With harvest wrapped up early, you might just have gained some time to give your
seed drill a fettle … to make the autumn sowing campaign go that little bit smoother. Here we provide some inspiration from your fellow profi readers. 

Whether a machine has been on the farm for several seasons or has only just arrived, there is almost always some potential to make a few tweaks so it better suits your particular needs. Such mods can be as simple as a well-positioned grab handle or a bigger project converting a combi drill for solo use, as we can see from the ideas submitted by our readers. If you have an idea, we’d love to hear from you.

Andreas Holzhammer

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SAFER HOME

To better protect the electric control box for the tramline shut-off system, the markers and low-level alarm from the elements, this reader moved it into the seed hopper. He grouped the wires in an IP65-rated junction box, fitting blanking plugs to allow for future additions. According to him, the box is mounted up high enough so that it won’t be buried by seed — not even when the hopper is full.

KEEPING COUNT

This machine owner fitted a bale counter to his mechanical seed drill for calibration testing. The counter is tripped by a screw he inserted in the crank each time it completes a turn.

HYDRAULIC FOLDING

The side plates on this 6.0m power harrow have been modified so they can be folded up hydraulically when drilling along field edges, to help prevent blockages.

EYES TO THE REAR

A reversing camera on the lid of the seed hopper of this pneumatic drill combination shows what is happening behind. With a 13-pin socket at the rear of the tractor and another on the camera lead, it can be quickly connected. The camera bracket is made from two steel bars sourced from a DIY store, protecting the lid from scratches by fitting a strip of foam underneath the base. The set-up not only gives a clear view behind the drill, but also of the following harrow, allowing you to spot any blockages early.

STOP TO PREVENT LOSSES

This reader made a stop for the landwheel on his mechanical Maschio seed drill. When the drill is lifted, the wheel rests on the stop instead of continue to spin during the headland turn, saving seed.

LIGHT INSIDE

This front hopper has gained some interior illumination using two outline marker lights. The power is sourced from the parking light. He also fitted two cameras to the outside of the front hopper to give a better view of crossing traffic.

MORE ILLUMINATION, BETTER VISIBILITY

For a better view of the coulters and the area behind this combi drill the owner has fitted work lights to the seed hopper and the step. He also installed a camera and two lights inside the hopper so he can monitor the seed level during work. For extra safety after dark, he also added side marker lights alongside the rear lights.

LOADS OF ILLUMINATION, LITTLE POWER

This reader retrofitted work lights to his Lemken Saphir combi drill. The two on the rear handrail illuminate the area behind the machine while another on each side of the seed hopper lid light up the area in front of and beside the power harrow. These lights are also useful to confirm you are matching up accurately with the previous pass. They also illuminate the seed hopper when the lid is open.

The clever bit is that each of the four compact LED work lights draw just 12W. According to the owner, the combined power consumption is low enough that they can be powered by the machine’s existing electrical system. That means they can be switched from the drill’s control terminal without requiring any extra wiring.

LIGHT AS A FEATHER

Added suspension springs transfer some of the mounted drill’s weight onto the power harrow and packer roller. This improves reconsolidation while reducing the load on the drill’s wheels.

GRAB HANDLES WHERE THEY MATTER

Additional grab handles on both sides of the seed hopper on his Lemken Saphir increase operator safety when climbing on and off.

BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY

This reader secured the seed-collecting tray on his Lemken Saphir with a common tarp tie-down bungee. In his view, the standard metal retainer wasn’t secure enough in his stony soils.

MOUNTED DRILL USED SOLO

Over the past few years, spring conditions were often too wet for combi drilling. With this in mind, our reader modified his Kuhn Integra drill so it could be operated without the power harrow as a solo sower. To do this, he moved the original clamped mounting elements that attach the drill to the power harrow as far as possible to the centre of the machine. He then machined suitable pins to carry the lower-link balls and also fabricated a matching bracket for the top link. 

Instead of using wheels or a roller for depth control, he added a U-beam that can be adjusted by refitting pins in hole patterns. The lower links rest on this beam when in the working position, providing height control. To ensure there is still enough loose soil in the wheelings, he also fitted a hydraulically adjustable levelling board.