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NE SD | IMO it all starts with seed placement accuracy. I'm fussy about stand. We got Esets when they first came out in 2004. Big improvement especially with varying seed sizes but still not excited about the spacing we got. We own our own meter stand and ran them every year but they would never run in the field like on the stand. We tried aligning the hex shaft changing bearings, new drive cables etc but could never get the bugs out until in 2016 when we got a plug in module that allowed the planter meters to turn while just sitting stationary in front of the shop. We loaded it with seed and then we went around and listened and felt for odd noise and vibration. That spring we found one bearing that looked perfectly fine but when you put your fingers on the flange it was running rough. You could feel the vibration. We changed it...one bearing that looked good but just felt odd....and noticed more consistant stand that year. If one small thing can affect things that much then eliminating as many of those things as possible is a no brainer. If you don't want to spend the roughly $40,000 it would take to do Vsets, Vdrive and accessories I would at least start with the Vset meters. But definately do the Vdrives when you can. When you do spring for the Vdrives i believe you will need to upgrade to wave vision sensors on your seed tubes and a second generation 20/20. We did this to a JD 1770 nt in 2017 and then a case 1250 in 2018 and it is the best money we could have spent on these planter. Think of all the moving parts it takes to turn the meters hydraulically. It starts with your tractor engine to your tractor hydraulic pump to the hydraulic motors on the planter to the hex shaft and bearings they run through to the chains or cables. Heck even when you switch seeds that can affect how hard and how smooth an individual meter will turn and dispense seed even on a test stand. I have seen it myself many times. Eliminate as many moving parts as you can. Way less maintenance...way less to think about. I know how crazy this sounds but I have chased this problem since 1997 and have only in the last two years been truly happy with the spacing we get. And now anyone can run that planter. Personally i wouldn't worry about hydrolic down pressure and all the other stuff until you do the above. We just run the standard planter air pump and set it and forget it as long as it is at the psi we want. We have heavy clay based soils prone to compaction and we run the same PSI in every field but we are planting into fall strip till. I do not think hydraulic Delta force or Air force would provide much benefit other than convenience. In fact I have heard of two neighbors that got the worst stand they have ever had the first year after adding Delta force. Probably was not set up correctly but still.... | |
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Cost of Precision upgrades on Case 1250?
