Esch, truax, and Tye no till drills

[Wind Gypsy]

Is there any reason we never see anything about esch, truax, or tye no till drills on this forum? Seems like GP/LP, genesis, and tar river are the darlings of discussion.

Something like the esch 3’ seems appealing to me compared to the genesis 3. Quite a bit cheaper than a genesis or GP/LP and I could probably get away with a smaller tractor like a L2501 pulling it. I could fit it in a shipping container for storage and on a trailer easily to seed different properties.

 

[Kev]

IMO Tar River drills are a more affordable option for many of us, at least for me. Genesis are popular because you see them advertised on shows like "Growing Deer" all the time. Plus, they are a darn good machine. Can't comment on LP but I've seen them up close and they appear to be well made. I've had experience with Truax & Tye and they are great machines. Not familiar with Esch. However, I don't know why we don't see or hear about more of these.

 

[bjseiler]

Looks like $12,200 for that 3' model from Esch. The L2501 will just barely tow it (could not handle the 3-point version). 3' probably seems like a pain in the ass to most people but if you have a small tractor and don't have huge plots to plant, maybe it is fine. I love my L2501 so thank you for sharing. I never heard of Esch before and now I'm interested.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Looks like $12,200 for that 3' model from Esch. The L2501 will just barely tow it (could not handle the 3-point version). 3' probably seems like a pain in the ass to most people but if you have a small tractor and don't have huge plots to plant, maybe it is fine. I love my L2501 so thank you for sharing. I never heard of Esch before and now I'm interested.

I didn’t think it’d be that hard to tow but have no real experience. Just figured they advertise the genesis 3 as being towable with a UTV so I thought a L2501 could handle it without to much strain. Definitely too heavy for a 3 point.

 

[PrairieShadow]

I've done years of research and for my wants its going to say GP or LP on it. These are built using the same openers as their big brothers that farmers plant millions of acres a year with. Buy one cry once IMHO. I've saw a couple others in action, 1 from your list, just enough to know i'm not interested.

 

[bjseiler]

Come on, you can't really make that comment and then not tell us which one you think is junk!

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I've done years of research and for my wants its going to say GP or LP on it. These are built using the same openers as their big brothers that farmers plant millions of acres a year with. Buy one cry once IMHO. I've saw a couple others in action, 1 from your list, just enough to know i'm not interested.

Yeah, do tell which one you're not interested in.

I'm waffling all over the place on what i want for an equipment setup with the idea of having a NT drill eventually. The drill impacts which tractor is needed and both impact if a shipping container works or if I need to build a pole shed.. Genesis just seems silly for the $. I'm not big on aspects of the tar river (roller cage, covering seed with the spring loaded fingers, and needing to mix brassica/clover with filler) but it might be a good compromise on price, tractor size needed to support 505 on 3pt and the fact it would fit on a trailer and in a shipping container. Really nothing else I need a tractor for besides pulling a drill. Acreage is small enough to spray/fertilize/mow with atv and the implements I already have for it with very little to no compromise compared to a tractor.

 

[PrairieShadow]

Come on, you can't really make that comment and then not tell us which one you think is junk!

From that list I thought the Truax was junk(at least not worth the coin). He was no tilling with it and it simply was not able to put the seed in the ground. The coulters were not doing their job. He messed with it half the day to try and get it set right and never could. Are the coulters fixed on those? I cannot recall. Another that was straight up laughable was the firminator.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Just looking at Weight per opener on various models - not really fair to saya as it's the only 3pt model in the list. I can see how the Esch 3' would pull harder than the genesis 3 now based on weight and 7 vs 5 openers in the ground.

	flx11-88G	Esch 5603	606NT	Gen3 pull	Saya 505
Weight	2060​	2100​	2700​	1588​	1036​
# Openers	8​	7​	9​	5​	7​
Weight / opener	257.5​	300​	300​	317.6​	148​

 

[PrairieShadow]

606nt coulter preload is 450lbs. Opener is adj 90-180lbs

 

[buckdeer1]

There is a post back aways on tye,I rented a truax from the county and it did fine.I would buy either for right price.Auctiontime has several but most up north.I can get trucked abount anywhere in country for 1000.00 to me.I have a large consignment auction next weekend that I will be looking at also.Thinking about taking a pull behind and attaching a 3pt rear carrier to carry around

 

[Diesel5610]

We just bought a GP 606NT, scheduled to be here in May. Hoping that is accurate but I will believe it when I see it the way things are going. I have planted with the county’s 706NT for the last 10-15 years and am very familiar with the Great Plains, probably have a couple hundred acres planted with it now. They are a well built drill and this one will last mine and my kids lifetime. Lots of other guys here who have documented their experience with theirs that mirror my experience with them. The final reason was the dealer is right down the road from our property.

