36-Row Planter Folds Backward

36-Row Planter Folds Backward PLANTING EQUIPMENT Planters 1-1-10 "It's designed to handle any combination from 12 to 36 rows," says John Kinzenbaw, inventor and manufacturer of the new Kinze Planter Bar. It handles up to 36 20-in. rows or 24 30-in. rows and, in only a minute or two, folds to a narrow 14 ft. width for field to field or down-the-road travel. "Its fast, easy foldup is a fantastic feature," reports Lawrence Hamilton, Hampton, Iowa. His was one of 21 prototype Kinze Planter Bars which went to the field last spring. Hamilton, together with his son Jay and their two-man crew ù Ed Ulfers and Bud Whipple ù equipped it with 36 Deere Max-Emerge planter units spaced 20 in, apart. Previously, the Hamiltons used two 8-raw pull type planters hooked together. "Biggest problem with the old planter was the half day or more of down time in getting it disassembled and moved from one field to the next," explains Hamilton. "We had some problems with the new 36-row unit, but the time we saved in transporting it from field to field more than compensated for the time we spent ironing out the first-year bugs." In addition to folding backwards to a narrow width for road travel, Kinze Planter Bars now in production are designed for quick conversion from crop to crop with most makes of planter units. They can be changed from corn (24 30-in. rows) ù or vice versa ù by realigning planting units on the toolbar. The Hamiltons plant about 40 acres of soybeans per hour with their 60 ft. toolbar equipped with 36 planting units spaced 20-in. apart. For corn, they convert the unit to 24 units spaced 30-in. apart. "We had to do quite a bit of revamping of the gear boxes to get the Max-Emerge units spaced 20-in. apart on the toolbar," explains Lawrence. "We also rigged up our own marker." "We could custom build Kinze Planter Bars to handle 36 units spaced 30-in. apart, but we feel that this many units spaced 20-in. apart is the practical limit, at least for the time being," Kinzenbaw told FARM SHOW. He adds that most Planter Bars sold to date have been equipped with Deere's Max-Emerge planting units. However, they will accommodate most other makes of planter units, include the IH Cyclo, White's Aire planter, The Buffalo No-til or the Burch Twin-Row planter. "Last spring, a farmer who couldn't locate individual MaxEmerge row units bought two spanking new 12-row toolbar planters, then parked the toolbars and put all 24 units on our Planter Bar so he could take 24 rows at a time, and get the rear-folding and other features of our toolbar," says Kinzenbaw. The folding link of the Planter Bar he's now producing in a new factory at Williamsburg, Iowa, performs three key functions: It acts as a wing support brace when planting; as a rear-folding mechanism for the unit; and as a locking device when the unit is in transport position. The folding linkage, coupled with hydraulically controlled transport wheels and tandem "walking axles," allow one man to fold the entire unit right from the tractor seat. With the fold-back feature, partially filled seed boxes don't have to be emptied when coverting the unit to transport position. The main toolbar, measuring 7 in. square, is made of 3/8 in. thick steel. Cost of the Planter Bar, complete with markers, all drive components, wheels and tires, hydraulic cylinders; hoses and hardware ù virtually everything except the individual row planting units ù is $11,500 for a 24-row (30 in. spacing) or 36 row (20 in, spacing) unit. A 16-row toolbar (30-in. spacing) sells for $8,500 and a 12-row for $7,500. For more details, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kinze Manufacturing, Williamsburg, Iowa (ph. 319 688-1300).

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