Cyclone is one of the most widely used spreader brands. They primarily produce lawn spreaders and seeders for lawn dressing and mechanized farming.
In this article, we will be giving a standard spreader settings chart for their flagship spreaders; the PTO models S-3 & S-1. Although they’re primarily regarded as cyclone seeders, they can equally be used to spread other soil materials.
Cyclone Spreader Settings Chart
While the settings by material listed below are the standard recommendations for spreading each underlying material, the specific settings you end up implementing on your cyclone spreader for your turf will depend on a variety of factors.
Ideally, you want to start with a low-end setting on a testing ground that’s no more than ¼ of the entire land/turf, then evaluate the results to get what’s best for you. This chart will primarily use only 100lbs per acre unless in special cases where the spreading range needs to be adjusted in special cases. You can adjust accordingly if your land area is less than an acre.
Material | PTO Speed (MPH) | Ground Speed (MPH) | lbs. per acre | Gauge Setting | Mounting Height Spreading Disk to Ground | Spreader Mounting Angle to Tractor | Spreader Width (Ft.) |
Large Heavy Pellets | 540 | 6 | 100 | 10.5 | 36’’ | ↗ | 28 |
Small Pellets and Granules | 1000 | 3.8 | 100 | 7.5 | 38’’ | ↖ | 16 |
Mixed Size Granules and Some Fines | 540 | 4 | 100 | 5.5 | 36’’ | ↑or ↖ | 16 |
Medium Pellets like Nitrogen | 540 | 3.8 | 100 | 9 | 36’’ | ↑ | 30 |
Medium Mixed Size Granules | 540 | 3.8 | 100 | 10.5 | 36’’ | ↑ | 35 |
Small Light Weight Granules | 540 | 3.8 | 100 | 7.5 | All Heights | ↖ | 14 |
Aldrin 20% Mesh | 540 | 2.3 | 7.5 | 1.75 | All Heights | ↑ | 10 |
Heptachlor | 540 | 3 | 7.5 | 1.75 | All Heights | ↖ | 12 |
Servin (Granular) (Sand Carrier) | 540 | 4 | 87 | 4.25 | All Heights | ↖ | 12 |
Servin Franular Atteclay Carrier) | 1000 | 4 | 87 | 4.25 | All Heights | ↖ | 12 |
Simatine | 540 | 2.3 | 125 | 5 | All Heights | ↑ | 10 |
Lespedeza Korean Unshelled | 540 | 3.8 | 20 | 4.75 | All Heights | ↑ | 26 |
Meadow L’oxtail | 540 | 3.8 | 12 | 5.75 | All Heights | ↑ | 8 |
Millet | 540 | 3.8 | 10 | 3.5 | All Heights | ↑ | 32 |
Oats | 540 | 3.8 | 32 | 9.5 | All Heights | ↖ | 28 |
Panicgrass Blue | 540 | 3.8 | 5 | 1.75 | All Heights | ↑ | 22 |
Rape | 1000 | 3.8 | 5 | 3.25 | All Heights | ↑ | 40 |
Ryegrass | 540 | 3.8 | 25 | 6 | All Heights | ↖ | 18 |
Rye (Grais) | 540 | 3.8 | 50 | 10 | All Heights | ↑ | 40 |
Sudan Grass Sorghum | 1000 | 8 | 10 | 4.5 | All Heights | ↗ | 40 |
Vetch | 1000 | 6 | 20 | 6.75 | All Heights | ↑ | 40 |
Wheat | 10 | 6 | 55 | 11.5 | All Heights | ↑ | 40 |
Alfalfa | 540 | 2.3 | 10 | 2.5 | 36’’ | ↖ | 24 |
Birdsfeet Trefoil | 540 | 2.3 | 4 | 1.5 | 35’’ | ↖ | 24 |
Barley | 540 | 3.8 | 45 | 10.25 | All Heights | ↖ | 36 |
Bluegrass Kentucky | 540 | 3.8 | 20 | 4 | All Heights | ↖ | 10 |
Bromegrass | 1000 | 3 | 4 | 3 | All Heights | ↖ | 10 |
Clover | 1000 | 6 | 4 | 1.75 | All Heights | ↑ | 30 |
Fescue, Kentucky 1 | 1000 | 3.8 | 10 | 5.25 | All Heights | ↖ | 15 |
Ladino | 1000 | 6 | 2 | 1 | All Heights | ↑ | 24 |
Lespedeza, Sericea | 540 | 3.8 | 20 | 3.5 | All Heights | ↑ | 29 |
While these are standard Cyclone spreader settings for certain generic products, whatever you end up using as your settings may be entirely different due to a number of reasons such as the age of the spreader and topography of the turf.
At any rate, whatever settings you implement should be close to what’s given above.
Things to Note Before using a Cyclone Spreader (PTO Models S-1 and S-3),
Although we always encourage you to be flexible with the spreader settings, certain things don’t change. These guidelines don’t change and should be followed if you want a proper finishing of your spread and if you want your spreader to last longer.
You can determine spread width by
- Whirling spreading disk’s speed
- Mounting heights (for some materials
- Volume density of granular material, size of the seed, and size of fertilizer
Not all materials have the same spreading characteristics as seen in the settings chart – The arrow indicates the proper mounting angle (if required) for individual materials. For equal spread on both sides of the spreader, point it in the direction of the arrow as indicated in the chart.
PTO spreader angles – are always for counter-clockwise rotation of the PTO and spreading disk. For Farmall Cub Tractors with clockwise rotation, PTO and spreading disk should be set to reverse arrow directions
Spreader calibration checks – first, check the lever settings; #2½ should show exactly 1/8’’ with an equal opening. Also, adjust the allen screw on the “arm” connecting the feed plate to the control lever.
Distance from the center of spreading disk to the edge of the feed flow spout – should be exactly 2-15/64’’. Adjustments may be made by loosening the four bracket bolts, adjusting the bracket, and tightening bolts.