Air Drill

This air drill didn't start by looking like this. We built an experimental version which can be seen here. We built the original opener assemblies in the winter/spring of 2003 and seeded that spring with it. This past February we decided that we would go ahead with replacing the cultivator frame that the opener arms were attached to with a totally new frame. This is that frame.

The frame folds back somewhat like a harrow, somewhat like a sprayer. (photos to come.) The frame right now is a bit light for adequet ground compaction at the packer wheels. Most of the weight rides on the packers. The unit folds out hydraulically which means the operator can drive onto the field, deploy and get going without all kinds of maneuvering.

Right now the unit is still a single-shoot air drill. We are going to build mid-row banding openers so that we can shoot our fertilizer in along beside the seed. In fact, the distributers and primary seed hoses are already installed, ready to use.

We've also made some other small modifications to the air cart. They include hydraulically actuated butterfly valves in the primary runs just after the feed rolls. We've also installed a micro-video camera in the grain tank with a 5.6" LCD monitor in the cab to see how full the grain tank is. Photos to come.

Width: 60'
Transport width: 16'
Spacing: 8"

I'll include more write-ups. If there's info or specs that you're interested in, leave a note in my Guestbook, off of the main page.