Kuhn had a Sd300 at the recent tillage event not working of course. It certainly looked fit for purpose but was grain only, does it or as it been available with fert option ?,tank certainly looks big enough to be split.Tried to speak to reps but they were far to busy showing how to burn gallons of diesel with the new solo copy and heavy weight ploughs !
Simtech drill
- Thread starter ace
- Start date
Dan Powell
Member
- Location
- Shropshire
We just bought a 3 metre pneumatic T-Sem with 20 coulters. Going well so far, but not entirely problem free:
On very stony land, the back row of tines can vibrate so much they catch the roller and mash the seed pipe vents - planning a mod to deal with this. Have to go pretty slowly to stop this being an issue (sub 5 mph).
The discs do help with trash flow but when you do block the drill it blocks between the discs and the coulters and makes it very difficult to clear as you have to crawl under the machine and tease the stuff out. It would be better if there was a bigger gap there. BUT the 16 row machine probably has much better trash flow to be fair. We went for 20 rows for grassland work. Also anything attached to the ground or chopped and spread well is fine. It only blocks when you hit a big lump of something like straw missed by a baler etc. Drilling the headlands first helps as you avoid having to drill through a line of trash where you drop the drill in and out. Didn't think I needed a rake, but it may be a wise investment.
Other wise the drill creates good tilth, and places seed well. The sulky hopper is very accurate and the drill is very very easy to pull. We use a 125 hp JD6430 which is on top of the job. Need weights on the front though for balance.
Haven't tried min-till work yet, only DD.
On very stony land, the back row of tines can vibrate so much they catch the roller and mash the seed pipe vents - planning a mod to deal with this. Have to go pretty slowly to stop this being an issue (sub 5 mph).
The discs do help with trash flow but when you do block the drill it blocks between the discs and the coulters and makes it very difficult to clear as you have to crawl under the machine and tease the stuff out. It would be better if there was a bigger gap there. BUT the 16 row machine probably has much better trash flow to be fair. We went for 20 rows for grassland work. Also anything attached to the ground or chopped and spread well is fine. It only blocks when you hit a big lump of something like straw missed by a baler etc. Drilling the headlands first helps as you avoid having to drill through a line of trash where you drop the drill in and out. Didn't think I needed a rake, but it may be a wise investment.
Other wise the drill creates good tilth, and places seed well. The sulky hopper is very accurate and the drill is very very easy to pull. We use a 125 hp JD6430 which is on top of the job. Need weights on the front though for balance.
Haven't tried min-till work yet, only DD.
- Location
- Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
Dan Powell
Member
- Location
- Shropshire
I'm sure George or Simon at Simtech will give you the price - they're good people to deal with. Mine was more than a Dale MTD but a lot less than a Claydon/Mzuri/Sumo.
marco
Member
- Location
- tipperary, ireland
I'm sorry jim but i really had to laugh at that post. Small and 740 acres really are not the same thing. why not buy the sim tech, run the kuhn early in the season when things are dry and change to the sim tech when things are a bit sticky and also possibly for osr. Or even running both drills together if you get some help. What exactly is stopping you?
- Location
- Nr Malvern... SW Worcestershire
I don't think the SD drills have ever been offered with a fertiliser option although ours has two inlets into the seeding coulter..(We are mixing seed and fertiliser together and putting it down the seed tube) There are one or two Kuhn UK people interested in the SD but I have to say as a company it is not a product high on its agenda...a totally different matter if you speak to some of their reps in parts of France, Spain or even Germany.
The SD is a very good product but probably suffers from some "politics" within the company..
- Location
- Nr Malvern... SW Worcestershire
Marco
Its not really a matter of size more a matter of output and the cost of achieving that output. We are surrounded by a lot of very wealthy farmers able to pay rents way beyond any normal farmer would even contemplate paying, which puts us into a disadvantaged position before we even get into the starting blocks, then we are farming quite a lot of pretty crap land (poorly drained with masses of public access) which combined with some very greedy land agents and owners only wanting us to have it on a short term (sometimes annual) basis makes the incentive to invest long term is very minimal (hence my interest in fertiliser placement and lime products such as Clacifert). I have to make all investment decisions on what happens if I do not have this land next year..?
Sounds familiar Jim ! I reckon its a situation that many are in however myself included. Land dies come and gi for sell sorts of reasons but I don't let that stop me investing in the tight tools for the job. I look very carefully fir machinery that I think I could easy sell at any time without loosing my shirt on it, this helps me sleep at nights knowing my money is safe
When it comes to nutrition though I'm with you 100% and willing to invest much more into land we own than land we rent, short term agreements as recommended by all the clever agents are destroying landlords best asset IMO, they are not being advised well
Hartwig
Member
- Location
- Scheggerott, Germany
How do the cutting discs perform, especially as you have stony land ?? Do they have stone protection and how are they set up ??
Just for curiousity as I need to pimp my drill with the GEN-coulters to add leading discs to cut residue and make them less disturbing....
- Location
- Nr Malvern... SW Worcestershire
Simon Clarke has recently posted a video of the Simtech 8 meter drill..
- Location
- Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
Now that looks one seriously impressive drill!
I must admit, I didn't realise you could have the opening discs AND the front consolidation press wheels on - I though it was either or when I was researching on the website.
Serious contender to be my next drill!
(Not sure I need the 8m version though!
)- Location
- Lincolnshire
Will it cope with a heap of straw left by the baler man?
- Location
- Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
Will anything?!
ianw
Member
- Location
- east yorkshire
Swan vesta will,sorry for using the "p" word in dd,but even they tend to just flick a big heap straight back on top
- Location
- Nr Malvern... SW Worcestershire
Perhaps you need the 4.8 meter optionNow that looks one seriously impressive drill!
I must admit, I didn't realise you could have the opening discs AND the front consolidation press wheels on - I though it was either or when I was researching on the website.
Serious contender to be my next drill!
(Not sure I need the 8m version though!
Dan Powell
Member
- Location
- Shropshire
They are spring loaded and mounted in pairs. You only need to run them deep enough to cut the surface residue so stones not a massive problem. Not sure how much they would reduce the disturbance on your Horsch set-up. The field looks lightly cultivated behind my Simtech....
I have often thought the same
Rear packer also looks like it could be a nightmare in wet soil ?
Hammer
Member
- Location
- South Norfolk
Now that looks one seriously impressive drill!
I must admit, I didn't realise you could have the opening discs AND the front consolidation press wheels on - I though it was either or when I was researching on the website.
(Not sure I need the 8m version though!
Do you think maybe it has to have the front press wheels on it on this trailed version in order to control seeding depth?