Extra Seed Box Added To Air Drill
Luke Risch likes a challenge and adding a small-seed seed box to a big air drill was a good one. Risch does custom metal work out of his one-man shop in western Wisconsin. When a friend wanted to seed alfalfa at the same time he was planting oats or wheat with his Deere air drill, Risch took on the challenge.
“He wanted a separate unit bolted over his grain drill with outlets mated to the OEM seed tubes,” recalls Risch. “The goal was to hold up to 14 bags of alfalfa seed for planting his largest field. I started designing the seed box and worked down from there.”
The seed box had to fit between the folding wings of the 30-ft. air drill and over the OEM seed tank without impacting existing wiring and hoses. This limited its size and shape. Risch designed it to taper over the large OEM seed tank that is behind it on the air drill.
He ended up with a 48-in. long by 24 in-high seed box. The top is 36-in. wide, tapering to 8 in. at the bottom. Cross members on the inside of the box reinforced it for the eventual uprights.
Risch went with 14-ga. hot rolled steel for the box and 1/4-in., 2 by 2-in. steel tubing for the uprights that attach it to the air drill wing supports.
“I had a good solid frame to work with,” says Risch. “It has a big cheater plate that the wing lift rams are fixed to with two stops for the wings. It is heavy-duty and easy to build from.”
Once he had the seed box and its supports in place, he began working downwards. Whenever possible, he worked with OEM parts, like the adjuster and the two staggered rows of seed cups installed at the bottom of the seed box.
Rubber seed hoses run from the cups to a sleeved manifold that can be pulled away if the seed tubes plug and need to be cleaned out. From the manifold, seeds drop by gravity into a second set of tubes that each mate with OEM seed cup tubes for even distribution in the airflow across the width of the drill.
Risch added a sprocket to the ground drive for the air drill. Roller chain connects it through a series of sprockets and shafts to the adjustors on the two rows of alfalfa seed cups. The bottommost shaft has a cogged handle, allowing the operator to disconnect the drive to the seed box when it’s not in use.
“I installed electric shutoffs on the uppermost cross shaft that drives the two rows of seed cups,” says Risch. “They are wired to the right and left shutoffs on the air drill to ensure the alfalfa seed shuts off when the air drill does.”
In its first full season of use, the modified air drill planted more than 900 acres of alfalfa with a small grain nurse crop. While it worked well, the owner can see the need for some changes, which Risch is already planning.
“In our part of Wisconsin, they farm steep sidehills,” he explains. “I may go with more of an upside-down pyramid shape to the box itself. I’ll add baffles to keep seed from piling up on one end of the seed box on steep hillsides.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Luke Risch, Nelson, Wis.
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Extra Seed Box Added To Air Drill PLANTING EQUIPMENT Air Seeders Luke Risch likes a challenge and adding a small-seed seed box to a big air drill was a good one Risch does custom metal work out of his one-man shop in western Wisconsin When a friend wanted to seed alfalfa at the same time he was planting oats or wheat with his Deere air drill Risch took on the challenge “He wanted a separate unit bolted over his grain drill with outlets mated to the OEM seed tubes ” recalls Risch “The goal was to hold up to 14 bags of alfalfa seed for planting his largest field I started designing the seed box and worked down from there ” The seed box had to fit between the folding wings of the 30-ft air drill and over the OEM seed tank without impacting existing wiring and hoses This limited its size and shape Risch designed it to taper over the large OEM seed tank that is behind it on the air drill He ended up with a 48-in long by 24 in-high seed box The top is 36-in wide tapering to 8 in at the bottom Cross members on the inside of the box reinforced it for the eventual uprights Risch went with 14-ga hot rolled steel for the box and 1/4-in 2 by 2-in steel tubing for the uprights that attach it to the air drill wing supports “I had a good solid frame to work with ” says Risch “It has a big cheater plate that the wing lift rams are fixed to with two stops for the wings It is heavy-duty and easy to build from ” Once he had the seed box and its supports in place he began working downwards Whenever possible he worked with OEM parts like the adjuster and the two staggered rows of seed cups installed at the bottom of the seed box Rubber seed hoses run from the cups to a sleeved manifold that can be pulled away if the seed tubes plug and need to be cleaned out From the manifold seeds drop by gravity into a second set of tubes that each mate with OEM seed cup tubes for even distribution in the airflow across the width of the drill Risch added a sprocket to the ground drive for the air drill Roller chain connects it through a series of sprockets and shafts to the adjustors on the two rows of alfalfa seed cups The bottommost shaft has a cogged handle allowing the operator to disconnect the drive to the seed box when it’s not in use “I installed electric shutoffs on the uppermost cross shaft that drives the two rows of seed cups ” says Risch “They are wired to the right and left shutoffs on the air drill to ensure the alfalfa seed shuts off when the air drill does ” In its first full season of use the modified air drill planted more than 900 acres of alfalfa with a small grain nurse crop While it worked well the owner can see the need for some changes which Risch is already planning “In our part of Wisconsin they farm steep sidehills ” he explains “I may go with more of an upside-down pyramid shape to the box itself I’ll add baffles to keep seed from piling up on one end of the seed box on steep hillsides ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Luke Risch Nelson Wis
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