# Materials for the Kubota_8540 Tote Brine Maker



## valleyviewlawns (Aug 28, 2012)

Items needed to make the Kubota_8540 Brine Maker. I built mine a little differently then Kubota did as I have different parts available in my area. I built mine to run off of the pump I have mounted on my truck so I use cam lock fittings to connect and disconnect to my pump. Also, I realized after I built mine that I don't need 5 ball valves, just 3. The 2 extra ball valves are for sucking liquid out of the 2 tanks, or adding a different liquid into the tanks, like LCC or Mag. I mix mag with the salt brine in my truck tank, and since I use one pump mounted in my truck I don't have a need for the other valves. My hoses have female cam locks on both ends and my tanks and sprayer all have male cam lock fittings.

2, 275 Gallon Totes
2" Pacer POLY pump with a Briggs Engine
2, ten foot pieces of 2" PVC, 3 if you are bad at measuring like me. 
2, ten foot pieces of 3/4" PVC
11, two inch PVC 90 degree elbows, slip
3, two inch PVC sanitary tee, slip
10, two inch PVC adapter, slip on one end, male threads on the other. 
4, PVC 2" to 3/4" slip adapters
5, poly two inch, full port, bolted ball valves with female threads. Banjo, Greenleaf, Bee. Boyd's Equipment is the cheapest place online that I have found these. 
2, two inch PVC 45 degree elbows, slip
1, two inch PVC cross tee, slip
5, two inch tank adapters, poly
5, two inch hose barbs, poly
4, two inch poly male cam lock fittings, 2 with female threads, 2 with male threads. Female threaded fittings go on the end of the PVC, male threaded fittings go on the end of 2 of the ball valves. 
2 inch suction hose. Get something good, Goodyear Green Hornet or Cold Blue, for cold temps, otherwise they can be STIFF when it is cold out.
1 pint, Christy's Red Hot Blue Glue.

After cutting the PVC get ALL of the PVC shavings/particles off of the pipes or they will find their way into your spray boom nozzles when it is 10 below zero outside and you need your sprayer to work properly.

Get a few 2 inch PVC slip couplers in case you need to reconfigure anything after it is glued. I moved a few things in and out as I was building mine. 
A couple bags of 14"-18" Zip Ties/Cable Ties, rated for outdoor use. 
As Kubota found through lots of testing and reconfiguring, using four 3/4" PVC pipes facing straight down in each corner, about 4" from the bottom of the tank gets the best rolling/mixing/agitating action. I can leave my pump at nearly idle and get good fast mixing without sending any salt into the lower tank.

The 2" PVC suction pipes pointed at the bottom of the tanks work good at 1"-2" off the bottom of the tank. Not too close to suck stuff off the bottom of the tank and not too far away that you can't get most of the liquid out of the tanks. The overflows were punched through the upper tank at the 200 gallon marks. I attached a picture of Kubota's Brine Maker and a picture of the inside of the upper tank plumbing. Also, I used pallets to elevate my upper tank, and Kubota built a pretty nice platform for his. I went as cheap as I could on this first one, the next one might get more bling. ALL credit to Jim Johnson (Kubota_8540). Feel free to comment or add what you did to make yours.

---Kubota's Brine Maker---


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## 86 CJ (Jan 11, 2010)

Great write up man


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## Bryn (Oct 9, 2004)

Quick question on the PVC pipe, is it sch 40 or just regular PVC.

Thanks

Bryn


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

Bryn;2080087 said:


> Quick question on the PVC pipe, is it sch 40 or just regular PVC.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Bryn


I personally use the solid core pipe. These pumps usually only put out up 45 psi, so no need really for schedule 40. But it never hurts for durability.


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

After these tote type brinemakers make about 30,000 gallons of brine, the tote plastic wears thru where the 3/4" down pipes flow water and roll the salt at their outlet. Simple solutions are 1) glue an additional piece of plastic to the tote to act as a wear piece or 2) get a new tote.


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## Bryn (Oct 9, 2004)

So the white plumbing pipe is just regular PVC?

Thanks for the other answer and suggestion on the wear. 

Bryn


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

Bryn;2080146 said:


> So the white plumbing pipe is just regular PVC?
> 
> Thanks for the other answer and suggestion on the wear.
> 
> Bryn


DWV pvc yes.


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## Bryn (Oct 9, 2004)

Thanks so much.

Will pickup my totes tomorrow and start gathering my supplies. 

Bryn


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## mr.lawn works (Sep 16, 2010)

valleyviewlawns;1930646 said:


> Items needed to make the Kubota_8540 Brine Maker. I built mine a little differently then Kubota did as I have different parts available in my area. I built mine to run off of the pump I have mounted on my truck so I use cam lock fittings to connect and disconnect to my pump. Also, I realized after I built mine that I don't need 5 ball valves, just 3. The 2 extra ball valves are for sucking liquid out of the 2 tanks, or adding a different liquid into the tanks, like LCC or Mag. I mix mag with the salt brine in my truck tank, and since I use one pump mounted in my truck I don't have a need for the other valves. My hoses have female cam locks on both ends and my tanks and sprayer all have male cam lock fittings.
> 
> 2, 275 Gallon Totes
> 2" Pacer POLY pump with a Briggs Engine
> ...


