Great Plains V300 Assembly Instructions User Manual
Page 22
Great Plains Mfg., Inc.
22
Opener Down Pressure Kit
148-771M
11/08/2006
the ground when the seed box is empty causing skips
and poor seed metering. Refer to the chart on the previ-
ous page for approximate force at the openers for a given
pressure setting.
4.
After the opener pressure is set, RETURN THE
TRACTOR REMOTE HYDRAULIC LEVER TO ITS
NEUTRAL POSITION. This “locks in” the previously
selected pressure and the opener frames remain in
a fixed position.
Note: On some tractors with very positive remote
hydraulic checks, a slight increase in the reading
on the pressure gauges may occur after the tractor
remote lever is returned to neutral. This is caused
by back pressure on the opener cylinders and
should be ignored. The NET OPERATING PRES-
SURE on the opener cylinders is maintained at the
pressure you selected while the tractor remote
lever was held forward–not at the “apparently
increased” pressure. Reactivating the tractor lever
forward will confirm this.
Each time the drill is lowered, hold the tractor remote
hydraulic lever forward for a few seconds to recharge the
circuit, then return it to its neutral position. The tractor
and drill should be on level ground when you return the
tractor lever to neutral.
The open center hydraulic kit allows the tractor operator
to momentarily operate the opener down pressure circuit
as an active circuit. When approaching a mound or valley
where active hydraulics is desirable, the tractor operator
can MOMENTARILY PUSH THE TRACTOR REMOTE
HYDRAULIC LEVER FORWARD which will allow the
opener frames to follow the uneven terrain with constant
opener down pressure. As soon as the drill returns to
level ground RETURN THE TRACTOR REMOTE
HYDRAULIC LEVER TO ITS NEUTRAL POSITION to
“lock in” the preset pressure once again. DO NOT acti-
vate the tractor remote hydraulic lever for more than 20
seconds at a time, once every 2 minutes. Always wait
until the tractor and drill are on level ground before
returning the tractor remote hydraulic lever to its neutral
position. The tractor remote hydraulic lever can be
momentarily bumped forward any time on level ground to
assure the preset pressure is correctly locked in and to
reset the system if it has not been operated for a long
period of time.
Note: The opener pressure setting controls the soil firm-
ing pressure on the press wheel as well as the disk
penetrating force. DO NOT use more opener down
pressure than necessary to obtain the desired
opener penetration and to maintain the proper
firming action over the seed. Set the planting
depth with the depth controlling press wheel and
only use enough opener pressure to cut the proper
seed groove and maintain the desired soil firming
action. Excessive opener force will lead to exces-
sive wear and damage of the opener components.
5.
After the opener pressure is set, opener depth
➀
is
controlled by the press wheel adjustment. Attached
to the rear of each opener is one of several optional
press wheels. The press wheels close the furrow
and gently press soil over the seed while also pro-
viding depth control for the opener. To adjust the
position of the press wheel, which automatically
changes the seeding depth of the opener, lift the “T”
handle located on top of the opener and slide it for-
ward
➁
or rearward
➂
until the seeding depth is
correct, as shown in Figure 2-10. Moving the handle
forward
➁
plants shallower while moving the handle
rearward
➂
plants deeper. A spring loaded pin
holds the “T” handle at the setting to maintain the
proper depth. Lift the opener frames slightly to take
the pressure off the “T” handles when adjusting the
press wheel depth.
6.
After opener down pressure is set, return tractor
hydraulic lever to neutral. This locks in the selected
pressure, and opener frames will remain fixed in this
position.
IMPORTANT !
Open-center tractors and tractors with fixed-dis-
placement pumps are not designed to provide a
continuous supply of pressurized oil to remote
valves. Locking hydraulic lever forward on these
tractors can cause overheating of hydraulic oil
and tractor damage. After setting opener down
pressure, always return hydraulic lever to neutral.
Figure 30
Opener Adjustment
15659
➀
➁
➂