Wood Fiber TT 300 XPW

[dementor4842]

Hello every body.

I recent by a TT 300 XPW with kohler engine 18hp in second hand.

I will make my first work this week, but i have a problem, in Portugal o just have to buy 100% wood fiber https://www.lojaagropecuaria.pt/10984-4990?tag=ECO
I dont find in Portugal paper fiber or easy mix, s? my ideia is to crush the fiber into powder to add to the deposit. Will it be a good idea or will it not work?

thanks

[Turboguy]

It seems to me that it would be a lot of work to break the fiber to powder. 

I have sprayed 100% wood mulch with an HS-300-XPW.  I would suggest reaching in the tank and turning the agitation jets so they point downward.  When you load the machine put the wood mulch in before the water.  That might sound like a bad idea, but I think you will find it doesn't cause any problems.  Then when your tank is full let it mix for at least 10-15 minutes. 

When you are spraying if you get to the bottom of the tank and it starts to spray clear water or wants to stop spraying stop and mix the next load.  Sometimes the water will leach out of wood mulch and if you keep spraying you will get a bad clog.  If you stop there you should avoid a clog.

Another suggestion would be when you finish spraying clean out the machine right away.  Wood mulch will keep expanding for some time and it you leave it sit for an hour or more the wood mulch in the tank can expand and cause a clog.

[dementor4842]

Dear Turboguy, thank y very much for your reply. So yesterday i already turn do jets pointing to down, one of them its almost pointing to the discarge hole its not going tho bring problems right? Can i start mixing with the bale bluster wen i already have half of the water?

Did i need to take 10% of mulch? (i read this were on the forum) when i by the machine they give me a tab with the amount of product to use, can you please just see if you agree with that tab?

Mulch - 34kg
Fertelize - 5kg
Seed - 11kg
Tackfier - 150grms


Thank you

[Turboguy]

Your mix sounds about right.  Keep in mind that after the first load some mulch will remain in the hoses and sometimes a little in the bottom of the tank so on a second load 34 KG will be about 38-40KG with the left-over material so you may want to cut back just a little on the second load.

I would suggest when using wood mulch to not start any mixing until your tank is full or nearly full of water.  If you start mixing with a full load of mulch and a half load of water the mix would be very, very thick.   When using paper mulch and adding it after the water we tell people to start mixing with a half tank but with would do it as I suggested. 

I don't think the jet pointing to the suction line should cause any issues. 

[dementor4842]

Your mix sounds about right.  Keep in mind that after the first load some mulch will remain in the hoses and sometimes a little in the bottom of the tank so on a second load 34 KG will be about 38-40KG with the left-over material so you may want to cut back just a little on the second load.

I would suggest when using wood mulch to not start any mixing until your tank is full or nearly full of water.  If you start mixing with a full load of mulch and a half load of water the mix would be very, very thick.   When using paper mulch and adding it after the water we tell people to start mixing with a half tank but with would do it as I suggested. 

I don't think the jet pointing to the suction line should cause any issues.

Hello turboguy One more time thanks you for tour help. S? i did the first work yesterday, and works ok. But i still have some questions.

I point the jets to te down parte, but at the end i stay with a lot of mulch and seeds on the right part of the jets with was a bad mixing? Another question, i put the mulch first and after thisnthe whater and i Turn the motor on wen its full i let the blaster work during 15 minuts and after this i Turn on the jets during five minuts and i put the seed and fertekizer at Thays time its correct or i need the mix with the jets more time? Another and last question, i buy this machine already used and i notice that when the tank its full the pump works great but wen the whater level it's down of the jets the Pump loses power, s? they give me like 5 seconds of full power, after this loses power during 10/15 esconds and came back, s? i can not use all mix, it this normal?

Thanks you

[Turboguy]

Yes, it sounds like you are doing everything right.   I might use less time with the bale buster and more time with the side jets.  I am sure you are doing this but you want to run the bale buster or the side jets and not both at the same time which sounds like what you are doing. 

