I bought a second-hand slurry tanker with a 200mm self-fill arm set-up, but it didn’t have a macerator to help protect the lobe pump from foreign objects or long fibre. And because my old tanker only had a 150mm
suction pipe I couldn’t use the connections.
So, it seemed sensible to build something for the new tanker, but I didn’t want to make any changes to the tanker itself or add any unnecessary weight. Which is why I decided to put together a standalone unit. I was able to buy a used stationary macerator that had its own electric motor, an outfit that was operated previously by a biogas plant.
Starting with scrapped pallet forks as the base frame, I converted the macerator into a docking station with a suction pipe. An A frame allows the tractor to carry the station on its front linkage to the next site. The electric drive saves a second tractor. To avoid having to get off the tractor each time to monitor what’s going on while filling, I retrofitted the 400V power supply with a relay and a radio remote control. Two lights, the type employed as position lights for boats, indicate the operating status of the macerator. The green light shows that it’s all working fine; the red light comes on if there is a malfunction. If neither lamp is on, the macerator is off.
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