# Best no till drill in heavy trash



## farmguy (Sep 15, 2015)

I winter graze sorghum sudan and this year there will be heavy trash come spring. What is the best and worst no till drills for heavy trash? I have rented the county haybuster drill and liked it but this year we are looking to buy and the trash will be heavier. Thanks Farmguy


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

Deere 1590. Single disk opener. Excellent depth control. Requires closed center hydraulic system on tractor although there is an optional open center kit you can put on the drill if needed. Down pressure is easily adjustable. Very versatile drill.


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## Lewis Ranch (Jul 15, 2013)

Can't say I have a whole lot of experience in heavy residue but I planted lots of grown up pasture this year with a new Great Plains and got absolutely great stands.


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

Been looking at a 750 Deere for our farm. Seems to be the top of the line in no-till drills. Also looking closely at a Sunflower NoTill drill.


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

I really thought that the BIL's Case IH 5200 drill with coulter cart did a great job with soybeans... running no till in corn stalks and stover. Always had a good stand...

Later! OL JR


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

Bonfire said:


> Deere 1590. Single disk opener. Excellent depth control. Requires closed center hydraulic system on tractor although there is an optional open center kit you can put on the drill if needed. Down pressure is easily adjustable. Very versatile drill.


Why does it require closed center hydraulics? Doesn't it just have a cylinder for lifting the planter? That shouldn't matter if its closed or open center. What am I missing?


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

PaMike said:


> Why does it require closed center hydraulics? Doesn't it just have a cylinder for lifting the planter? That shouldn't matter if its closed or open center. What am I missing?


Down Pressure.

Regards, Mike


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

PaMike said:


> Why does it require closed center hydraulics? Doesn't it just have a cylinder for lifting the planter? That shouldn't matter if its closed or open center. What am I missing?


Downforce uses tractor hydraulics. I switch my SCV over to the hydraulic motor/gears position and engage lever. The drill has a green, yellow, red zoned pressure guage. If you want more downforce, just turn the valve on the drill and watch the needle.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

Boy, still not able to visualize how that works..

So the remote valve is actuated when planting and not in neutral?


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

PaMike said:


> Boy, still not able to visualize how that works..
> So the remote valve is actuated when planting and not in neutral?


Correct.


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

I have a JD 1590 and have been pleased with it but I don't have a lot of experience in drilling through heavy residue. In hard ground the hydraulic down pressure is great for penetrating and the depth control is very good and easy to adjust. One thing I have found in the few times I have drilled into somewhat thick residue of straw or dead grass is that the residue needs to be dry for the opener disc to cut through it and not just pinch it into the seed slot......this may be true for other drills as well.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

JD 1590 works well around here. Most people have either that one or a Kinzie(?).

Ralph


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

The monitor seems awful pricey on the 1590 on the JD build site....do you 1590 owners think it's worth the money?

Regards, Mike


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## Jharn57600 (Dec 23, 2013)

We run our 1590 (with the open center kit) with older Case tractors with open center hydraulics. The cylinder on the drill rotates the toolbars that the openers are mounted on. By regulating the pressure in the cylinder, you regulate how much the down pressure springs on each opener are compressed. It is a simple valve on the drill to change to switch between open and closed center. In the open center position you return the tractor valve to neutral after applying down pressure (the adjustable valve on the drill regulates it). If the ground is uneven, like crossing a swale or terrace, I will briefly engage the lever so that down pressure is maintained as the the carrying wheels of the drill can bridge a depression. Closed center with pressure from the tractor down pressure is maintained no matter the terrain.
https://goo.gl/photos/3ByoSjKdHpkfHtFv9


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Vol said:


> The monitor seems awful pricey on the 1590 on the JD build site....do you 1590 owners think it's worth the money?
> 
> Regards, Mike


 Mike, I don't have a monitor on mine and don't really see the need for one on a drill. My understanding when I bought the drill was that the only thing the monitor was used for on the drill is they put sensors on the seed tubes and the monitor will let you know if a tube stops up or runs out of seed.....I can visually watch for that accurate enough. The dealer said the only people that were using the monitor with the drill were the one that already had the monitor for a newer planter and all they had to do was add the sensors to the drill.


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## Jharn57600 (Dec 23, 2013)

We don't have a monitor, but if you have the tubes in from the small seed box, it is more difficult to see the seed flowing from the meters.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Bonfire said:


> Downforce uses tractor hydraulics. I switch my SCV over to the hydraulic motor/gears position and engage lever. The drill has a green, yellow, red zoned pressure guage. If you want more downforce, just turn the valve on the drill and watch the needle.


