FARGO, N.D. – Research shows seeding rates can be reduced up to 15 percent on drills fitted with air diffusers, says a South Dakota farmer.
“That’s a lot of money if you’re planting expensive hybrid seed,” Luke Heintzman said.
Farmers who don’t run a seed brake will pay for and then lose 15 percent of their seed, he added.
“We can’t help but run a lot of air. There’s no choice when we’re running fast ground speeds and large volumes of product like we do. You need high air pressure and high air volume so your hoses don’t plug.”
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One alternative is to seed slower or deliver less product per pass, but that’s not acceptable for most producers.
The other alternative is air diffusers.
Not content with the seed brakes he saw on the market, Heintzman came up with his own design, naming it the Genius Equalizer Air Drill Diffuser.
“The Genius Equalizer can exhaust a lot of air,” Heintzman said.
“If I have one sq. inch entering the top of my diffuser, I have open holes that can handle six sq. inches to exit the brake. It’s a one to six ratio, so the air dissipates as soon as it gets to the seed brake.”
He has split the process of slowing the seed into two stages to make it more gradual.
First is a dampening cushion to absorb the shock energy of seed moving at a high rate of speed.
He calls this spring tension rubber plate an energy valve. It slows the seeds to 20 m.p.h. from 30 m.p.h. and releases speed energy.
“It’s mounted at a 45 degree angle so seeds don’t hit it directly,” he said.
“And there’s some spring to it, so it’s softer than hitting steel.”
Next, the internal pre-vent separates seed from air. It’s made of stainless steel and has 1,300 holes, each with a diameter of 0.075 inches.
“When seed and fertilizer drop down to the boot, they’re falling at the speed gravity pulls them. No faster.”
He said the Genius Equalizer is adaptable to any drill and any size seed hose.
Heintzman said he also has a fix for what he calls “typically seized arms on John Deere no-till seed drills.”
Dubbed the Genius Seal, Heintzman said his new sealed bushing pack is engineered to fit all John Deere no-till drills.
“When you go to trade in your JD no-till drill, the arms are probably seized,” he said.
“That’s going to cost you $2,500 on the trade value of a typical JD drill.”
He said the economic loss from seized arms begins earlier than trade-in time. It starts with bad seed placement while the farmer still owns the drill.
That’s why Heintzman came up with the idea of side bushings that do not require greasing. His silicone bushing kits eliminate the need for installing new pins and bushings.
The high-impact, low-friction marathane silicon thrust washers are sandwiched between a pair of concave steel retainers that hold the washers in place. The compound is a 441-400 epoxy vinyl ester resin.
“It lasts virtually forever and it eliminates the need to replace those pins and bushings,” he said. “That’s a big time saver.”
The Genius Equalizer Air Drill Diffusers sell for $30 each. The silicon side bushings sell for $30 per arm.
For more information, contact Heintzman at 605-447-5813 or visit www.heintzmanfarms.com.
