Stock two groups of parts. Wear parts, such as blades, tines and belts, are used up every season. Critical spares, such as bearings, seals and gear sets, are needed less often but stop a machine when they fail.
Farm work is seasonal, so a missing part during sowing or harvest costs your customers far more than at other times. Order spares with the machines, not after the first breakdown.
Wear parts by machine
- Rotavators need blades, blade bolts and nuts, and side skids, and the blades are by far the biggest seller.
- Cultivators and harrows need tines, sweeps, shovels and disc blades.
- Seed drills need furrow openers, metering rollers or plates, and drive chains.
- Threshers need beaters, sieves, belts and drum bearings.
- Sprayers need nozzles, seals, O-rings, hoses and lance triggers.
- Chaff cutters need cutting blades, shear plates and feed roller parts.
- Groundnut diggers need digging blades and conveyor rods or chain links.
Critical spares
For machines with gearboxes, stock bearings, oil seals and gaskets for each model. Keep a few complete gear sets or gearboxes for your most common rotavator sizes, because a gearbox failure stops work for weeks if parts come from India.
Stock PTO shaft parts, such as yokes, cross kits and guards, and the shear bolts that protect the drive. Stock electric motors or starters for motor-driven machines if local equivalents are hard to find.
How to plan quantities
Ask the maker for a recommended spares list per model, with part numbers and expected life. Treat it as a starting point, because wear depends heavily on your soil.
Adjust after the first season using your own failure records. Sandy and stony soils eat blades and tines far faster than loam.
Ship spares with each machine order where possible, rather than by air when something fails. Sea freight is far cheaper per kilogram, and a part on your shelf is worth more than one in transit during harvest.
Keep consumables such as gearbox oil, grease and paint for touch-ups as well. Some dealers also expect a small tool kit with each machine.
Insist on part numbers that match the parts manual and a drawing for key wear parts. That lets you reorder exactly and, if needed, have parts made elsewhere. For blade steel, see which blade materials rotavators use.
Quality of spares
Buy spares from the same maker and production run as the machines where you can. Spares made in a hurry are often weaker than the original parts. Inspect spares like machines, with hardness and dimension checks on blades and tines. Mixed batches of soft blades cause many of the complaints agri machinery buyers report.
Next step
We source spares with the machines, check them against drawings and have wear parts tested. To plan a spares programme, book a free sourcing review.