A metering hopper that attaches to a tractor’s front three-point hitch is now being sold by Lemken.
The Solitair 23 has a 1,900-litre tank and hydraulic fan that sends product to any tractor implement plumed with product runs.
Mark Van Deursen of Lemken said the Solitair 23 can be used to deliver seed or fertilizer and it is easy to convert between the two.
“You pull a safety clip and then you pull the whole shaft out and there’s all the different seed rollers on that bar, and you just replace it with a different one. We have two different types of fertilizer ones, and then depending on what seed you’re trying we also have two different sizes for that. They’re quite variable,” Van Deursen said.
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He said the Solitair 23 can handle most crops, from fababeans to grass seed and everything in between.
The Solitair 23 is fitted with four wheels to help take some load off the front tractor tires, and to help even out compaction caused by the tractor.
Operators decide how much weight to place on the hopper’s wheels, if any.
“You can have even compaction all the way across the machine and when the hopper is full it’s quite heavy. So it takes a bit away from the front tires of the tractor,” Van Deursen said.
The input-hopper meters are electronically powered and there is a four sectional control capability.
It can be equipped with a Lemken LET-40 operating terminal, but it’s also ISOBUS ready and can integrate with OEM monitors.
“We have two options. You can get a pressurized front tank that has a return line from the rear implement that enables the seed or fertilizer to circulate back into the hopper. Or you can just have the air system that pushes from the front like a regular air drill, so you just have a fan,” Van Deursen said.
The pressurized option can apply up to 500 kilograms of product per hectare, and air speed is controlled with a flow control valve for the hydraulically driven fan.
Optional tank scales provide operators with up-to-date information about tank levels and application rates.
The Solitair 23 comes with roll tarp cover, calibration tank, a foldable loading platform with steps, electronic hopper level indicator, and stands.
Van Deursen said the front hopper can be used with any implement with product runs, including harrows with splash plates.
However, it was designed to work with Lemken’s line of tillage and seeding equipment, including rotary harrow Zirkon 12 and the OptiDisc 25 coulter bar.
Lemken is set to increase the widths of its OptiDisc 25 coulter bar from its existing four and 4.5 metre toolbars, up to five- and six-metre foldable versions.
The Solitair 23 retails at $50,000 to $55,000 in Canada.
