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Taber, AB | Last week I got my eye on a European sprayer: Agrifac Condor. I have been checking their website (www.agrifac.com/condor) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/agrifac.north.america) and it seems that they have a couple of sprayers out in North America.
I also found a nice article about this sprayer on sprayers101: www.sprayers101.com/agrifac-condor-a-wake-up-call-for-north-american-sprayer-manufacturers/
They can offer a couple of features that the North American brands cannot offer:
Unique walking beam chassis (StabiloPlus), where they could reduce the yaw to the boom
Wide boom widths: Up to 180'
Full circulation system on the boom: You never have to prime your boom anymore
A big model with a 2100 USG tank (Endurance)
A model with variable ground clearance from 51" to 79" (ClearancePlus)
They can deal with any GPS system in the market (JD, Trimble, Agleader, Raven)
What I also like about this company is their "direct sales approach". You will buy a machine direct from the manufacturer, meaning people who are doing dedicated sales, and know what they are talking about. They will pay a fee to the dealer who will do the aftersales & service. They already have a couple of dealers around. They are probably working on many more!
 (Agrifac Condor ClearancePlus.jpg)
 (Agrifac Condor Endurance.jpg)
 (Agrifac StabiloPlus.jpg)
Attachments
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 Agrifac Condor ClearancePlus.jpg (63KB - 593 downloads)
Agrifac Condor Endurance.jpg (97KB - 543 downloads)
Agrifac StabiloPlus.jpg (75KB - 571 downloads)
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East Central, Nebraska | kind of reads like your selling them. looks like a heck of a ride if a wheel fell off.
looks like a neat deal, how much?
Edited by caseihfarmer 2/4/2016 13:46
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Taber, AB | No, I'm not a selling them. However, a good friend of my became a dealer here in Alberta. He is dutch and he thinks that there will be a lot of those coming to Canada and the US. |
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N.W. Ohio | Red always looks good don't it?!?!!
sorry I had to. |
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| There is one running in Pennsylvania for the last two years. |
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Sunburst Montana | So if I buy one of those and something fails on it on memorial day weekend, they will send a tech pronto right? |
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| There's one in Ontario. The same company is also selling sugar beet harvesters, and there is at least one in Michigan and one in the Red River Valley |
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NE ND | Jon B - 2/4/2016 19:19
There's one in Ontario. The same company is also selling sugar beet harvesters, and there is at least one in Michigan and one in the Red River Valley
I don't think I've ever seen it used in action. If the one I'm thinking of is the right one, it's been sitting along I-29 in Buxton for quite some time. |
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| The one in this article
http://www.agweek.com/news/north-dakota/3864286-buxton-dealer-first...
and this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp_mNew-NYE
I know nothing more then that. Though I'm still curious why these harvesters won't work in your dirt! This concept is used around the world on all soil types. Oh well. |
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| Good to see some new concepts and new competition. Hopefully they can move enough units to continue NA operations. The circulating boom is an idea the other majors should latch onto. They will need a stainless tank option at some point. Would love to demo one someday. |
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NE ND | They would work in some areas where the dirt is much lighter and sandier, but in our heavy clay soils, those cleaning wheels would be packed full of mud within minutes if the conditions weren't perfect. I think a lot of the reason no one around here runs one is simply because of the price tag. The RRV is so diverse in terms of what we grow that most farmers need the extra tractors for other jobs around the farm, so to have a $750k+ (not sure the price tag on one of these) machine sitting in the yard to use for 2 weeks a year really doesn't make sense when you can buy a lifter and topper for $250k and still use the tractors for other jobs. |
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East Central Iowa | I remember a few years ago at the FPS, there was a company that was starting to sell their sprayers into the US. PLA Their pitch was they were going to take over the sprayer market in the US. The last time looked into them, they still had yet to sell a single one.
The full circulation boom has been tried by sprayer companies. It is a handy option so long as your aren't trying to use a chem injection system. It is also a little more tricky to flush and rinse between products. If I'm not mistaken, its used on some pull type sprayers too.
I saw a post from a guy in Canada about this machine a few weeks ago. He was claiming something like 2.8 gallons per hour fuel economy, which is weird because most of my tractors will use more than that just idling.
I don't mind the direct sales model, in fact I like dealing directly with the manufacturer, but until they have an established service system in place with parts available they are going to struggle. |
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Manitoba, Canada | That's a pretty sweet boom. I would like to see the boom folded out at 180 feet. |
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Steenwijk, Netherlands | I was pointed to this topic on this forum and I feel the need to react on this post. I work for Agrifac and I'm responsible for the North American market. To answer you first remark, upcoming season there will be over 10 units (sprayers) in NA. Our customers appreciate the innovative technologies we can offer.
