Lemken learned quickly from customer feedback after prematurely launching the Solitair pneumatic drill in Germany during 1997. But the revised machine that followed took up successful field challenges in 1999, as our test reveals.
We tested the Solitair drill in combination with a trailed 6m wide Zirkon power harrow – an outfit which eliminates the need to use a front-mounted seed hopper, and one which also keeps implement weight and load off the backend of the tractor.
When Lemken introduced the trailed Zirkon KA power harrow at the 1997 Agritechnica show, it looked set to revolutionise the way power harrow drill combinations were used on tractors. The design of the harrow and its chassis allows the addition of a wide drill and a large seed hopper without overloading the rear of the tractor.
It is a significant improvement over mounting the hopper up front and the power harrow and coulter bar at the rear of the tractor. This accepted method is a combination that has not always proved ideal, and it also demands a tractor with a front linkage.
The Zirkon KA is attached to the tractor via a floating drawbar. This coupling system has the advantage of preventing the draft link rams, which are usually of a basic design, from jerking up as the tractor is travelling on bumpy roads. Checking the weight distribution on the 6m wide combination revealed that the drawbar hitch load was 1,520kg with an empty 2,300-litre hopper and also the same when the hopper was filled with 1,760kg wheat. Lemken has placed the hopper in a central location above the running gear to ensure that the static drawbar load is always the same. The empty combination tips the scales at 6,740kg and at 8,500kg with the seed hopper fully loaded.
We would recommend adding ballast to the tractor when working up slopes, because drawbar load may be too low in certain conditions to provide the tractor with enough grip.
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