Wood mulch takes a long time to absorb water.  In my experience there are times there will be some material in the bottom of the tank and sometimes there won't be, but it is better to just let any leftover material be part of the next load.  It will have more time to absorb water and will spray out fine. 

Because water can leech out of the wood mulch your mix will sometimes be thicker toward the end of the load.  You can stop spraying for 30 seconds or so and set the machine to full agitation to help keep it mixed more evenly.  That may help some.  Keep in mind that you are spraying a material the machine is not designed to spray so it will never be perfect, but I think you will be able to use that material but not as easily and as well as it would be if you were using a paper mulch or a blend of paper and wood.   

[dementor4842]

Thanknyou for tour Help One more time

And Shout the Pump did you know something?

Thanks you

Yes, it sounds like you are doing everything right.   I might use less time with the bale buster and more time with the side jets.  I am sure you are doing this but you want to run the bale buster or the side jets and not both at the same time which sounds like what you are doing. 

Wood mulch takes a long time to absorb water.  In my experience there are times there will be some material in the bottom of the tank and sometimes there won't be, but it is better to just let any leftover material be part of the next load.  It will have more time to absorb water and will spray out fine. 

Because water can leech out of the wood mulch your mix will sometimes be thicker toward the end of the load.  You can stop spraying for 30 seconds or so and set the machine to full agitation to help keep it mixed more evenly.  That may help some.  Keep in mind that you are spraying a material the machine is not designed to spray so it will never be perfect, but I think you will be able to use that material but not as easily and as well as it would be if you were using a paper mulch or a blend of paper and wood.

[Turboguy]

Thank you too.  I am glad I could be of some help.  I am not sure what you meant by "shout the pump". 

[dementor4842]

Thank you too.  I am glad I could be of some help.  I am not sure what you meant by "shout the pump".

Hello again Turboguy, sorry for the late response but i dont have too much time on the last weeks. So i prepare some videos of my machine working just with water to see if it helps with the problem

1 Video - Working with balebluster https://vimeo.com/782438908

2 Video - Working with agitation on the side https://vimeo.com/782438983

3 Video - Working but its hen starts lossing power https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/782439027

4 Video - Still water on it, but dont move more water now https://vimeo.com/782439188

Its something that i can change to use all water and have all power?

Thank you

[Turboguy]

The first two video's look pretty normal as near as I can tell from a video.   The ones where it is losing power and stopping spraying while there is still water in the tank don't seem normal.  However, if you shut the machine off with 6 inches or so of water it could lose prime but if it is continuing to run when you close the agitation valve and have the bale buster closed normally, they will spray until there is nothing in the tank. 

I would be most suspect of a tiny leak in the suction line that runs from the bottom of the tank into the pump.  Even a tiny leak will cause a lot of issues such as a loss of power or a loss of prime.   Another possibility is a worn or damaged impeller. I hope that helps.   

[dementor4842]

Thank you for your reply, can a bad o-ring bem the cause of the problema, because i dont see any wather drops on the 2 main tubes.

Yes, it sounds like you are doing everything right.   I might use less time with the bale buster and more time with the side jets.  I am sure you are doing this but you want to run the bale buster or the side jets and not both at the same time which sounds like what you are doing. 

Wood mulch takes a long time to absorb water.  In my experience there are times there will be some material in the bottom of the tank and sometimes there won't be, but it is better to just let any leftover material be part of the next load.  It will have more time to absorb water and will spray out fine. 

Because water can leech out of the wood mulch your mix will sometimes be thicker toward the end of the load.  You can stop spraying for 30 seconds or so and set the machine to full agitation to help keep it mixed more evenly.  That may help some.  Keep in mind that you are spraying a material the machine is not designed to spray so it will never be perfect, but I think you will be able to use that material but not as easily and as well as it would be if you were using a paper mulch or a blend of paper and wood.

[Turboguy]

A bad O ring on the suction line could definitely cause the problem.   On the output side no, it won't.