Great Plains AS20 Operator Manual - Manual (Page 26)

AS15 and AS20 Planting System 148-153M 4/14/05 24 Great Plains Mfg., Inc.
Section 4 Hitch, Drill, & Planter Adjustments For No-Till Planting Conditions
and the coulter spring preload. In hard soil conditions,
additional weight may have to be added to the All Seed
Hitch and the coulter spring preload may have to be
increased.
Once the individual coulters are arranged for your spe-
cific planting situation, the following steps should be
used to achieve the desired coulter penetration:
1. The depth of the All Seeds Coulters is controlled by
the front hydraulic tongue cylinder. In most condi-
tions, the coulters will penetrate to a desirable depth
by running with the coulter hitch main 8" X 8" beam
level with the ground. To achieve the desired coulter
penetration, retract the front tongue cylinder to
transfer tractor weight to coulter tool bar. When the
desired coulter depth is achieved on level ground,
take note of the stroke pointer location on the front
tongue cylinder Figure 4-11. This amount of cylinder
extension can be used when planting in level fields
.
2. In hard soil conditions where coulter penetration is
limited or where maintaining coulter penetration
tends to lift the planter tool bar, suitcase weights can
be added to the weight brackets located on the All
Seeds transport frame. No more than 2000 pounds
should ever be added to the transport frame weight
brackets, (1000 pounds per weight bracket). Adding
weight on the transport frame provides the best
NOTE: The cylinder stroke gauge on the front
tongue cylinder is to be used only as a reference to
the amount of front cylinder extension. It does not
designate inches of coulter depth.
Tongue Cylinder With Depth Gauge Decal
Figure 4-11
10741
weight distribution for the no-till planting system. Be
sure to place an equal amount of weight on each
weight bracket. If your All Seeds Hitch is equipped
with the liquid fertilizer option, liquid fertilizer tanks
replace the weight brackets. If the tanks are not be-
ing used for fertilizer, water can be added to the liq-
uid tanks to provide the needed weight for coulter
penetration. Generally each tank should not have to
be more than half full to provide sufficient weight for
coulter penetration. Be sure to add an equal amount
of water to each liquid tank.
3. The coulter spring length is preset at the factory to
10" which gives the coulters an initial operating force
of 400 pounds. This setting is adequate for many dif-
ficult no-till planting conditions. For lighter no-till
conditions where rocks or other obstructions are a
problem, it may be desirable to reduce the initial
coulter preload to give the coulters better impact
protection. Refer to the chart below for adjusting the
initial coulter force setting. Fertilizer banding
coulters may require higher spring preload to allow
for the additional depth needed for fertilizer place-
ment.Refer to the chart below for adjusting the initial
coulter force setting.
!
CAUTION!
Any attempt to reset the coulter spring length shorter than 9
3/4" may contribute to premature failure of parts and warran-
ty shall be voided.
4. For extremely hard soil conditions, where 2000
pounds on the transport frame weight brackets does
not achieve the required coulter penetration,a tool
bar weight bracket kit (see the "Options" Section on
page 30 for ordering these kits) is available. Each
weight bracket kit contains two weight brackets
which will bolt above the ends of the coulter tool bar.
An equal amount of weight should be added on each
end of the coulter tool bar. The addition of tool bar
weight brackets make it difficult to move the outside
coulters laterally. With the transport frame weight
brackets weighted to the maximum recommenda-
tions, or with the use of liquid fertilizer, a maximum
total of 2400 pounds can be added to the tool bar
Coulter Down Pressure Chart
Spring Length Initial Vertical
Coulter Force
10 1/2" 175 lbs.
10 1/4" 300 lbs.
10" 400 lbs.
9 3/4" 525 lbs.