History of the Swingwiper
Why it was built
Martin Hazenveld is a beef farmer. Having been a very successful mechanical engineer in Europe, Martin optec for a change in lifestyle and came to Australia with his family in 1982. In the early nineties he bought a large cattle property in the rugged upper Hastings hinterland where he encountered many of the problems farmers face today. First and foremost was how to effectively and efficiently keep his pastures free from weeds. Over the next 10 years Martin sourced and used most of the recognised weed control methods on the market, from hand held spot spraying to the faster operating boom and wiping methods. None of them met Martin's requirements; they used a large amount of chemicals, were cumbersome to operate, easily damaged and overall were
not cost effective in Martin's experience.
Using his engineering skills (he started designing production machinery at the age of 17), Martin took 21/2 years and created the Swingwiper range of products. They are extremely robust, economical, easy to use & maintain and most importantly they work
and keep working in the harsh Australian conditions!.
Weed Control - the main options
Weeds are a large and expensive problem for Australia.
Whether it be the necessity of constantly mowing public parks, slashing roadsides or farmland - including pastures, weed control is an ongoing drain on the public and private purse as both Councils and farmers attempt to maintain areas under their control. Herbicides are part of the solution, but effectively and efficiently applying chemicals to weeds is an ongoing issue. Various methods are available, and these include using a Spot Sprayer, Boom Sprayer, Wick Wiper, Rotating Wiper... and now the SWINGWIPER®.
Spot Sprayers
Spotsprayers consist of a hand-held device, attached to a pump with a hose. The Operator sprays herbicide on selected and specific 'spots' only. Usually mounted on a Quadbike or back of a Ute. Use of non-selective herbicides leaves bare patches (and probably more weeds).
Boom Sprayers
Boomsprayers apply a blanket spray of herbicide which may result in excessive use of chemicals and could kill non-targeted species. In most cases, selective herbicides have to be used.
Weed Wipers
Weed wipers, in general, are designed to wipe fast growing or non-grazed plant species with mainly non-selective herbicides. In general, by setting the right height, only target species are wiped. With the right management non-selective herbicides can be effectively used to selectively kill target weed species. The main wiper systems are:
Wick Wipers
Advantages:
- Requires a low initial investment cost.
Disadvantages:
- Possible dripping of chemicals - wastage and environmental consequences.
- Wick rope damages easily on sticks or rocks, therefore are often operated slowly.
- Stronger chemical mix required to be effective.
Rotating Wipers
Rotating Wipers consist of a rotating tube, covered with a carpet like material and drippers or nozzles to saturate the roll. Tube normally spins in opposite direction of the wheels. Set at a certain height, the carpet will wipe target species.
Advantages:
- The rotating action of the tube gives an active brushing action of chemicals on plants making the chemicals more effective.
- The rotation keeps the liquid turning around and acts as a buffer when there is less uptake by plant material (bare patches)
Disadvantages:
- Problems with damage to the carpet when encountering obstacles.
- Possible uneven chemical application on carpet due to design/parts used. (When working on a contour or slope, we measured 80% more chemical output at the lowest end of a popular wiper unit)
- Chemical output is difficult to control when a 'hit and miss' manual button is used. This often leads to ineffective chemical application and/or over-use of chemicals. Some units offer a six position timer. Both of these systems, however, are usually operated at a single pre-set speed due to herbicide delivery calibration issues.
After using a rotating wiper unit, Martin could see the real benefits of this system, but was dissatisfied with its overall performance. For this reason, he designed and built the Swingwiper.
Benefits of the Swingwiper
The Swingwiper® is a unique, rotary weed wiper towed by a 4 wheel bike/vehicle or tractor. It features a carpet-covered tube that swings away when obstacles are encountered, a nozzle system that ensures even application, and an easy-to-operate controller that eliminates guesswork. The Swingwiper® is easy to maintain, is faster and uses less chemicals than most other methods...saving you money every day!
Innovative
- The specially designed 'swingaway' movement enables the carpet roll to swing away from, or roll over obstacles. (Patent Pending)
- The unique controller makes matching;of travel speed and herbicide delivery rate easy - even for an inexperienced operator.
Fast
- Works effectively while traveling at speeds up to 14 km/h.
Durable
- Swingwiper is built to last, made from high quality components and stainless steel.
- Swingaway movement of rotating carpet roll reduces wear and damage to the carpet roll.
- Unit tested beyond normal use limits by us and prospective users during and after design phase.
Easy to Use
- Designed to make start-up, operation and clean-up simple and easy.
- Due to unique controller, chemical application levels are straightforward to calibrate.
- In case the carpet does wear out, it is easy and quick to replace.
- Works in difficult, steep and obstacle heavy environments.
- Easy cleaning of suction filter and chemical tank due to the incorporation of ball valves.
- The unit can readily be transported using a roll-on, roll-off method (QV-1 Unit). No time
wasted in dismantling and setting up unit between locations.
- Low maintenance due to quality components and sturdy design.
- Multi-functional - with optional hose reel and/or boom sprayer.
Environmentally Friendly
- Controlled and even output of chemicals with easy, on-the-go calibration for changed driving speeds. No more guesswork.
- More effective chemical usage as the lower set carpet roll wipes more of the surface area of the weeds.
- No chemical drip when driving slow or stopped, as the motor keeps turning the carpet-roll.
Bottom-line Benefit$
- With the Swingwiper you can do the job when it needs doing; fast, reliably and effectively.
- Using the Swingwiper is a more effective way to control weeds; our tests show up to 50% more coverage at the end of the day. Cost savings of $10+ per hectare are achievable.
- Less chemical wastage, no under/over use or dripping of chemicals.
- Other important benefits include a reduction in mowing/slashing activities (Councils etc) or an increase in pasture productivity (graziers)
- Because of the overall operational savings offered by the Swingwiper system, the initial capital outlay could be paid back by the money you save within the first year.
The Quad Version of the Swingwiper comes complete with:
- Spring lifted swing arm
- 60 litre tank with level indicator
- Controller with bracket, complete wiring to battery, sockets/ plugs to disconnect
- Chemical agitation
- Stainless steel and high quality components
- Jockey wheel
And offers the following options:
- Foam marker, 20 litre jerry can, left/right outlet, fill hose
- Spot sprayer, 20 m hose, lance type spray gun with adjustable nozzle, with start/stop on controller
- Boom sprayer (flooding nozzles), start/stop on controller
- Free wheeling carpet roll (rolls over obstacles)
- Hour meter, hooked up to drive motor
- Shrub guides
The Tractor Version of the Swingwiper comes complete with:
- Spring lifted swing arm
- 120 litre tank, transparent
- Controller with bracket, complete wiring to battery, sockets/plugs to disconnect
- Chemical agitation
- Stainless steel and high quality components
- Jockey wheel, heavy duty
And offers the following options:
- Foam maker, 20 litre jerry can, left/right outlet, fill hose
- Free wheeling carpet roll
- Spot sprayer
- Boom sprayer
- Hour meter, hooked up to drive motor
- Shrub guides
- Draw bar
- Certified lifting device, stainless steel frame, high tensile chains.
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