Your second point about our circulation system is right, it does not work with an injection system. Our promise to our customers is that every drop hits the right spot, and with an injection system we cannot fulfill this promise. All injection systems on the market have the disadvantage that the chemical needs to mix with water in a very short period. With all the technologies available you will still have a lot of concentration differences in the product you apply. And thats just what you DON'T want to happen. Thats why we are not big advocated of injection systems. We only use the injection system for spot spraying (applying a particular chemical on only some points in the field), but you still have the same problem.
The machine that is been running in Ontario, Canada is what you read about I guess. About the fuel consumption he stated it correctly. They run their Agrifac Machine around 1350 Rpm, the system is been designed to run at low Rpm regarding the hydraulics of the machine. However, this customer does not drive that fast, between 8-12 mph. We have farmers in Europe where the fuel consumption is even less, they run the machine at 1200 Rpm and drive even slower: 5-8 mph with an fuel consumption of below 10 Ltr/hour. This is probably a big eye opener for users of North American sprayer equipment. We know examples of our machines running in Australia where we can half the fuel rates of a Green & Yellow machines...
We are in the process of setting up our dealer network. We are always willing to talk to any party who is able to add value to our products. We have a couple of good dealers already in NA, and we stock a lot of parts over there. From hydraulic vales, cilinders, pumps, drivelines, reduction boxes, etc. Its a growing process but we will stock more and more when there will be more machines around...
Hope this will give you an idea about our activities in NA. |
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Steenwijk, Netherlands | Hi Brandon,
Its great that you show some interest in our products. If you are interested in some literature, send me a PM. And I will see what I can do for you! |
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Steenwijk, Netherlands | Hi Bennie,
Its great that you show some interest in our products. If you are interested in some literature, send me a PM. And I will see what I can do for you! |
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East Central Iowa | I'm not saying this isn't true, but I've received enough emails from a prince in Nigeria to be skeptical.
I have looked all over the internet for more information on the Agrifac with very little details on how the actual machine is designed. Specifically, I found only one magazine article from a couple years ago that stated that there were three engine options.
"The Condor has a 200-horsepower Deutz engine but future models will have the option of a 206hp or 286hp Iveco power plant. " from http://www.farmingahead.com.au/articles/1/9223/2013-10-25/news/agri...
I know that the Iveco engine was a joint venture with Cummins and CNH. I also know that the Cummins 6.7L has a very flat fuel usage curve right around .32 pounds of fuel per horsepower. The 6.7 rated at 215 HP is capable of 160 HP at around 1300RPM.
160HP * .32lbs/Hp-hr / 6.9 lbs/gallon EQUALS = 7.4 gallons per hour
If you calculate no real load on the engine at that RPM but figure a parasitic load of 50 HP which is very possible with a cooling fan, hydraulic pumps etc.
50HP * .32lbs/Hp-hr / 6.9 lbs/gallon EQUALS = 2.3 gallons per hour
(looks like the engine would need to be shut off while refilling the solution tank with a garden hose)
Could you point me in the direction of a brochure that has the specification for the Condor so I can study them, as I've not found one online anywhere, including the companies own website. So far all I have to go on is from a couple online forums. No published numbers from a manufacturer. Basically, "My dad can beat up your dad."
I know Europe sprays at much slower speeds than NA. But when I'm spraying at 14-16 MPH it's not because I can, it is because I have to, just so I can get over all the acres I have, in time to control the problems I'm trying to correct when conditions are conducive. I live where the wind may decide to blow for a week straight at 25 MPH or the rain may start and not shut off for a week and give you a 2 day break before it starts again. Id love to know what "Innovative Technologies" Agrifac offers that can help me.
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Sw Ontario | Hello 4gen farming. I am the guy that bought the first Agrifac Condor in Canada last year, together with my son. And I can tell you it's a great succes. You wonder what Agrifac has to offer you to deal with your conditions there of high winds and wet periods and getting your spraying done in time. One of the tings is their wide booms of up to 54 mtrs but that might not work for you in your area. You need pretty flat land for that and I dont know about that whdre you farm. One other feature the have is their HTA system which is their version of airtech. Its a system of air mixed into the spray nozzle and by doing so you can control your droplet size regardess of your application rate or drive speed. You can ajust it on the go betweem cine and extremely course. It helpes us a lot when the winds are picking up. It also allows you to lower your water rates some times which incfeases your efficiency again. And if you choose cor the 2100 gallon Endurance your capacity goes up again. You should be able to download brochures from their website agrifac.nl
Good luck |
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south central manitoba | are there any specs on this like pump size, hydromotors, engine size and manufacturer. etc. do you know if more are coming to Saskatchewan and manitoba. seems like they are only in the densly populated dutch comunities. |
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New Sprayer on the market?: Agrifac
