Question about Finn T-30

[chautauqua]

Hello All,
     I am fairly new to hydroseeding and brand new to this forum.  I am located in the far western corner of New York State (Chautauqua County) just above the PA border and only about 45 minutes from the Ohio border.  I was a police officer for 30 years and retired about 18 months ago.  I purchased my first hydroseeder this year, a Finn T-30, and started a hydroseeding business in early June.  The business has gone very well so far and I really enjoy the work.  After I discovered this forum I have been reading everything I can about hydroseeding and many of your posts have saved me alot of problems and headaches already.  So first off, I would like to thank you all VERY MUCH for unselfishly taking the time and effort to share your experience, thoughts and wisdom with folks you've never met before.  It is much appreciated, especially by us "newbies" who have little to offer to you in return.  Your professionalism in this forum reflects well upon the hydroseeding business.  Now for my first question.... does anyone have any experience with the optional "fill port" that is available for the Finn T-30?  Holding a 2" line in my seeder's hatch cover from my trash pump to fill my tank works OK but a fill port that was reachable from ground level would save alot of up and down climbing on the trailer.  My concern is that in the owner's manual it is described as being made of plastic (ugh).  I have seen the fill port on larger Finn sprayers and the only plastic on those fill ports appears to be the small movable hatch that covers the hole in the tank (air gap under water fill pipe) everything else is made of good old metal.  I emailed Finn in Ohio and they could only say that the optional fill port is available for the T-30 ($93.00) and "yes, there are some plastic parts in the assembly kit".  Before I plunk down $93 I was just wondering if any of you folks could give me some guidance on this fill port for the T-30.  Thanks.  Bob
   

[Turboguy]

Welcome to the forum Chautauqua.  The area you are from is one of my favorite parts of N. Y.   Way back I used to spend a lot of time up that way. 

I don't have much direct experience with Finn units and Hydroservice may be someone who can answer your questions better.  WhySod may know something about that as well he runs a T-30. 

The most I can tell you is that we also make our fill set ups with plastic and have never had a problem that I know of.  Ours are probably very different from theirs but plastic is getting more and more common and some of todays plastics can be really tough.

Actually we were just meeting with a plastics guy last week and looking at switching 3 or 4 parts on our units from metal to plastic.

[hydroservice]

The only stock fillport for the T-30 is nyglass which is durable enough to work as a fill port. The problem in your case is that it is very short maybe 12" overall. The fill port for a T-75 is metal and much longer, a couple feet, but I'm not sure it would have the right angle to it to adapt it to the T-30. It would require cutting a hole in the tank top and attaching the fill port to the tank top. Because the shape of the two tanks are a little different I'm just not comfortable saying it would fit. To bad your dealer couldn't get one and then see if it would fit.  You are not in our part of NY so I can't volunteer much. Finn parts may be able to answer weather a T-75 or T-90 fill port would fit. Let me know if you can't get any answers and I will help as much as I can. We just sold the last T-30 we had here so I can't try it or I would.

[easygrass]

Bob,

Here is a picture of a bowie ( sorry ) only good picture I could fine that shows a way for you to weld a 2" fill pipe to your machine, and use a 2" quick coupler to rotate your pipe when you are not filling up.

[chautauqua]

Thanks gents, this gives me alot of insight.  I've got some ideas now and when I run them to ground I'll let you know how I made out.   Regards,  --Bob

[alegeo]

Hello!
I write to you from far Russia. I apologize for the bad English language. In our country the technology of hydroseeding is a little extended. I have begun the business last year and have bought Т-30. For two years it has proved to be from the best party-any of breakages. It is interesting to me to know about this business in your country.

[hydroservice]

Alegeo

       Welcome to the forum. Hydroseeding in this country is quite common. Some areas there is lots of competition and in others not to much. Where do you get your materials from and what do you use for materials? I would think seeding there would be just like seeding here just different seed maybe.

[Turboguy]

Yes, welcome to the forum Alegro.  I have had the belief that hydroseeding in Europe is at about the same point we were here about 20 years ago.  Here it is very popular because it is a great way of growing grass and has lots of advantages.  I have watched our export business growing rapidly and think most of the other American companies are experiencing the same.  Usually it pays to be a leader in a growing field so you probably have great timing.  The T-30 Finn is a nice machine to start with and hopefully your business will continue to grow.

