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| I began working on putting the white seed meter on the early riser row unit about a year ago at this time and it took a while to decide on how to do it in an efficient manner. The first decision to make was which seed tube to use and after experimenting with both a john deere vac planter tube and finger pickup tube, the clear winner was the case 1200 seed tube. It does require some slight alteration on the sheet metal part of the row unit but it will fit in any 800-955 row unit with the modification. I had to use the 1200 seed shoe. Next was a way to support the seed meter above the 1200 seed tube and I decided for a bolt on frame that attached to the parallel link vertical sections on the row unit just as the original side rails mounted on units with insecticide boxes. This kept all weight off the sheet metal. It has to be accurate as the white seed meter is a precision machined die casting with a flat bottom and needs a flat even surface to be mounted to. The complicating factor was the use of 3 bushel boxes which made me make the tubular surround frames that provide side protection as well as support for the back of the hopper. Probably overkill. Lastly was the mounting of the direct drive hydraulic motor and drive coupler. The motors have splined shafts and the drive couplers are made to slide back and forth on the shafts to facilitate removal or disengagement. The motors are mounted in slightly oversized holes and I use a setting tool to get precise alignment with the seed meter and consequently have noticed virtually no wear between couplers. Someone commented on height of seed drop and I don't know exactly the length of the white seed tube vs. the 1200 seed tube but the drop is still less than the actual 1200 metering system as the seed release height is higher than with the white meter. The white meter by design edge drops the seed vs dropping it off the side of a flat disk. This is advantageous as the drop point is lower and if you notice the white seed tube is a lot like a finger pickup tube in that the top is very small. This indicates a narrower area of drop variance where the 1200 and john deere tube has a large funnel like top to catch the wide ranging seed travel from the drop area. The white simply drops seed a lot like the belt system of the finger pickup. I have always believed this to be the finger pickup's secret to accurate drop. All without the maintenance. The air fan requires very little power as well. I carefully placed the white meter to get on center drop of seed into the seed tube and the right front back placement. When I run the meter I get nearly centered seed flow through the sensor area with no seeds hitting the seed tube until fairly low in the tube. I hope this answers some of your questions. Feel free to ask away. | |
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Ultimate Planter Unit 2
