12m Avatar

[Nzed]

@ajd132 @Clive and anyone else who's used one, I was wondering how you are getting on with them? How much do the two 6m wings float with the contours? Do the coulters have as much up and down travel as a 750a? Is the down pressure and general drilling performance just as good as the smaller ones with the coulters under the tank? Any general comments for people that might be looking at this drill?
Thanks.

 

[Clive]

Getting on fine with it, have had no issues so far that I can think off, it's better than the 750a coulter in several aspects and a LOT less maintenance

No idea re comparison to a coulter under tank model and not used one

 

[Will Blackburn]

Getting on fine with it, have had no issues so far that I can think off, it's better than the 750a coulter in several aspects and a LOT less maintenance

No idea re comparison to a coulter under tank model and not used one

It is going to do double the area than your old bus to have the equivalent wear?

 

[Clive]

It is going to do double the area than your old bus to have the equivalent wear?

this is true and it only drilled about 50% of our wheat area this time as the front hopper C0 was the better choice when we got to December and very wet conditions

however it is a hell of a lot easier to work on (all coulters can be worked on or adjusted standing up without bending down !) and there are a lot less bushes etc on each coulter, what is there seems heavier engineering, calibration is a very easy one man job .......... only time will really tell I guess but my first impressions of it are excellent

 

[Nzed]

this is true and it only drilled about 50% of our wheat area this time as the front hopper C0 was the better choice when we got to December and very wet conditions

however it is a hell of a lot easier to work on (all coulters can be worked on or adjusted standing up without bending down !) and there are a lot less bushes etc on each coulter, what is there seems heavier engineering, calibration is a very easy one man job .......... only time will really tell I guess but my first impressions of it are excellent

It is very attractive price wise and simplicity wise. Looks a pleasure to hook up and work on etc. I wonder if they have thought of having a 9 m tool bar option for contours that might not handle 12? I think we would be fine with 12 on the whole but there could be a few fiddly dips that might be a pain. My other option is a 6m novag but it is much dearer and a completely different equation output wise. Does look good though

 

[Clive]

It is very attractive price wise and simplicity wise. Looks a pleasure to hook up and work on etc. I wonder if they have thought of having a 9 m tool bar option for contours that might not handle 12? I think we would be fine with 12 on the whole but there could be a few fiddly dips that might be a pain. My other option is a 6m novag but it is much dearer and a completely different equation output wise. Does look good though

We drilled some with the 4m novag demo drill this year - my best looking bit of wheat right now !

on heavier soil the Novag is the better drill but in lighter stuff (which is mostly what we farm) the Avatar does the job

 

[farenheit]

Who is the UK agent for novag would be good to talk to them.

 

[Virkardd]

We have had some very pleasing results with the Virkar Dynamic DC drill when it got wet the backend of last year we were still drilling winter wheat into some very wet ground and the crop all emerged fine.

The 35 cm of Coulter travel and the underframe clearance and Coulter stagger means we have drilled into some really thick cover crops with no issue.

The drill is pretty much maintenance free only one adjustment per Coulter is such a user friendly drill to operate

We have also found that on heavy ground with a lot of stones the Virkar has performed very well proving you do not need weight in a drill to get it in the ground and the slot closed.

Virkar have just launched the Virkar Dynamic D disc drill which again has a maintenance free Coulter only one adjustment. Per Coulter, you have the 35 cm of travel and on the move Coulter pressure control among many other unique features looks a very interesting drill which we look forward to getting one over and putting to work on our farms

 

[PSQ]

We have had some very pleasing results with the Virkar Dynamic DC drill when it got wet the backend of last year we were still drilling winter wheat into some very wet ground and the crop all emerged fine.

The 35 cm of Coulter travel and the underframe clearance and Coulter stagger means we have drilled into some really thick cover crops with no issue.

The drill is pretty much maintenance free only one adjustment per Coulter is such a user friendly drill to operate

We have also found that on heavy ground with a lot of stones the Virkar has performed very well proving you do not need weight in a drill to get it in the ground and the slot closed.

Virkar have just launched the Virkar Dynamic D disc drill which again has a maintenance free Coulter only one adjustment. Per Coulter, you have the 35 cm of travel and on the move Coulter pressure control among many other unique features looks a very interesting drill which we look forward to getting one over and putting to work on our farms

I’m sure it’s a very capable drill, but can we keep on topic without every drill manufacturer shoe horning in a blatant plug and hijacking the thread?

Now, Horsch Avatar drills, where were we?

 

[ajd132]

It’s good, really easy to work on and simple. Well built, it will be here for 15-20 years. We can generally pull it with 250hp but last winter in the slop we needed more, but that may have been a weight thing.

 

[jh.]