I am sure that any of us will be happy to help you or provide any information that will help you and we are happy you are here.

[alegeo]

In our country exists in heads of people only two ways of the device of a lawn: crops of seeds and packing turf grass. Few people know about hydroseeding. Moreover, all standard documents and the accepted standards on gardening have become outdated for a long time and there too there is nothing about hydroseeding. Before being engaged in the business I worked in very large company which became the first in Russia on cultivation turf grass and in 1998 has started to apply hydroseeding, to make colored wood chips with the help of technics Morbark, has applied screen MCB Trommels to manufacturing soil. I worked in this company since 1998 and was engaged in all it. I was engaged in hydrocrops there since 2005, here my executed projects: www.gazony.com/services/gidroposev/realizovannye-proekty/. To find clients very difficult, people consider a lawn it to scatter simply somehow seeds, and seeds buy the cheapest. It was necessary to carry out objects in many places far from Moscow, the most distant project in 1000 miles (Sochi), there is video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlgd1v_snPY

. On video I operate Т-170.

[Turboguy]

That is a nice video, very well done.  I believe you said the video was in Sochi.  There should be more work there with the preparations for the Olympics.  Sochi is a beautiful city.  I was shocked to see palm trees there, I had not seen that anywhere in Russia. 

I don't think there has ever been an advertising campaign for hydroseeding itself.  To me it seems like it started along the roads, particularly where there were steep banks like your video where there are not a lot of options for seeding equipment.  It seems to me that people saw it there and noticed the grass grew better and faster and it began to spread to other jobs.  Most everyone I talk to about hydroseeding remembers seeing it along a road side.

I think the same will happen there.  The more times it is used the more people will see it.  The more they see it the more the hydroseeding business will grow.  It won't happen fast but it will happen.

[hydroservice]

With out a doubt roadside seeding is where hydroseeding got its foot hold. In Maine alone the Department of Transportation say its benefits in the late 50's coming from the Federal highway system that Eisenhower started. For the first 10 years I seeded I would say at least 80% was roadside work. This got the hydroseeder out there on the road for people to see which led to contractors being attracted to hydroseeding commercial sites which the led to residential work. It took along time, 15 years, before we actually started to get competition from anyone. Keep the name of your company well displayed on your equipment and stay at it and I bet over time it will grow just as it did here.

[alegeo]

Difficulty at work with roadside seeding is low cost of works manual seeding a lawn. At designing of objects of building engineers-designers are guided by out-of-date standard documents where there is no application hydroseeding. Cost of works manual seeding a lawn very low and it is ready below cost of works hydroseeding. To reduce cost of works hydroseeding high cost of components disturbs. For example, official dealer FINN Russia sells one 50-pound bales at the price of 45 dollars. Good seeds also deliver from other countries and there are they not cheaply. On your site I have found the information on cost of works hydroseeding in your country - can range from 6 cents/sq. ft to 15 cents/sq. ft nationwide. In our country because of high cost of components cost of works can't be more low 17 cents/sq. ft. It too brakes development hydroseeding.

[hydroservice]

Over time as hydroseeding gets more popular the price of materials should come down which will help to lower the cost per sq ft. When I first started hydroseeding we were limited to who we could buy from and had to pay whatever the price. It must be hard for you to shop around for supplies as it sounds like you are limited to where you can go. Manual seeding should use the same basic materials that you would need and you should be able to do it quicker which should help to offset the lower manual price a little any way.

[Turboguy]

I do agree with Hydroservice that over time the price of materials will come down.  Also one your business grows to where you can buy in bulk you may be able to import mulch directly from America and cut the costs a lot.  Right now there isn't much hydroseeding mulch made in Europe and that too may change with time.  I am not hoping for that since we ship a lot of mulch to Europe but it would be good for the industry and that is the more important thing. 

Most of the other materials should not be much of a problem since the same seed would work but I also agree you want good results so you want to use a good seed.  Seed is something that is more difficult to import since the customs people worry about that type of product.

I think too there is less of a market for residential lawns since a higher percentage of the people there live in large apartment buildings and don't have concerns about the lawns but there should be steady growth in the hydroseeding field and it will pay off for you being a leader in the industry.