Converting drill for direct drilling.

[5312]

Just bought a cheap Accord DL 4m drill to convert for direct drilling. I have only ever used a drill for 2 days in NZ and that was a 40 year old Gallagher, so some of my questions may be a bit stupid!

Have been using a contractor to do our direct drilling but he never turns up when conditions are right and crops have suffered.

The drill currently has 32 vibroflex tines. I was thinking to cut that down to 13 over 4m or 10 over 3m,one reason to cut the costs of the conversion but also to increase the weight acting on each tine. I have read on here that yield is not affected by wider rows. I can always go over the ground again at different angles if necessary.

I need to put discs in front of each tine, any ideas of where to source complete assemblies?

With tines in front, would the existing tines be strong enough?

Are there any narrow openers that will fit on the existing tines?

If the existing tines are not up to the job, which tines and openers would be best to use? I was thinking Simba Free flow tines and Metcalfe openers but I would prefer Simtech ones if that was possible. Or would Duncan ones be better. Open to any suggestions .

Thanks in advance.

 

[Clive]

Would the Dale Simba freeflow conversion tines maybe fit ?

Frame will need beefing up a bit as well

 

[5312]

Would the Dale Simba freeflow conversion tines maybe fit ?

Frame will need beefing up a bit as well

Yes, I was thinking the frame might need strengthening but was not sure if the number of tines was cut right down.

Will look at the Dale ones.

 

[spin cycle]

they arn't vibroflex tines.....just triple k tines

can't see how you're going to get strength/wt....unless you mount drill hopper plus coulters on a set of discs perhaps

fascinated to see if you succeed

 

[Pigless]

Try looking at taegue drill points from NZ, it's a very narrow point which may not need a heavier tyne

 

[5312]

I should have mentioned that I don't really intend drilling anything much deeper than about 25mm if possible.

 

[spin cycle]

I should have mentioned that I don't really intend drilling anything much deeper than about 25mm if possible.

i know diddly squat about dd....but those tines will snap for fun i reckon...unless you put a straight tip on perhaps....even then

 

[5312]

i know diddly squat about dd....but those tines will snap for fun i reckon...unless you put a straight tip on perhaps....even then

I always assumed that I would have to change the tynes, just thought it best to check with others who know more than me ☺

 

[clbarclay]

Use a heavy tine cultivator as a base and put the accord hopper on top. One you would could use for primary cultivation.

I used a 1" pigtail tine cultivator as the base for my tine drill, fitted with borgault knife openers and I break tines occasionaly. When I have used up the supply of spare tines I might change it to 30mm pig tail tines.

The drills with tine spacings of 300mm or more tend to be fitted with paired or band coulters for drilling cereals. 250mm seems to be the about the practical limit for narrow openers. I have stuck with around 200mm row spacing on 19mm points.

 

[nick...]

Surely direct drills need to weigh alot to get penetration.the drill pictured would barely scratch the surface here.will watch with interest though
Nick...

 

[clbarclay]

Surely direct drills need to weigh alot to get penetration.the drill pictured would barely scratch the surface here.will watch with interest though
Nick...

Tine drills will need some weight, but nowhere near as much as some disc drills do. I did struggle for penetration once, but thet was with horribly worn rounded points (I tend to use tungsten points now despite farming on clay soils.) and the 1" pig tail tines were just bending back and up under the extra weight of a trailed drill.

 

[5312]

Surely direct drills need to weigh alot to get penetration.the drill pictured would barely scratch the surface here.will watch with interest though
Nick...

That was one of the reasons for cutting down on the number of tines.

How much weight would be advisable per tine.

Weight is fairly easy to add

 

[mikep]

Buy an old Bettinson. The rollers rot so they give the drills away. Cut off the seed box and mount your accord on top job done.

 

[lostdog]

We have a load of used simba tines you could buy very reasonably from us. No longer required as we switched to simtech tine and points. Pm if your interested.

If you do find a disc to run in front of your tines do share on here as we are looking at doing the same this winter. Good luck

 

[Shropshire Farmer]

Buy an old Horsch co

 

[nick...]

I’m sure you would want to run a disc in front of any tine on a direct drill to cut through the trash
Nick...

 

[Badshot]

Tines are fine, if very well spaced out.
Otherwise they make a good rake

 

[mikep]

Tines are fine, if very well spaced out.
Otherwise they make a good rake

Not in 'one lump or two' soils like silty clays. Either slime or slab with bugger all in-between.

 

[5312]

I have been speaking to Taege drills in NZ, their 12mm boots fit on 45 x 12 S tines and they are adamant that a cutting tine in front is not needed. Which is good

 

[dano]

I have been speaking to Taege drills in NZ, their 12mm boots fit on 45 x 12 S tines and they are adamant that a cutting tine in front is not needed. Which is good

I used the same Taege clamp on boots and points you are talking about on some Bareco 'S Tines ' a few years ago, the reason I liked them was that I need more ground clearance so I was able to cut 3 inches of the bottom of the tine.
They are a great point and boot setup and the the points are fairly cheap to replace.