Dale drills

[Howdenshire Farmer]

Any good in the wet or do the press wheels block up?

 

[Andrew K]

@Against_the_grain

 

[TurfWoody]

We have ran a 6m Eco L for the last 18 months, drilling in some very wet conditions. The press wheels very rarely block.
I would say the Dale has coped better drilling in wet conditions than the Weaving Sabre tine we had before.

 

[Against_the_grain]

Primary reason we brought one was to run in wetter conditions. Does go when other drills won't but still can leave a bit of compaction on wet soils where the main wheels run and if its wet afterwards these wheel marks won't do very well. New press wheels are better than the guttlers. Havent had them block yet. No fear of getting stuck as you just lift the tines out of work and you only have the transport wheels to pull. Tine adjustment is a bit of a pain but better on the new ones. Difficult to get them all the same depth we find.
Great output though easy enough to do 100acres a day with 8m on 300hp. 3.5t seed tank in ours. Split fert seed of required. Really good drill for dd as well as ploughing/mon till. Very versatile but perhaps a little less refined than a vaddy/horsch.

 

[farenheit]

Primary reason we brought one was to run in wetter conditions. Does go when other drills won't but still can leave a bit of compaction on wet soils where the main wheels run and if its wet afterwards these wheel marks won't do very well. New press wheels are better than the guttlers. Havent had them block yet. No fear of getting stuck as you just lift the tines out of work and you only have the transport wheels to pull. Tine adjustment is a bit of a pain but better on the new ones. Difficult to get them all the same depth we find.
Great output though easy enough to do 100acres a day with 8m on 300hp. 3.5t seed tank in ours. Split fert seed of required. Really good drill for dd as well as ploughing/mon till. Very versatile but perhaps a little less refined than a vaddy/horsch.

You should be doing 250 acres a day with 8m!.

 

[Clive]

You should be doing 250 acres a day with 8m!.

we had a 9m years ago and 125 ac was a good day, had to keep speed low or it threw our soils meaning a lot of disturbance ( we ran it on a 200hp tractor)

in the same fields our 12m disc drill can do 250 ac plus in a good day (240hp)

 

[db9go]

we had a 9m years ago and 125 ac was a good day, had to keep speed low or it threw our soils meaning a lot of disturbance ( we ran it on a 200hp tractor)

in the same fields our 12m disc drill can do 250 ac plus in a good day (240hp)

What row spacing

 

[Howdenshire Farmer]

Primary reason we brought one was to run in wetter conditions. Does go when other drills won't but still can leave a bit of compaction on wet soils where the main wheels run and if its wet afterwards these wheel marks won't do very well. New press wheels are better than the guttlers. Havent had them block yet. No fear of getting stuck as you just lift the tines out of work and you only have the transport wheels to pull. Tine adjustment is a bit of a pain but better on the new ones. Difficult to get them all the same depth we find.
Great output though easy enough to do 100acres a day with 8m on 300hp. 3.5t seed tank in ours. Split fert seed of required. Really good drill for dd as well as ploughing/mon till. Very versatile but perhaps a little less refined than a vaddy/horsch.

Thanks. How fast did you go with it?

 

[Clive]

What row spacing

can’t recall to be honest, it was over 10 years ago now

 

[l'ordinary bonville]

I have a new 8m on 240hp. Tractor power is no issue but occasionally in damp conditions grip might be. I'm on heavy clay mans land.
At 8k you're doing 6.4ha/hr in a straight line. I've done 230 acres in 24 hours. I deliberately keep the speed down to reduce soil throw.
Tines are 12.5cm spacing. It hasn't bunged up due to the wet yet and ive been through a few wet spots that i wouldnt have dared with anything else.
I have Avadex applicator and slug pelleter on the drill
Likes
Simple, wide, slow, it will penetrate hard surface compaction, low disturbance compared to previous min till, leaves a friable zone for the seed
Easy to fill hopper
Can get a lot done in a day
No hairpinning
It will help level the fields
I've cut out a lot of time, metal and diesel usage

Dislikes
Difficult to control seed depth (ive sown too deep despite multiple adjustments)
Difficult to control seed depth if parts of the field are cultivated like headlands. It pushes seed deeper as the press wheels sink in a bit
Difficult to adjust seed depth without climbing all over the machine (no good with a bad back)
Difficult to set seed depth on loose ground as pressure needs to be high enough to push into wheel tracks but this pushes the other coulters in more
Coulter spacing could do with being a tad wider. I havent tried the 25cm setting though
Transport wheels are after the coulters on the L model, ok unless wet on the surface
Cannot cope with a trashy weedy stubble and acts like a big rake. Hope to not have this issue again though
Not yet talking to isobus on tractor terminal so variable rate prescriptions and section control not yet working
Collects string, old chains, bits of metal for fun.
Brings stones to the surface, though we collect if slug pelleting after

Suggested improvements
Wider spacing
Easier depth control and differential pressure control to different coulters, ie. behind wheels
Bigger press wheel that doesn't sink in on loose cultivated soil

I couldn't go straight to a disc drill in one step from min till so this should be right for at least 5 years.
There looks to be more dislikes than likes but that's not the case. As with anything new I'm still learning

 

[JD6920s]

can’t recall to be honest, it was over 10 years ago now

Never! where’s the time gone, it can’t be surely!!