Adjusting hydraulic down pressure – Great Plains NTA3007 Operator Manual User Manual
Page 106
102
NTA907 or NTA3007
Great Plains Manufacturing, Inc.
166-371M
2012-07-02
Adjusting Hydraulic Down Pressure
Hydraulic down pressure controls drill-wide opener
penetration and press-wheel soil firming. Use only
enough down pressure to cut a furrow and maintain
proper soil-firming over seed. Excessive opener down
force may cause bulldozing of the openers in light soil
conditions, and leads to premature wear on opener
components.
When higher wing down-pressures are required, an
increase in weight transfer is generally also required.
Increasing wing down-pressure with insufficient wing
weight results in outside rows running shallow. In
extreme cases of imbalance between down-pressure
and weight transfer, the wing gauge wheels could be
lifted off the ground.
Before adjusting down-pressure, observe the drill
operating in your field conditions. Check the following
table for indications of adjustment needed.
Down-Pressure Adjustment Indications
Observation
Probable Cause
Adjustment
Press wheels leaving light or no tracks
Insufficient down-force
Increase down-pressure
a
a. When adjusting wing down-pressure, re-check performance in field, and re-adjust weight transfer as needed.
Press wheels compressing soil too deeply
Excess down-force
Decrease down-pressure
a
Openers not level
Remove sub-frame shims (page 106)
Openers discs running too deep, despite
press wheel setting (“bulldozing”)
Excess down-force
Decrease down-pressure
a
Opener sub-frames continuously moving up
and down
Insufficient down-force
Increase down-pressure
a
Wing end tilted up
Insufficient weight transfer
Increase weight transfer
b
b. When adjusting weight transfer, re-check performance in field, and re-adjust down-pressure as needed
Incorrect gauge wheel tires
Wing ends tilted down
Excess weight transfer
Decrease weight transfer
b
Incorrect gauge wheel tires
Wing gauge wheels leaving light or no tracks
Insufficient weight transfer
Decrease weight transfer
b