Improving a seed planter

[trevj]

Ayup. The Prairie Farmer Conundrum!

You need to farm 25 sections to make the payments on the machinery. You need millions of dollars in machinery, to be able to farm 25 Sections....

 

[Susquatch]

Just buy a new planter, the tech they have now should keep you happy for many hours. Don't get excited about the cost, a new 80ft air seeder is pushing 750,000, a new tractor to pull it is 950,000+ or _ a few bucks depending on options. Don't think of it as expense but an investment, someplace to use up those pesky retirement pension cheques.

If I had that kind of money, I'd buy a new drill press......

 

[6.5 Fan]

If I had that kind of money, I'd buy a new drill press..

With power down feed?

 

[Susquatch]

With power down feed?

Absolutely! Lasers, 3-phase, VFD, Optical center, quick-change chucks, power table, self cleaning, spindle lights, etc etc - totally tricked to the gills. You couldn't wipe the smile off my face if you put a dead skunk in my pants.

 

[trevj]

Tell ya a funny story about skunks...

Friend of mine's cousin, had been told by some wag that a skunk can't spray you if you grab it by the tail.

He's walking around a building on the farm, comes face to face with a striped kitty, and he recovered from his surprise faster than the skunk did, leans over and grabs the skunk by the tail!

Sure enough, no spray! So he's gotta show someone... Carries the skunk into the house to show his mom. She see's the skunk, and wallops the guy with a broom, aiming mostly at the skunk. Which he drops...

They ate most of their meals for about six months, out on the screened in porch, and it was a few years before the smell stopped coming up when the humidity rose...

Which is the long way around to asking, have you done anything or made any decisions on the seeder?

Had a guy here last month, with a big round baler with built in silage wrapping capability. Quarter Mill in the baler, close to that in the tractor, but it sure worked sweet! Cut one day, bale the next!

 

[6.5 Fan]

Which is the long way around to asking, have you done anything or made any decisions on the seeder?

He just needs to buy a new seeder, then no more problems about those pesky pension cheques.

 

[Susquatch]

Which is the long way around to asking, have you done anything or made any decisions on the seeder?

Skunk story is hilarious! I can picture it!

Planter project is a winter project. Unless something better comes up (unlikely), I really like @Bandit's idea of cutting off the vacuum. A vacuum solenoid valve in each of the vacuum lines and a switch panel in the tractor cab and Bob's your uncle. I liked that solution best of all cuz it's dirt simple and easy to do.

It's only two drawbacks are a few feet of unseeded dirt when it's turned back on and some excess vacuum as more and more rows are turned off.

I need to calculate what the distance is. Can't be more than 5 ft or so. If so who cares?

Also need to think about ways to address the vacuum increase - prolly just a controlled leak equal to the normal losses in the metering system - could even put an orifice in the solenoid somewhere. KISS.

If it works, I could add more solenoids to control more rows for edges and merged rows.

 

[historicalarms]

A similar amusing (to us) skunk story.
Good friends of ours have a ranch south of Calgary (De Winton area) and another in Oklahoma ( yes they are well healed). They were invited to a back yard wedding being held on a neighboring ranch in Oklahoma. This was an equally well to do family and the ranch house was a several million dollar structure.
During the proceedings, the new son in law entered the house for some reason and left the door open while he was in there....and an inquisitive skunk came in the door so the new SIL grabs a shotgun off the wall rack in the hallway and disposes of said critter in the main living room....that mansion was unlivable for monthes my buddy told me and the ranch owner moved into the new SIL's master bedroom at his place for the duration.

 

[Bandit]

Think timing will shorten the 5 feet, there may already be a vacuum breaker in the system to prevent " over nothing in the system". Is there a gauge to read vacuum pulled? Smaller setups only can pull certain amount until leakage past rotor/vanes makes for no more increase in vacuum.
Would think a safety of some kind, or could crush lines in a run away, ( not sure how, but!).
Remember the apple juice can under the hood, just one tap with wrench.

 

[Susquatch]

Think timing will shorten the 5 feet,

The disk is chain driven from the planter tires. Once the vacuum is gone, the seed falls off the disk. So it has to be driven to pick up seed. Hence the unplanted space.

I was thinking I'd just start planting a bit sooner. But then you are double planting the overlap. I think I'm better off with 5 ft unplanted in two rows than double planted on all 11 rows. To some extent the beans fill in the skipped rows in their fight for the sun.

Anyway, the whole idea is to skip the tractor tire rows so you don't drive on plants when you spray a month later, so what is a few more feet of sprayer rows when you already have miles of them? It's nitt picking. If I can fix it fine. If not, I can live with it......

there may already be a vacuum breaker in the system to prevent " over nothing in the system". Is there a gauge to read vacuum pulled? Smaller setups only can pull certain amount until leakage past rotor/vanes makes for no more increase in vacuum.

It's a hydraulically driven vacuum fan. I control the speed of the motor with the tractor SCV to set the max vacuum with the disks full of seeds. When you first start, all 5he plates are empty with no seeds in them. They leak like a boat made of fence wire. So there is virtually no vacuum. As the plates fill up, the vacuum climbs until it reaches the set point of the vacuum motor.

There is a large magnehelic pressure gauge on the vacuum manifold. I just dial in the pressure I want by looking at it.

Would think a safety of some kind, or could crush lines in a run away, ( not sure how, but!).
Remember the apple juice can under the hood, just one tap with wrench.

There is no real danger of over pressure like that. It never gets that high. The gauge maximum is only 15 inches of water and for most seed I run it between 5 and 10.

Too high a pressure sucks the seeds right through the plate holes which reduces the pressure. Too low and they fall off before they reach the drop point. So the pressure has to be fine tuned for the seed size and shape.

Turning the vacuum off on two rows would mean very little. Turning them all off would raise the pressure beyond ideal but not enough to damage anything. The worst case is all off but one. That could be too much vacuum... I'm thinking that a calibrated drilled orifice in the solenoid could simulate the full air leakage of a working row and not affect the over all pressure at all. If the orifice is closed during regular operation, it has no effect on an open valve. It would only work when the valve is closed.

 

[Bandit]

There are solenoids with another port for such things ( 3 ports), one can be used for dump, intake or change direction/tool etc., but you most likely know that from the auto?, background you have. Sounds like there is a plan, I look forward to the result.