Claydon depth control?

[Feldspar]

Because they are an unnecessary complication and expense. There are parallel linkages or bearings to grease or go wrong, or bend or break. I don't feel you need them because using a strip til or no til system you don't sink in or create unlevelness, so after the initial first year I feel independent coulters are unnecessary. It is my opinion, and if people don't agree they are free to buy a different drill rather than continually criticise the one they have.

Pretty much agree. If your fields are into a strip-till system and bear traffic well and are pretty level then a Claydon performs very well. My own experience is that the Mzuri will give a very even crop even when the field is a bit compacted and has undulations from combine wheelings / previous effects from imperfect cultivation, especially where the field was ploughed the previous year. You pay for that though in daily maintenance (lots of grease nipples) and metal costs.

 

[Jim Bullock]

Hi all got a 3m claydon sr great piece of kit got us onto the strip till ladder anyway. Does anyone else think that they need some form of depth control on them when drilling i remember thinking some were very deep 3/4 inches down and some were just rattling across the top, the crops planted deep are incredibly good where as the barely touching ones some are there but others didn't grow it was all planted cross over to the wheelings at 30 degrees ish but you can still see the difference between high spots and low just think if they all had individual depth control it would have been a very even crop. Is there a kit for the claydon apart from the bodged looking car tyres one?

Don't worry it will be much better next year...Just leave the soil alone and keep on direct-drilling...All your seed needs is soil contact to germinate (beans to OSR) We have a drill with on row depth control and a tined drill with next to no depth control...but come harvest there is no difference between the two other than the disc drill would now cost us in excess of £70,000 where as our tine drill cost just £1,100..!

 

[Clive]

Don't worry it will be much better next year...Just leave the soil alone and keep on direct-drilling...All your seed needs is soil contact to germinate (beans to OSR) We have a drill with on row depth control and a tined drill with next to no depth control...but come harvest there is no difference between the two other than the disc drill would now cost us in excess of £70,000 where as our tine drill cost just £1,100..!

Jim have you ever posted pics of your tine drill ? I reckon a few would be interested in what can be done without breaking the bank ?

 

[SilliamWhale]

Best use a trowel and hand dibbler then.

Well no, because my drill can do it at the same depth.

Its not even complicated to do. Cost £6k for 3m. Two grease nipples which need to be done about once a week in drilling season (they only pivot up and down a bit)

 

[Tractor Boy]

Well no, because my drill can do it at the same

Its not even complicated to do. Cost £6k for 3m. Two grease nipples which need to be done about once a week in drilling season (they only pivot up and down a bit)

To be honest I can see how coulter depth control is necessary on a disc drill, but really can't see it's needed on tines. As @Feldspar says there are trade offs with the tine drills which do have more complex systems.

 

[bald on top]

Have used a claydon hybrid drill for 3 years now on a variety of soil types, both at home and contracting,depth control not an issue as drill grades soil level with batter boards and harrows finishes job off to leave level, if combine wheelings visible drill at 30 degrees, the issue with independant depth control is the field will never be level as the coulters drop down ruts and ride over bumps, which also affects seeding depth, need more maintaince with a lot more moving parts to wear.

 

[Andrew K]

I have found that hydraulic depth maintained tine drills can smear pretty badly in wet going on our clays.
Sometimes a little give in the tine is a good thing for reducing that issue which is bad news for any seed trying to germinate in what amounts to a wet ditch.

 

[Harrison85]

Depth control for the Hybrid has never been a problem. In fact it is a great machine that grades as you drill, if you have ruts caused by wheeling's then these need to be addressed in the first year but the user will see benefits from soil structure over time that will hold the machines better and in turn will see less wheel markings.
Drilling at an angle to previous tramlines will help a lot in levelling the fields.


I am sure charlie@claydon would be happy to show any potential customer the "rut" and "contour" following video! A great eye opener for those concerned.

 

[ratchet spanner]

Hi all got a 3m claydon sr great piece of kit got us onto the strip till ladder anyway. Does anyone else think that they need some form of depth control on them when drilling i remember thinking some were very deep 3/4 inches down and some were just rattling across the top, the crops planted deep are incredibly good where as the barely touching ones some are there but others didn't grow it was all planted cross over to the wheelings at 30 degrees ish but you can still see the difference between high spots and low just think if they all had individual depth control it would have been a very even crop. Is there a kit for the claydon apart from the bodged looking car tyres one?

Hi all got a 3m claydon sr great piece of kit got us onto the strip till ladder anyway. Does anyone else think that they need some form of depth control on them when drilling i remember thinking some were very deep 3/4 inches down and some were just rattling across the top, the crops planted deep are incredibly good where as the barely touching ones some are there but others didn't grow it was all planted cross over to the wheelings at 30 degrees ish but you can still see the difference between high spots and low just think if they all had individual depth control it would have been a very even crop. Is there a kit for the claydon apart from the bodged looking car tyres one?

We are now into the 5th year of Claydon drilled crops on a variety of soils from black free draining loam with high stone content to heavy red clay that holds every raindrop .The first two years we used a 3mtr SR then bought a 4mtr Hybrid. As has been said by others on this thread once the ground is leveled there is no need for the added complication of contour following, the simplicity of the Claydon is one of the reasons we bought it. Our fields are now level and every operation from spraying to combining is a pleasure compared to following the plough and combi drill system we used to use. If we were using a contour following drill then I think the bumps and hollows would still be there.The drill does a good job of levelling the ground and if you have some deep tramlines in the first year then run the drill allong the worst of them not sowing before sowing the field at an angle to the tramlines.