Top Maintenance Tips to Prep Your Planter Now

A bountiful harvest begins with your planter. Preparing for planting means more than selecting the right genetics.  It’s important to remember some critical planter maintenance tips and adjustments for this year’s planting:

• Check planter tire pressures—this is easily overlooked and forgotten, but critical for proper planter operation and speed control
• In the Advanced Seed Meter (ASM), check the seed disc, seed disc cover, and singulator spools for wear—each component has wear groves that indicate when that particular component is worn out
• Check any and all chains for proper tension and lubrication and replace any chains that are damaged or have frozen links
• Check the diameter of the opener disc on each row unit, as well as the gap between the opener disc and replace any opener that is less than 13.5 inches in diameter—the distance between the openers should be between 0 and 1/16 inches
• Check firming point wear with firming point gauge and replace if the tip of the firming point does not appear in the gauge opening
  • NOTE: Replace opening discs and the firming point on a row unit in sets to maintain an even depth and soil contact characteristics, and to promote even wear patterns
• Check that the row units are all “zeroed” if any opening components (openers or firming point) have been replaced—zeroing the row units will promote the desired seed depth with fewer adjustments
  • NOTE: Always check seed depth when beginning to plant and regularly throughout the season, especially after changing field conditions
• Check the closing disc diameter—replace any closing disc that is smaller than 7.5 inches
• Lubricate the AccuRow clutches and check that they are properly functioning—throughout the season, the air storage tanks should be drained on a regular basis (daily) to prevent moisture build-up and potential damage to the air clutches
• If in-furrow liquid fertilizer is being used and is applied with a tube behind the seed shoe, check that the tube doesn’t interfere with seed drop
  • On a daily basis, check that fertilizer is not building up on the seed shoe—seed spacing could be affected if fertilizer is building up on the seed shoe

Check with your local Case IH dealer or go online and download the Case IH 1200 Series Early Riser^® Planter Productivity Guide. This guide provides valuable information on planter maintenance and can be a quick reference in the tractor cab. As always, refer to you planter operators manual for specific information and procedures.