[dschill]

We are just getting our new 1870 built and set upto go. I have a few questiond.

1) We are NOT using the fertilizer opener because just single shooting in seed trench. Do I still need to use the fert knives to open the ground ahead of paired row openers? Or can i remove the fertilizer knifes?

2) what setting for seed tube depth? Ours came from factory at #7

We will be seeding into damp heavy clay. Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[hillcrest]

We are just getting our new 1870 built and set upto go. I have a few questiond.

1) We are NOT using the fertilizer opener because just single shooting in seed trench. Do I still need to use the fert knives to open the ground ahead of paired row openers? Or can i remove the fertilizer knifes?

2) what setting for seed tube depth? Ours came from factory at #7

We will be seeding into damp heavy clay. Any suggestions appreciated.

we've been setting up our new 1870 this week.

I would put the fert knife on, you may damage the holder if its exposed. and you wont get the benefit of the conservapak opener where you get the deep V shape furrow to harvest water, promote root growth etc.

I've read off the forum before people seem to have #7 for wheat and other grains, but #5 for canola and legumes. i'd check the depth manually after it being in the ground to make sure.

 

[Highmarker]

The fert knife is needed to do the tillage and open up the trench for the seed opener to do its job. The seed opener just has a wimpy spring on it and it would not even penetrate the ground. That is if you are direct seeding in clay ground. If it was worked or soft ground the seed opener might do the job on its own.
I had to tighten up our seed opener springs last year because it was bouncing around like crazy on our harder ground.

 

[Ben Heide]

We are just getting our new 1870 built and set upto go. I have a few questiond.

1) We are NOT using the fertilizer opener because just single shooting in seed trench. Do I still need to use the fert knives to open the ground ahead of paired row openers? Or can i remove the fertilizer knifes?

2) what setting for seed tube depth? Ours came from factory at #7

We will be seeding into damp heavy clay. Any suggestions appreciated.

I think mine is set to #5 all the time. But I will have to check on that. The adjust packing pressure based on seed type. Generally though, everything is seeded about 1/2-3/4" deep and it works well.

 

[dschill]

I think mine is set to #5 all the time. But I will have to check on that. The adjust packing pressure based on seed type. Generally though, everything is seeded about 1/2-3/4" deep and it works well.

What pressures are you generally running? 1000?

 

[Highmarker]

We have our seed openers set at 6 and its one of the things i dont like about the drill. Changing tho se things is a huge pain. also they need to be tight and check all of them after you make a change because they can move/walk up or down. The packing pressure and fert opener can change the seed depth quite a bit as well. ive found the seed opener depth setting is just as much to set the seed to fert separation as it is to set the actual seed depth. its easy to get lost when making changes on the packing pressure, seed opener depth, frame depth/fert depth, frame level ect. last year i was not very organized or paitent and ended up setting the packing pressure too high 1300. this was to keep it in the ground on the hard spots in the hills but it was seeding way too deep in the low spots(v packer pushes into the muck easily). so i raised the frame to prevent the seed from going to china and ended up seeding too shallow. Last year we had poor seeding conditions. This year im going back to 750 psi ish and put the frame/fert opener back down 3.5". I also put 3000 lbs on the tractor so im not slipping as much when pulling that deep in wet conditions.

Good luck with your new drill they can seed better than most other drills out there but takes some skill to get it set for different conditions.

 

[stockton]

I usually have it set at 7 for cereals and 6 for canola.

I also find no benefit to running packing pressure over 1000. And 500 pressure in worked fields. The "packer wheel" is actually more like a gauge wheel for the seed opener. It packs the fertilizer trench but does not directly pack the seed at all. The more pressure you run, the less benefit you get from the independent part of this drill and the more it behaves like a typical air seeder.

 

[Ben Heide]

I think mine is set to #5 all the time. But I will have to check on that. The adjust packing pressure based on seed type. Generally though, everything is seeded about 1/2-3/4" deep and it works well.

I finally walked past the drill today, I will have to correct myself, our openers are at #7. And I haven't ever changed them for wheat, barley, canola or soybeans.

What pressures are you generally running? 1000?

I think we try to run as little pressure as possible (5-700) if there's moisture. The side of the wheel does the pressing of the soil for seed/soil contact.