Warning for Woodward

[dennishoddy]

With regards to Anhydrous Ammonia, I've probably got more experience with it than most here. Time was, I hauled the stuff in 18-wheelers. I also worked as a manager of a country grain elevator, at which we also sold Anhydrous, and I've applied the stuff in the fields of a farm. So, I've handled a heck of a lot of the stuff.

As long as one keeps in mind the wind direction and stays upwind of any hose connections, keeps some water handy to pour on oneself if they get some anhydrous on them, one can usually do just fine. Anhydrous Ammonia seeks out water, so it is ESPECIALLY important to protect one's eyes. I know of a transport driver that had lost one eye many years ago, and he got a bit of ammonia in his good eye and panicked. Fortunately, two friends were there and saw the whole thing. They grabbed him and shoved his head down into the small stock watering tank most Anhydrous dealers used for safety purposes. That saved his good eye.

I've applied it for many years behind a tractor. Makes for a long week when the crap your given to apply it has rotten hoses and leaks everywhere with no fix in sight. Shut off the tank, drive to the upwind side of the field, crank it on and make another pass. Rinse and repeat.

 

[TerryMiller]

I've applied it for many years behind a tractor. Makes for a long week when the crap your given to apply it has rotten hoses and leaks everywhere with no fix in sight. Shut off the tank, drive to the upwind side of the field, crank it on and make another pass. Rinse and repeat.

That's why we made it a point to inspect every tank's hose when the tank was returned to the elevator. Sadly, not all farmers are careful in their handling of the hoses on the tanks. At any rate, if the hose leaked, it got replaced rather than just try to repair it.

 

[dennishoddy]

That's why we made it a point to inspect every tank's hose when the tank was returned to the elevator. Sadly, not all farmers are careful in their handling of the hoses on the tanks. At any rate, if the hose leaked, it got replaced rather than just try to repair it.

It was the hoses on the implement that the farmer neglected to maintain was the issue, not the COOP hoses.

 

[Okie4570]

Farmers use their own tank to implement hoses now, there are no tank to implement hoses left on the tanks at the COOP at night. I put about 50 tons in the ground every August if I end up helping my neighbor too. As long as the wind is blowing it's no big deal to mess with. The implements I work around have a hydraulic winch on the back and you hook the cable to the front of the NH3 tanks and winch it right into place, no lifting or precise implement backing needed, pretty awesome.