I’m sure it’s a very capable drill, but can we keep on topic without every drill manufacturer shoe horning in a blatant plug and hijacking the thread?

Now, Horsch Avatar drills, where were we?

Should that comment not come from the OP ? . If i had a topic and manufacturers/dealers came on with options , I would appreciate that

 

[PSQ]

Should that comment not come from the OP ? . If i had a topic and manufacturers/dealers came on with options , I would appreciate that

Perhaps, but if that was the case it would have been titled ‘12m Avatar, and anyone else who wants to shamelessly hijack the thread to wh0re their wares’. But it isn’t.
I’m sure a lot of us are genuinely interested in the Avatar, let’s not dilute the thread with lots of spurious yad about random drills.

@Nzed it’s your call.

 

[Simon Chiles]

Who is the UK agent for novag would be good to talk to them.

@Clive is the UK agent for the Novag drill!!

 

[Clive]

@Clive is the UK agent for the Novag drill!!

no i’m not

they are a customer however just like JD, Horsch, Claydon, Mzuri, Sumo, Mconnell, Vikar, Dale, Tsem, weaving, sly, horizon, bednar, kuhn, sulky ............... and just a bit every other uk drill manufacturer!

 

[Clive]

Who is the UK agent for novag would be good to talk to them.

they don’t have a uk agent - they sell direct from the factory to keep costs as low as possible

 

[Nzed]

Perhaps, but if that was the case it would have been titled ‘12m Avatar, and anyone else who wants to shamelessly hijack the thread to wh0re their wares’. But it isn’t.
I’m sure a lot of us are genuinely interested in the Avatar, let’s not dilute the thread with lots of spurious yad about random drills.

@Nzed it’s your call.

Perhaps, but if that was the case it would have been titled ‘12m Avatar, and anyone else who wants to shamelessly hijack the thread to wh0re their wares’. But it isn’t.
I’m sure a lot of us are genuinely interested in the Avatar, let’s not dilute the thread with lots of spurious yad about random drills.

@Nzed it’s your call.

I'm with you @PSQ The photos of the virkar do look interesting but I'm really after feedback on the 12m Avatar

 

[Simon Chiles]

@ajd132 @Clive and anyone else who's used one, I was wondering how you are getting on with them? How much do the two 6m wings float with the contours? Do the coulters have as much up and down travel as a 750a? Is the down pressure and general drilling performance just as good as the smaller ones with the coulters under the tank? Any general comments for people that might be looking at this drill?
Thanks.

I wouldn’t know how much the wings float with the ground contours but the Avatar definitely doesn’t have the individual coulter travel that a 750 does. For some this is critical, others on more level fields it’s less so. There is no denying the fact that an Avatar’s hopper(s) and metering units are superior to a 750 in its ease of operation and flexibility. However someone contacted me who had had the Avatar, 750 and Weaving GD on demo all at the same time and whilst he really liked the design of the Avatar and was very seriously tempted to buy one he actually bought the 750 because he said the emergence was easily the best of them all. To be fair @Clive is comparing the Avatar with the JD 90 series opener, the pro series is a significant improvement in seed placement and slot closure over the old design. The only way you’re really going to determine whether the Avatar is suitable for you is to have a demo, failing that go and see several operators and their crops.

 

[Nzed]

I wouldn’t know how much the wings float with the ground contours but the Avatar definitely doesn’t have the individual coulter travel that a 750 does. For some this is critical, others on more level fields it’s less so. There is no denying the fact that an Avatar’s hopper(s) and metering units are superior to a 750 in its ease of operation and flexibility. However someone contacted me who had had the Avatar, 750 and Weaving GD on demo all at the same time and whilst he really liked the design of the Avatar and was very seriously tempted to buy one he actually bought the 750 because he said the emergence was easily the best of them all. To be fair @Clive is comparing the Avatar with the JD 90 series opener, the pro series is a significant improvement in seed placement and slot closure over the old design. The only way you’re really going to determine whether the Avatar is suitable for you is to have a demo, failing that go and see several operators and their crops.

Thanks Simon, I am going to see some avatar owners soon. However, I am quite comfortable that the 750a and hopefully avatar opener is very well proven and would go well in our soils. As much as anything I am interested in wether the 12 m toolbar and the way the coulters are mounted give the same drilling performance as the smaller models

 

[Andrew K]

Thanks Simon, I am going to see some avatar owners soon. However, I am quite comfortable that the 750a and hopefully avatar opener is very well proven and would go well in our soils. As much as anything I am interested in wether the 12 m toolbar and the way the coulters are mounted give the same drilling performance as the smaller models

Which part of NZ are you in, Canterbury Plain?

 

[Banana Bar]

New design 750a been working in Essex for a few months. Very hush hush but I would be surprised if it’s not available in much wider widths, better metering and at least 2 hoppers.

BB