Kuhn has added some wide working models to its Optimer short disc harrow range, spanning 9.0m and 12m. We tucked the L9000 into varied dirt to see what it has to offer larger farming operations.

Kuhn has gradually expanded its short disc range, and its latest recruits are the wide working Optimer L9000 and L12000, which cover 9.0m and 12m on each respective pass. Like the other Kuhn Optimer models, these use either a 510mm diameter scalloped or serrated disc on a 16º angle and 6º pitch for working depths of 3-10cm.

The discs spin on maintenance-free bearings, have a 15cm spacing with their neighbour and rely on clamped rubber cord for overload protection. Clearance under the frame is 81cm so blockages shouldn’t be an issue.

Turning on the roller
When you get to the headland the cultivator is carried on the castor steering gauge wheels at the front and the rear roller, the road-going running gear remaining clear of the ground. The 400/60 x 15.5 gauge wheels and two rows of 600mm interlocking rigid U-section rings on the roller also control the discing depth in work.

Working depth is adjusted centrally at two points on the left-hand side of the machine. The first of these is on the front gauge wheel — a mechanical stop trips the valve on the hydraulic ram, telling it to stop. You don’t have to repeat this on the right gauge wheel, as both cylinders are synchronised — ideal.

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