Would you mind posting more pictures valleyviewlawns?


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## Bryn (Oct 9, 2004)

Have a look at this YouTube of the same setup.






Bryn


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

Bryn;2080642 said:


> Have a look at this YouTube of the same setup.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What do you think about that set up in the video?


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## c.debold (Jan 4, 2011)

This is the set up I am looking to build. Question... Is there four drop downs of the 3/4" pipe in the upper tank? It appears there are 3. 
Thanks.


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## valleyviewlawns (Aug 28, 2012)

c.debold;2080753 said:


> This is the set up I am looking to build. Question... Is there four drop downs of the 3/4" pipe in the upper tank? It appears there are 3.
> Thanks.


4, here is one of Kubota's videos.


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## c.debold (Jan 4, 2011)

I'm going for it. I have the totes and going get the pump and fittings tomorrow.


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## doro1 (Oct 11, 2015)

how many feet of the 2" suction pipe do you need?


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

c.debold;2080753 said:


> This is the set up I am looking to build. Question... Is there four drop downs of the 3/4" pipe in the upper tank? It appears there are 3.
> Thanks.


There are 4.


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

doro1;2120347 said:


> how many feet of the 2" suction pipe do you need?


I think (2) 10' pieces. I don't have a list.....lol


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

Many different configurations and version are possible. Depending on size (gallons) wanted. Also you should keep the plumbing and valves on the motor side in order to allow for free space to load with bags or buckets.


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## doro1 (Oct 11, 2015)

DO you have any pics of the whole inside of the top tote? where does the single 2" line go to in the top tote? Is that just to draw out the brine once its made?


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

doro1;2121184 said:


> DO you have any pics of the whole inside of the top tote? where does the single 2" line go to in the top tote? Is that just to draw out the brine once its made?


I'm terrible about taking pictures and making list. But the 2" just goes straight down toward the bottom of the tote and stays about 6-8" off the bottom so it doesn't suck up any raw salt.


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## shop king (Dec 16, 2010)

I just made some brine this week , I built this maker last fall and am tweaking truck sprayer now for better operation


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

Kewl.

So do you know somthing we don't?
Like an major snow storm next week?

Lol

Got any pics?
We like shiney things.


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## grasskeepers (Aug 9, 2008)

Has anyone one made a single tote brine maker similar to Barr plastics


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## grasskeepers (Aug 9, 2008)

Has any one mixed hydro seed slurry with one of these?


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## 86 CJ (Jan 11, 2010)

We made a single 1200g brine maker this year and it worked out pretty well, this is the 3rd style brine maker we have built and I think we are sticking with it for next season.


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## fireside (Mar 1, 2008)

Any pictures of the brine maker


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## rbljack (Dec 9, 2013)

Been hunting around trying to find the details for this particular brine machine for a few hours....tagging this right now before I loose it....LOL. 

Has anyone got plans for a single IBC tote brine maker?


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## Subs Charlie (12 mo ago)

rbljack said:


> Been hunting around trying to find the details for this particular brine machine for a few hours....tagging this right now before I loose it....LOL.
> 
> Has anyone got plans for a single IBC tote brine maker?


I'm personally not familiar, but brine and Kubota's design are what forced me to finally join after years of lurking....
I'd certainly imagine that the single tank method would work, but the benefits of the 2nd tank are something to consider. The additional volume isn't the only factor. 
There is something to be said for the ability to filter out the the larger particles and drain from a "more" filtered tank? Any residue left in the "upper" or "solids" tank can later be shoveled out, or left to be starter solution for a next batch. But if you are starting with rock salt, you'll likely find a good amount of contaminants to remove, including dirt.
When I build my maker, I plan on going the 2 tank method for that reason, I'd rather combat the nozzle clogging matter prior to getting the brine to the sprayer. I believe that "filtration" is part of the reason for the multiple gravity overflow tubes. I'm just not sure what they are using for screening?
And thank you to all who have contributed, it's been a great source of information and inspiration to learn from you all!


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## valleyviewlawns (Aug 28, 2012)

rbljack said:


> Been hunting around trying to find the details for this particular brine machine for a few hours....tagging this right now before I loose it....LOL.
> 
> Has anyone got plans for a single IBC tote brine maker?


I don't know why you couldn't just follow the plans for the two tote mixer, and just not use the overflow tubes from the upper tank to the lower tank, and have your suction pipe sit higher in the tank so that you don't pull in any rocks. I have found that bagged solar salt has rocks, and if it goes through the plastic impellers on the pump, it will chew them up. You will just need to figure out what number you are looking for, whether it be 23.3%, or less, depending on your water temperature at the time of mixing. Really all these things do is just use water pressure to keep the salt moving around and agitating in the water until it dissolves.


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