Great Plains 3S-3000F Operator Manual v2 - Manual (Page 30)

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Section 2 Operating Instructions
3S-3000 Three-Section Folding Drill 195-110M-A 11/9/07
Great Plains Mfg., Inc.
3. After the opener pressure is set, opener depth is con-
trolled by the press wheel adjustment. Attached to the
rear of each opener is one of several optional press
wheels. The press wheels close the furrow and gently
press soil over the seed while also providing depth
control for the opener. To adjust the position of the
press wheel, which automatically changes the seed-
ing depth of the opener, lift the "T" handle located on
top of the opener and slide it forward or rearward until
the seeding depth is correct, as shown in Figure 2-10.
Moving the handle forward plants shallower while
moving the handle rearward plants deeper. A spring
loaded pin holds the "T" handle at the setting to main-
tain the proper depth. Lift the opener frames slightly to
take the pressure off the "T" handles when adjusting
the press wheel depth.
Priority Flow Hydraulic Systems
On some tractors with load-sensing hydraulics, the circuit
#1 is capable of taking nearly 100 percent of available hy-
draulic flow. Operating the openers or markers on circuit
#1 will starve the other circuit, making one function inop-
erable.
Press Wheel Adjustment
Figure 2-10
15659
NOTE: The opener pressure setting controls the soil
firming pressure on the press wheel as well as the
disk penetrating force. DO NOT use more opener
down pressure than necessary to obtain the desired
opener penetration and to maintain the proper firm-
ing action over the seed. Set the planting depth with
the depth controlling press wheel and only use
enough opener pressure to cut the proper seed
groove and maintain the desired soil firming action.
Excessive opener force will lead to excessive wear
and damage of the opener components.
To operate markers and constant opener down pressure
at the same time, connect the openers to circuit #2 and the
markers to circuit #3.
Non-Active Hydraulic System
(Tractors with open-center hydraulic systems or
fixed-displacement hydraulic pumps)
To run the drill on tractors with open-center hydraulics or
on fixed-displacement hydraulic pumps requires a kit
(Great Plains part number 194-143A). This kit utilizes a
non-active hydraulic system which allows you to pressur-
ize your openers down and lock in that pressure on level
ground by holding the opener frames in a fixed position.
1. Lower the opener frames by pushing FORWARD on
the tractor remote hydraulic lever. The remote lever
must be TEMPORARILY LOCKED OPEN in this posi-
tion while the pressure adjustment is being made to
provide constant pressure and flow to the openers.
2. With the tractor hydraulic lever locked forward, turn the
knob on the pressure control valves as shown in Fig-
ure 2-9. Watch the pressure gauge and dial in the de-
sired pressure on the openers. Clockwise increases
the pressure, and counterclockwise decreases pres-
sure. Once the pressure is set, lock each knob with
the lock disk. There is one pressure control valve for
the center section and one for the wing sections. In
some typical applications, the pressure on the center
section is set slightly higher than the wings to account
for additional compaction from the drill and tractor
tires. The recommended pressure range for drilling is
between 200 psi and 1200 psi. Setting the opener
down pressure above 1600 psi. will raise the drive
wheels off the ground when the seed box is empty
causing skips and poor seed metering. See “Fertiliz-
er Adjustment” on page 38 to convert hydraulic pres-
sure at the gauge to opener down force.
3. After the opener pressure is set, RETURN THE
TRACTOR REMOTE HYDRAULIC LEVER TO ITS
NEUTRAL POSITION. This "locks in" the previously
selected pressure and the opener frames remain in a
fixed position.
NOTE: Open center tractors and tractors with fixed
displacement pumps are not designed to provide a
continuous supply of pressurized oil to remote loca-
tions. Attempting to continuously supply oil to the
pressure control valves will cause your tractor hy-
draulic pump to bypass a large volume of pressur-
ized oil. This will result in overheating of the tractor
hydraulic oil supply and WILL RESULT IN TRACTOR
DAMAGE.