Turbo tills do the same thing on their wings to transfer main frame weight to the wings.


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

luke strawwalker said:


> I really thought that the BIL's Case IH 5200 drill with coulter cart did a great job with soybeans... running no till in corn stalks and stover. Always had a good stand...Later! OL JR


If I remember correctly, the 5200 with coulter cart was a 15" spacing. A bit wide for sorghum/sudan.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

We do not have a monitor on our 1590 drill you have good visibility of the C cups from the tractor we put a back up camera on the planter tractor to watch the seed in a seed cups. We did not have row markers on our planter we use a GPS in the planter tractor for guidance . We also have a phone marker on the drill in the event the GPS loses signal. There are several hitch options on the John Deere drills on our rolling terrain the drawbar dolly wheel hitch works best.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

endrow, do you have issues with the dolly wheels sinking in wet ground? Have been advised for up here to get the 2 pt. hitch due to our ground. Can't wait to have one.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

stack em up said:


> If I remember correctly, the 5200 with coulter cart was a 15" spacing. A bit wide for sorghum/sudan.


Could be, we always planted our sorghum in 15" rows but that was grain.


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

stack em up said:


> If I remember correctly, the 5200 with coulter cart was a 15" spacing. A bit wide for sorghum/sudan.


If you got the "Soybean Special"... those had "early riser" type ground units with the drill box and meters above...

The regular drills were 7.5 inch spacing-- 23 rows for a 15 foot drill...

His was the regular drill...

Later! OL JR


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

luke strawwalker said:


> If you got the "Soybean Special"... those had "early riser" type ground units with the drill box and meters above...The regular drills were 7.5 inch spacing-- 23 rows for a 15 foot drill...His was the regular drill...Later! OL JR


I thought all CIH 5200 drills with the coulter cart were 15". Guess I was wrong yet again.


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## Colby (Mar 5, 2012)

Our 1590 went through some thick stuff this fall. Planted about 50 acres in old growth Bahia grass that was dead and matted up. Oats came through good.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

endrow said:


> We do not have a monitor on our 1590 drill you have good visibility of the C cups from the tractor we put a back up camera on the planter tractor to watch the seed in a seed cups. We did not have row markers on our planter we use a GPS in the planter tractor for guidance . We also have a phone marker on the drill in the event the GPS loses signal. There are several hitch options on the John Deere drills on our rolling terrain the drawbar dolly wheel hitch works best.


Do you have issues with the dolly wheels sinking in wet ground? Have been advised for up here to get the 2 pt. hitch due to our ground. Can't wait to have one.


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

stack em up said:


> I thought all CIH 5200 drills with the coulter cart were 15". Guess I was wrong yet again.


You COULD get them that way; that was the "Soybean Special"... which IIRC was "early riser" row units under the drill box and meters rather than the standard double-disk opener and single narrow press wheel.

The one I ran for my BIL the last few years til he traded it on a 12/23 row 15 inch Deere bean planter was 15 foot wide, 23 rows on 7.5 inch spacing. Coulter cart had double-row bar with 23 coulters staggered out on 15 inch centers for trash clearance. Worked great.

Kinda miss the old girl, and you had to be careful around wet holes, but she planted great... Can't say I blame Chuck for moving up to the Deere 12/23 row... 15 inch beans have advantages (airflow, less disease/white mold, etc) and of course air planter disks are going to be a heck of a lot more accurate than fluted drill meters... easier on the beans too... seed savings can add up fairly quick. Better, more uniform population control and stand helps too. Planter units with double guage wheels and closing wheels make sure that seed is planted into the ground about as accurately as it can be, versus double-disk drill openers and a single press wheel...

Still, it was a HECK of a lot easier to fill and it was nice to be able to keep going with all that seed in the box versus the individual planter boxes... even the 3 bushel boxes on the 12/23...

Later! OL JR


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

We did not have a lot of problems with a dolly wheel sinking in on our farm in wet ground. We have had several no till drill over the years keep in mind if you go with two point option or if you just eliminate dolly wheel you will need a massive tractor with a massive hitch. When fully loaded these girls are very heavy and I think the dolly will helps you to be able to operate the drill with a little bit smaller tractor if that's an issue for you


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