SPRAYER REVIEWS
1
don’t say it, spray it Hardi had just launched the French manufactured Saritor 2 sprayer with bigger, lighter aluminium booms in 2014. Matt Wood headed to South Australia to check it out
H
ardi’s newly released Saritor 2 5500 is a serious machine. It is a bigger, lighter version of the sprayer from the European manufacturer and sports some interesting features. It doesn’t look that special on paper. Power is provided by an unremarkable yet tried and true 275hp (202.8kW) 6.7-litre Cummins QSB turbo diesel engine and like many of its competitors the sprayer uses hydrostatic drive to get power to the ground. But on closer inspection the big red French-built sprayer does have some interesting things going on. For example, the Pommier TR5 aluminium boom. The lightweight boom is available in widths from 36m to 42.5m although Hardi also confirms a whopping 48m example is in the field at the moment. The use of the lightweight boom leads Hardi to claim a 14.5-tonne tare weight for the sprayer, which isn’t too shabby at all.
HYDROSTATIC DRIVE
Hardi Saritor 2 5500 self-propelled sprayer Engine
6.7-litre Cummins QSB
Power/torque
205kW (275hp)/990Nm (730ft-lb)
Transmission
Sauer-Danfoss hydrostatic
Drive
All-wheel hydrostatic
Main tank cap
5,500 litres
Rinse tank cap
600 litres
Spray control
Hardi HC 9500 with section control (GPS and auto steer optional)
Boom
Pommier TR5 aluminium with four-sensor AutoTerrain system; 36.5m, 38.5m, 40.5m and 42.5m boom widths available
Main pump
Saritor OnRate; Flow: 680l/m. Pressure: Up to 11 bar
The wheel track of the Saritor can be hydraulically varied from 3m to 4m or anywhere in between. This makes matching the wheel track to those of other machines that have been working in the paddock easy; it also allows the track to be varied to avoid compaction over the life of crop. It maintains crop clearance of 1.45m. The sprayer also uses a twin 1,100cc pump Sauer-Danfoss hydrostatic system to both drive and steer the machine, however, the system isn’t rpm dependant. The idea being you can run at lower rpm while still maintaining optimum hydraulic pressure and save some dinosaur juice along the way. Hardi claims engine rpm of around 2,000 to 2,100rpm while spraying. For those long drives between paddocks the Saritor will boogie along at up to 55km/h with the boom safely tucked away. But, sitting between that lightweight Pommier TR5 boom and the tractor unit is an interesting bit of kit, the AutoTerrain centre. The boom itself sits on a wide paralift for stability but has four ultra-sonic sensors (six is optional) mounted along the boom length as well as a pendulum-type sensor that’s constantly making adjustments via computer-controlled electro hydraulics to the boom level, while the machine is in motion at up to 10 times per second. In short, the AutoTerrain works to keep the boom from
smacking the ground, and given undulating nature of some of our agricultural areas and the ever increasing size of spray booms, this is a handy feature indeed. Yaw dampening is handled by plunge cylinders mounted in the end of the fold cylinders with centrally mounted nitrogen accumulators. This means each boom wing can move backwards and forwards independent of the other when braking or turning.
FILL ’ER UP Of course, before you hit the paddocks with this machine you have to fill it. The low-profile 5,500-litre main tank is a noticeable part of the Saritor but it’s also equipped with a 600-litre rinse tank as well. A fast-fill hose nozzle drops from the underside of the machine, which is a nice touch to stop hoses kinking; there’s also the option of a banjo fast-fill pump. But the bit that caught my eye was the front-mounted fill point which would come in very handy when self-filling out of dams. This means you just nose up to the water rather than manoeuvring the machine sideways on uneven ground. The work zone is accessed by lifting a strut-mounted side cover. It also doubles as a veranda and provides some protection from the elements while filling and mixing chemicals. All functions are labelled with easy-to-read symbols making it easy to know exactly which button you’re pressing or lever you’re pulling. For mixing dry chemical, there’s also a swingdown turbo filler to stop things from getting too frothy and a spray gun connected to the rinse tank is handy for a wash down. Flushing the system can be done from either the cab or at ground level.
UNDER PRESSURE Once all fluids are in place something has to move them and that’s where the OnRate centrifugal pump comes into play. The pump, which can run dry without doing itself an injury, puts out 11 bar of pressure, and is capable of running 6,80L/m through its curly innards, the Mazzotti hydraulic motor puts out up to 275 bar. It’s a pressure-based system and the idea is OnRate is capable of maintaining consistently high pressure across the pump system and is able to respond instantaneously to changes in
Looking for a selfpropelled sprayer? Search for ‘sprayer’ on TradeFarmMachinery.com.au or type the TA or DIY code shown here into the keyword search field
62 TradeFarmMachinery.com.au
FFM2103_395 editorial.indd 62
$210,000
TA1025309
2013 HARDI SARITOR. Hydraulic track adjust, 5500L poly tank. • WA 08 6500 0983
$125,000
TA803466
2004 HARDI ALPHA 4100. Self-prop sprayer, 5025hrs, fair condition. • QLD 07 3073 8038
$236,500
TA1037906
HARDI SARITOR. Trimble or Agleader steer ready, 1850 hrs, 5500L tank. • VIC 03 9988 9568
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11/02/2021 3:50:20 PM
