Planter Prep Tips from Service Manager Craig Greenwood

1. Prepare the meters

If your unit has finger pick-up meters, do a visual inspection or bring them in to Birkey’s to run on our test stand. As expensive as seed is, it makes sense to use this service. Running a 16-row planter through the test stand costs about as much as one bag of seed. Vacuum meters require visual inspection as well—especially the brushes. Make sure they turn free.

2. Prepare the seed disks

It’s important to care for your seed disks before returning to the field. If you didn’t get a chance last summer, spend some time this spring inspecting your disks for wear and damage. If they weren’t stored on a dowel rod or stacked flat, check for warping as well. Cover the disks with graphite and return them to their matching meter housings during re-installation.

3. Reconnect hydraulic hoses & wiring harnesses

Start by cleaning your hydraulic hose couplers. We work all year long to keep our hydraulic systems clean, but if you drop a tip on the ground and then plug it in—that’s just a direct path for dirt. After cleaning the couplers, check hydraulic hoses and wiring harnesses for proper routing (and the tie strap as needed) by unfolding the planter before you get to the field. You can get it put together and looking pretty, but if it wasn’t the way you ran it last year, chances are you’ll rip something loose. A planter won’t function if everything isn’t hooked up, so this is critical to prevent downtime.

4. Lubricate your planter

Lubricate the chains and grease all the bearings. Be careful not to over-grease fittings that you lubricated prior to storage. If you’ve already put grease in a bearing and it hasn’t turned over, there’s no need to add more. The chains are a different story. Even If they were oiled last year, put a fresh coat on them and roll them over to make sure all the links are free rolling.

5. Check the air system

Last year, during end-of-season maintenance, you likely opened the AccuRow or pneumatic down pressure drains. This spring, you’ll need to charge the system back up. Leave the air in for a few days to check for air leaks. Even if it was working last July—who’s to say a mouse didn’t chew a hole? If you suspect a leak, use a squirt bottle to spray a thin layer of soapy water on the outside of the hoses and watch for areas that bubble up. If you find a hole, replacing a line is usually an easy, do-it-yourself task.

6. Check your tire pressure

Tire pressure is critical. It doesn’t matter if you checked it in August—a tire could be low again this spring. If you find a tire that’s flat, don’t just fill it up. It if didn’t hold air over the winter, chances are it will be flat again before you finish planting! Instead, figure out why that tire is losing air and save yourself the trouble later in the season.

A Final Message from Craig:

“I hope these storage removal tips start your season right. In addition to these tips, I recommend a Customized Maintenance Inspection. I tell customers to think of CMIs as a “check-up” at the doctor’s office. You can see that your tonsils are red, but only your doctor can tell you if you have tonsillitis or not. In the same way, our technicians know from the outside looking in whether problems exist and have experience ‘diagnosing’ these issues correctly.”