GT 1006 No-Till Drill Questions

About a month or so ago I traded for this 10ft GT 1006 no-till drill, It seams to be in really good shape and been taken care of and dose not seam to have been used all that much. I have the book for it and have been reading it and going over the drill figuring things out. I guess I need to ask for some tips on how to use it, And any don't do this type of things. I have never used a no-till drill before so this is all new to me. My ground is mostly flat and plan on pulling it with my Oliver 1550 diesel (54 hp) and it should have enough power to pull it. So is there anyone out there with one using it that could give me some insights? Bandit

Banditfarmer I have a Moore which is the name of the company that builds them. What do you want to know as I have had one for 8-10 yrs now. They aren"t the best in cornstalksbut once you get the coulters adjusted for depth and the planter level it works ok. Adjust planting pop. like the book says and it is accurate. It pulls hard I 1st used a 1800 fwd gas and needed the fwd on all the time now I pull with a 2-105 and still is a handful on some of the hills we have. Ask away and I"ll do my best to help not many using that drill but 25 yrs ago it was consider the best no-till made. Frank Packard

Thanks Frank, Here we go. First witch side of the no-till coulters do you pop the cap off to tighten the bearings up? There are a couple that are a little loose and need tightened. Have you ever to take them apart to regrease them and or the press wheels? In the book it says to keep the seed shoe adjusted close and keep in proper adjustment, Put it dose not say how to do it and at what distance it should be up and down or to the side. THIS BOOK IS KINDA VAUGE! I understand how to level it out on the tractor and how to adjust the depth, But what depth should I be looking for in no-till beans? Like I said this is all new to me and it will be into corn stocks, Corn was in 20" rows so the stacks are small and will be bush hogged after feritaliser is applied and had a packer run over it. The no-till coulters are 17 7/8" and there only 18" new so I think this will help out some in planting with it. My 1550 diesel pulls 4x16s 7 or 8" deep in my ground so I am going to give it a try, I have a bigger tractor I could use but I like to plant with the Oliver (I guess its an Oliver thing!). Oh one more thing how damp do you want the ground to be to no-till with this drill? I assume if I could work it, It could be planted or not? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Bandit

Banditfarmer the bearings are tightened up on the oppisite side of the coulters. Yes I regreased all my bearing last year not to bad a job. The tubes are adjusted by loosing the two bolts on the side and sliding up or down. I run about 1/2-3/4 in. from edge of coulter also make sure you run them real close to the coulter just about touching the coulter you adjust them by the bolt at the top of the tube. Yes if you can till you can plant. Frank

Thanks Frank for the info, The book is not all that helpful in some ways. Thats why I ask questions to learn more than the book tells in it. I appreciate your help. Thank You. Bandit

Banditfarmer: A friend had one of those drills years ago. The ground had to be pretty dry or the dirt would stick to the coulters and throw out ditches and not cover the seed. That is why the JD drills have the depth gauge wheel right beside the coulter. It keeps the dirt down and will not allow it to follow the coulter around.

You Oliver 1550 is not going to pull it very well. Even on your flat ground it just will not work well. Friend pulled his with a JD 4020 and it worked it pretty good.

Using a rotary mower on the stalks will make it a nightmare to get through this drill. The stalks will bunch up and not get cut. Then you will have drag piles in front of the coulters. It if the fodder is as light as you say then I would not touch them. While they are anchored to the root they will then cut better. When you mow them off they will then slide and not cut very well. Quite a few guys around be are just using a chain drag harrow on the stalks. If you do it when they are real dry they will get ground up very well and spread out too. Plus it is fast to do. The faster you go the better the harrow works.

Just some ideas.

I feel your pain Bandit. I'm going through the same thing with a Bush Hog drill we just got (yeah I know it's an "orphan annie"). Most of these "newer" manuals leave a lot to be desired, just look at a manual from something back in the 50's or so and you will see how much better written they were.

I have been useing a neighbor's great plains drill the last couple years so have a bit of understanding of no-til drill function. Your seeding depth will be the same wether using your corn planter for beans or the drill, usually I go 1.5 to 2 inches deep. I would plan on adding weight to the drill to get it to go in and stay in, the gp drill needed 1000 lb. added and could have used more when it got dry (harder). I tried the bush hog the other day, in last years bean field by the shop, and added 600-650 lbs. and the wheels still came off the ground!! Need to get more weights. The only thing I would say different from conventional planting (tilled ground) is to up your seeding rate a bit - 10% or so. I never had a problem with cutting through old corn stalks with the GP drill and don't expect to with the Bush Hog drill either (30" rows 32,000-36,000 pop.) but we rotary cut stalks usually right after harvest so they have winter to break down some. I use an IH 85hp to pull the GP and BH drills (both 10ft.) and though it's not overworked sometimes it would be nice to have a little more power on the slopes. I would try your oliver with an empty drill dry run test before switching tractors.

Don't attempt to turn with the drill in the ground. It really puts things in a bind especially the coulters. You can make a "sweeping" turn, but don't attempt a 90 degree turn. If the coulter leaves a furrow or slot, the ground is too wet. You'll want it fairly dry so the soil "crumbles" in and over the seeds. Just hook on to it a go. Do several dry runs to figure things out. I"ve got a 10' Vermeer no-till drill made by Crust Buster, I love it. I pull it with a 4010 JD and have no troubles. I adjust the depth of the seed with the hydraulic cylinder. The most common mistake with no-till drills is getting the seed too deep.........unless the ground is unusually dry.

If he was from around Georgetown this could be the same drill. Who knows stranger things have happened! I'm still up in the air about what to do with the corn stocks, Who knows what I might try to get them down. Bandit