Teagle launches Titan muckspreader
Cornish machinery maker Teagle is to add a new five-model range of muckspreaders to its livestock-biased product line-up.
Three smaller-bodied versions of the Titan will hold 6, 8 or 9cu m of muck. There are larger-chassised 10 and 12cu m versions, too – a cast list Teagle hopes will appeal to pretty much every user on the farming spectrum.
The 6cu m baby of the bunch should be suited to smaller scale farmers looking to move from side-discharge spreaders. It costs £20,985, needs just 80hp on the front and has a working width of 8m. Comparatively, the high capacity versions are more contractor-orientated and offer a 10m working width.
No surprises, then, that the mid-ranger – the Titan 10 – will account for the bulk of sales. That’s part of the reason why it has been so extensively tested, with 2,000t of muck having gone through its back-end in less than a year.
The 6, 8 and 9cu m versions get shearbolt drive protection, hydraulic brakes, 540rpm pto speed and a slurry gate. Greedy boards, electronic bed speed control and various wheel options can be plucked from the options list.
The contractor-type Titan 10 and £29,485 Titan 12 are specced similarly but run at 1,000rpm and can be kitted out with a sprung drawbar.
Accuracy
Spreading accuracy is the Titan’s chief selling point, says Teagle. A shallower auger pitch prevents material being spread before it is shredded and also means more beater tips can be fitted to the auger.
A smooth, stepless auger should mean it doesn’t pick up and fling out any lumps and the beater diameter is 10% wider which results in a faster tip speed and finer shredding. Beater height has also been increased to boost output.
Reliability
Also high on the Truro firm’s design agenda was maintainability. Swinging flails reduce shock loading on the gearbox and driveline, says Teagle, and the bed chain design is based on the build of the big-selling Tomahawk feeder-beeder.
For convenience, upper beater bearings can be greased from ground level and slats are attached with U-bolts, which should make grinding them off pretty pain-free work. There are fewer wearing parts which should save on the maintenance bill, too.
One “why didn’t I think of that?” feature is the folding light shields. They flop down to stop muck caking the lights during work and fold away as the slurry gate drops shut.
The market
The UK muckspreader market is well stocked with British-based manufacturers. Teagle joins K-Two and Bunning in a sector that is worth 800-odd units a year.
The company has been churning out rear discharge spreaders from its Cornish factory since the 1970s and dabbled with side-discharge versions during the 1980s.
At the turn of the millennium Teagle teamed up with Leboulch to import the French maker’s spreaders. That deal lasted until 2011 when Teagle decided to go it alone.
For the UK market that means quicker access to spare parts and, for Teagle, means complete control over development. It also opens up foreign markets – new Titan muckspreaders have already been shipped to New Zealand and Canada, and exports should swallow about 20% of Titan sales.
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