How To Improve Deere Grain Drill Performance

How To Improve Deere Grain Drill Performance DRILLS Indiana farmer David Hoar says that installing the UniForce™ hydraulic down pressure system on his 43-ft Deere 1690 CCS drill resulted in positive and consistent down pressure across the full width of the drill and uniform planting depth “Before installing the UniForce the drill openers with the OEM springs looked like a piano board being played with a lot of up and down movement ”
    UniForce is a hydraulic system made by Exapta Solutions of Kansas that fixes a design flaw on Deere drill models 50 60 90 and 2510H It uses single-action hydraulic cylinders on each opener to keep pressure constant even while the implement is traveling over steep terraces or through swales Exapta says their system fixes the problems associated with the big coil spring on the drill openers Those springs relax when the opener goes into the slightest depression so there’s less down pressure Disk openers then fail to cut straw or stalks which leads to hair pinning uneven seed placement uneven germination and lower per acre production
    The UniForce system plumbs in to existing drill hydraulics so raising lowering and down pressure can all operate on one remote Two remotes can be used to keep the down force separate Flow requirements are 4 to 8 gpm Options include an in-cab adjustment to lighten or increase pressure when field conditions change and an on-board accumulator to store pressure in terraced fields
    South Dakota grain farmer Mike Arnoldy says the UniForce system on his drills put wheat seeds into hard and dry bean stubble giving him more uniform emergence and slightly more uniform stands He now has the UniForce on a 43-ft 1690 and a 60-ft 1890
    Oklahoma farmer Scott Arthaud says the UniForce system was a big advantage for him in marginally dry conditions He adds that the row units held the depth better and it was impressive to see them uniform and not bouncing like they would with the OEM springs Karl Davis of Iowa says the UniForce on his drill eliminated all the bounce and kept the openers in the ground in all conditions
    The cost of UniForce openers is $300 per row on Deere 60 and 90 models and $325 per row on the 50 series Pricing for box drills ranges from $1 925 to $5 880 depending on size The in-cab adjustment is $650 for hydraulic systems and $690 for air drills Accumlators are $1 720 for a pair of one-gallon tanks or $2 490 for a 2 5-gallon size
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Exapta Solutions 2475 E Kansas Ave., McPherson Kan 67460 ph 785 820-8000; www exapta com

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