When Swiss importers and Strautmann engineers sit down and have a coffee together at EuroTier, new ideas emerge. The EVerti-Feed is one of them.
KEEPING IT BRIEF
- The EVerti-Feed was jointly created with Strautmann’s Swiss importer, Agro-Technik Zulliger.
- Is operated at 384 volts; the battery has a capacity of 40kWh.
- Thanks to the drive unit, the self-propelled vehicle is very manoeuvrable.
- Cameras provide an overview of the vehicle’s surroundings.
Electric vehicles are now seen as the way to go, so a manufacturer like Strautmann can pat itself on the back with a green hand now it has its new EVerti self-propelled diet feeder. However, sustainability and ego boasting are certainly not the main drivers for the firm developing this new electric machine.
It’s more about preparing for the future. It is not just the beef industry that’s becoming more concerned with its carbon footprint; the dairy sector is also now looking at its production chain. Some are even putting a finger to the wind and reckon that there will be bonuses or even production requirements to mitigate CO2 emissions. As a farm owner or manager, you may view these demands with an understandable suspicion.
Mixing and preparing dairy cow rations is one area where there could be an easily achieved win and, from an overall business perspective, using any on-farm generated electricity from a PV or biogas plant to power such a machine could be a very sensible and profitable decision.
Drive unit with 40kWh battery
Anyway, back to the reason that we’re here. Strautmann’s Swiss importer, Agro-Technik Zulliger, has been making drive units for the trailed Verti-Feed vertical mixer wagons for several years now. With this modification, the machine is usually powered by mains electric. The mixer is parked in the feed passage and filled with the stationary hay crane. And when it comes to dishing out the mixed ration, the power cable only needs to be as long as the feed fence. But, if you want to move the feeder to another barn, the power cable may not be long enough.
3kWh electricity per tonne
Because a diet feeder stays around the farmyard and in most circumstances is used for no more than four hours a day, using battery power makes sense. Strautmann has opted for a 40kWh Lithium-Ion battery that is designed for 3,000 charging cycles.
This means the EVerti-Feed 1251 should be able to mix about 10 tonnes of feed per battery charge — clearly depending on the ingredients and the mixing time.
Strautmann has worked out that it is about 3kWh of electricity per tonne of mixed feed, assuming a mixing volume of about 350kg/m³. This translates to just 0.3 litres of fuel per tonne of mixed ration.
The design is actually relatively simple. The feed mixing hardware is basically a trailed Vertimix 105 and 125 with tub capacities of 10.5m³ and 12.5m³.
The drive system, including the drive wheel, battery and operator platform, is bolted to the front of the wagon using a modified frame. This creates a small, three-wheeled self-propelled vehicle, which is powered by two electric motors.
The first motor develops up to 72kW and directly drives the mixing auger. The high output ensures sufficient torque to get the auger moving, even with any heavy, dense mixes. Because the electric motor runs at up to 6,000rpm, the geared mixing auger can rotate at up to 48rpm with a flick of the ‘boost’ button which is great for spinning any leftover material off the auger flights and out of the wagon.
The second electric motor with a maximum power of 46kW operates a hydraulic pump that supplies the power for the drive motor and auxiliary equipment such as the feeder’s steering system, outlet door, cross conveyor etc.
Agile tricycle
This takes us to manoeuvrability. With a tight steering angle of more than 90° in any direction, the EVerti-Feed can pretty much turn on the spot if you want it to, making it pretty nifty around the farmyard, even if the top speed is only 10km/hr. Although it wasn’t on the demo machine we looked at, there is now an arrow to show the current steering angle of the drive wheel. Without this, you wouldn’t know the current angle until you start driving.
The unit’s operator platform is wonderfully simple. Just jump on and drive. Strautmann says it deliberately decided against a cab to keep the cost low. That ‘low’ is a relatively loose term, though: the EVerti-Feed 1251 sits in the price list at more than £100k.
For safety, there is a pressure switch under the step plate to prevent misuse. Once you are stood in place. The mixer can be easily operated using the toggle switch control box, while foot pedals drive the machine forward or in reverse. This requires some practice, because the response time of the pedals is set very short.
It feels more like operating an electric forklift in a factory warehouse than it does operating a self-propelled diet feeder. A system of cameras provides a picture of what is happening to the right and left as well as to the cross conveyor at the rear. If you want to look down one side of the mixer tub, then you can simply move the operator platform from the right to the left in 12 different positions in increments of 15⁰. However, when the platform is positioned at a right angle to the direction of travel, it sticks out to the side. So, when you reverse the feeder into the barn, the view is limited, similar to that of a traditional self-propelled feeder. Likewise, if you pull the wagon with the drive wheel at the front, the visibility is excellent.
We mixed a cattle ration as well as one for high-yielding cows. The weigh scales are from Dynamica Generale and have the usual recipe settings — the same as on the trailed version.
A particularly useful machine feature is that the drive motor and mixer motor can be separately switched on and off. This means that the drive pump can be off while mixing the ration.
From 0 to 30rpm
In our case, the mixing motor had sufficient power and torque to get the mixing auger turning again after finishing the cow mix (4.5 tonnes). The system would be perfect if there was an adjustable post-mixing time auto-shut off to save on power consumption. The auger speed is infinitely variably from 0 to 30rpm.
As for limitations, the self-propelled needs firm ground to travel on. In our case, the hydraulic motor for the drive wheel was still a little underpowered for gradients above 12°. Strautmann is planning to fit a more powerful drive on the production machines.
Other details
- The feeder operates at 384 volts. According to Strautmann, the high-voltage system is significantly more efficient than the 48- or 96-volt version and offers additional power reserves.
- The battery can be charged using single-phase at around 5kW per hour.
- It doesn’t have road homologation, but it can be towed by a tractor if needs be.
- LED work lights are standard.
Summary
Strautmann can now feed cows at a whisper. The EVerti-Feed is a simple mixer as a first electric vehicle. One battery charge is enough for up to four mixes. The operator platform is neatly laid out, and operation is child’s play. You quickly get used to standing while working it. We look forward to seeing how Strautmann develops the technology further. An electric self-propelled unit with a silage cutter would certainly be a possibility…
Tobias Bensing
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