Rubenschuh
Test engineer(s)
Graduate engineer. agr. Georg Horst Schuchmann *
* Author
Contact
DLG TestService GmbH - Groß-Umstadt location • Max-Eyth-Weg 1 64823 Groß-Umstadt Germany • Tel.: +49(0)69 24 788-611 • tech@DLG.org