THE maths always makes you wince when considering buying a new machine.
But it becomes less of a consideration if you focus on the productive worth of that machine.
That’s the probable marketing angle South Australian boomsprayer manufacturer Hardi Australia will push as it introduces its latest flagship, the Hardi front-mount 9000 Rubicon self-propelled boomsprayer, to the Australian market.
It was the angle that immediately clicked with Wubin farmer Sam Southcott when he took a ‘demo’ ride of the Rubicon in Balaklava, South Australia, last year.
“It rode well, the boom was really stable, considering the width of 48.5 metres (160ft) and it had a good, tight turning radius,” he said.
Equipped with a 9000 litre stainless steel tank, Sam quickly did the ‘math’ that it would triple his production compared with the family’s 5000L capacity SP (36m, 120ft boom) at home.
The other ‘math’, to buy the Rubicon, was completed with the help of Sam’s family – wife Beth, daughter Camille and brother Alan – and the “old” SP was duly traded by Hardi dealers McIntosh & Son, Moora.
With a 5000 hectare program, the Southcotts are spraying, on average, four times a year and with their previous SP, they could average 300ha a day.
According to the Hardi technicians visiting the Southcotts last week, depending on conditions, they will be able to achieve an average 1000ha a day travelling to speeds up to 35km/h, with road speeds up to 50km/h.
“We’ll be able to maximise the optimum spraying windows,” Sam said.
“We don’t like spraying in windy conditions which is why we’ve only got the standard low-drift nozzles.
“So I’m confident with the Rubicon we can cover the hectares we want in the best conditions because we will have less fills and almost triple our production.”
According to Hardi product manager Steve Lancaster, the Rubicon will be a game-changer for Hardi Australia.
“There’s no doubt the market is looking for higher capacity SPs these days and Hardi’s entry now becomes the biggest SP in the Australian market,’’ he said.
Hardi Australia has spent the past 18 months ensuring the Rubicon meets all the requirements for Australian farmers and there are lots of little features that go the extra mile, so to speak, in making this a very productive and reliable unit.
“Just one of the features is that every hydraulic boom cylinder has an accumulator to ensure soft close,” Steve said.
“With a boom this size, you don’t want impact when folding it because it will stress the boom.
“Hardi has stuck with the Pommier aluminium booms, which are much lighter, but the construction method means their lighter weight doesn’t compromise on strength.
“Our Pommier booms are less weight than their steel counterparts but they are incredibly robust.”
The wide boom is a two-fold design meaning you can spray at full width, 36m (120ft) or 24m (80ft) – ideal for controlled traffic and country where you haven’t knocked down all the trees.
Concerns about boom whip at 48.5m are quickly allayed by the patented pivot pendulum centre, which controls boom stability and boom sensitivity to varying ground contour conditions.
It can be hydraulically-controlled, on-the-go, to adjust for tight, soft or crabhole country.
Another “comfort” factor for farmers is the power plant.
It’s a 8.9 litre Cummins Tier 3 engine developing 276kW (370hp) and comes with a 1000 litre fuel tank.
Hardi’s figures show fuel consumption at 42 litres an hour, depending on conditions, which would be enough to nearly complete a 24 hour shift, or more sensibly, filling up every two days.
The power plant is linked to a Danfoss hydrostatic transmission, another industry-proven component adding to machine reliability.
A walk-around reveals Hardi has stuck with its convenient work station, which provides a quick and easy instruction for novice drivers.
There’s also a 630 litre rinse tank, 60 litre induction hopper and a 75mm (3in) filling point.
The Rubicon comes standard with 480/70R54 tyres – which contribute to a 1.85 metre (6ft) ground clearance – and on-the-go axle adjustment from three to four metres (10-13ft).
Wheelbase is 4.6m (15ft) with a 17.88m (59ft) turning circle while the road width with a folded boom is a fraction under 3.7m (12ft).
Other standard features include air bag suspension, auto boom height control and active full re-circulation – a feature which means basically involves a pressurised and automatic valve-sequencing system.
The tank fill volume is set, and once reached, the fluid valves automatically switch over to agitation and boom priming.
The tank content is then agitated and the spray circuit is primed and at standby operating pressure in readiness to start spraying.
Suspension is by way of fully independent, leading arm, over-ride air bag system.
The company says weight distribution is 51 per cent front and 49pc rear with the total weight coming in at 15.6 tonnes empty and 26.5t with a full tank load.
Hardi says an “override suspension” provides the load-carrying capacity on each wheel rather than directly above the more common cross-axle, so there is no shock transference across the machine.
Triple airbags and a heavy-duty shock absorber are located between the leading arm on the axle hub and a trailing arm.
This system allows independent wheel suspension.
The Rubicon is a collabor- ation between Hardi Australia and fellow Exel Corporation company, French-based self-propelled experts, Matrot.
Interestingly, one of the meanings of Rubicon is: To do something that you cannot later change and will strongly influence future events.
That’s spraying to a tee.