Several farmers near Wolfenbüttel (Lower Saxony) have joined forces. They have built a cleaning centre for farm machinery. According to Agrarheute.com, farmers Thorsten Pabst and Joachim Moshake’conceived the idea of setting up a car wash outside the village in a logistically convenient location. During the planning phase, the cost of building the car wash rose to €120 000. Therefore, other colleagues from neighbouring villages were asked to join. Now 17 members own the car wash, in proportion to the size of their farms.

Farmers did not want a standard washhouse

According to Thorsten Pabst, the idea of building a common washing centre is not new. Many farmers in the Wolfenbüttel region grow sugar beet. Large harvesting machines need to be washed more frequently accordingly. Together with my colleagues Joachim Moshake and Lars Eppers, we have always thought about a washing station. But we never fully planned it because the requirements were too high," explains Pabst.

They couldn't give up on the idea, however, especially as a suitable location was eventually found on farmer Joachim Moshake's land. „It was always clear to us that we did not want to build a standard car wash. The goal was to minimize manual labour and provide the necessary capacity," says Pabst.

Cleaning technology like a piggery

The deeper the farmers got into the planning, the higher the costs got, which amounted to almost €120,000 for the entire construction project. When it came to washing technology, the farmers were convinced by the Meier-Brakenberg system. This is somewhat surprising, as this company is better known for the cleanliness of its pigsties.

„The technology used there has to ensure the highest performance and we wanted the same for our facility“, said Mr Pabst. Another important requirement was that operating costs should not be too high. And, of course, simple and safe operation.

A sludge storage area has been built right next to the machine cleaning basin. Here, sludge is temporarily stored using a wheel loader. A suitable location was quickly agreed with the Wolfenbüttel district. However, a lot had to be discussed before construction could start. There are sewage pipes along the road we are connected to. It is a pity that we could not access any funding funds for this construction project. This has already caused frustration among the members“," stresses Joachim Moshake.

Simple management for every user

The plot area is 10 x 15 metres. In addition, the construction contractor „Suchot” has come up with the idea of installing a sludge trap with an oil separator. The system provides a flexible water pressure of up to 125 bar. An 80 kW burner is used to produce hot water. This allows hot water temperatures of up to 80°C to be handled, with infinitely variable temperature control. Pressure-controlled hoses have also been selected to allow flexible variation of the cleaning effect and impact force.

In addition, a sprayer with foam arcs was built to dispense cleaning additives. This determines the cleaning power. The pump in the washer automatically adjusts to the speed of the jet, making it easy to use.