I looked hard at the Esch, our neighbor has a 5605 and it is a very nice drill. Very well built and easy to use. They are made an hour or so from here and have been used by Penn State University for years In their agricultural programs. The only thing I had any reservation about with the Esch is the foam seed metering system. It is very accurate but they can get mice in there and chewing the foam. Easy enough to replace but could be a pain dealing with it every spring before planting season. Not saying it would be a regular problem but based on my experience with mice and equipment it was something I took into consideration. Price was basically the same as the GP and I could get one right now. I went with the GP mainly due to my extensive experience and success with them. I think the Esch is a very nice drill.

Other neighbors have a Tye that seems to do just fine. I have not looked at that drill up close or spoken with them about their satisfaction with it, only seen them planting with it and the fields afterward. Seems to plant just fine.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

We just bought a GP 606NT, scheduled to be here in May. Hoping that is accurate but I will believe it when I see it the way things are going. I have planted with the county’s 706NT for the last 10-15 years and am very familiar with the Great Plains, probably have a couple hundred acres planted with it now. They are a well built drill and this one will last mine and my kids lifetime. Lots of other guys here who have documented their experience with theirs that mirror my experience with them. The final reason was the dealer is right down the road from our property.

I looked hard at the Esch, our neighbor has a 5605 and it is a very nice drill. Very well built and easy to use. They are made an hour or so from here and have been used by Penn State University for years In their agricultural programs. The only thing I had any reservation about with the Esch is the foam seed metering system. It is very accurate but they can get mice in there and chewing the foam. Easy enough to replace but could be a pain dealing with it every spring before planting season. Not saying it would be a regular problem but based on my experience with mice and equipment it was something I took into consideration. Price was basically the same as the GP and I could get one right now. I went with the GP mainly due to my extensive experience and success with them. I think the Esch is a very nice drill.

Other neighbors have a Tye that seems to do just fine. I have not looked at that drill up close or spoken with them about their satisfaction with it, only seen them planting with it and the fields afterward. Seems to plant just fine.

Thanks for the feedback. If GP/LP made an even smaller drill that would be nice for folks with little tractors.

 

[Diesel5610]

Not sure how big a tractor would be needed to pull the 3 ft Esch but I would not doubt that it is a quality drill for smaller plots and tractors. They are very well made. I have never seen the 3 ft in person but it appears to be just a narrower version of the bigger units that is built the same.

 

[buckdeer1]

I have a 4ft Kasco versa drill min till that I am using and it plants fine but with bigger tractor it doesn't cover tracks anymore.My soil is pretty light so I think I can use a regular drill as a no till just fine.Covering seed is the important part and I may have to add a chain drag if packer wheels aren't enough

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Esch responded to my inquiry about tractor size with "8-10 HP per foot is recommended".

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Land Pride says 40 hp minimum for the 606NT. Funny how the main picture on their page appears to be a L3901 (37.5 HP) pulling one.

 

[Foggy47]

Thanks for the feedback. If GP/LP made an even smaller drill that would be nice for folks with little tractors.

They do. They now make a 3P500 and 3P600 drill. Seems to me they would work with many compact tractors. However.....they only advertise them as minimum till drills. I do think they could be used in light soils as a NT (??).....dunno. Much may depend on the vegetation and soil types. You cannot find a review on these drills yet....I have looked everywhere. I'm going with the RTP Gen 5 light.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

The more I look at esch, the more I like their 3 footer. I’m guessing it would cost about the same as a 3p500 (dealer quoted me $13.7k with small seed box). Could avoid adding rear remotes with the 3p500

I think the L3560 would pull a 606nt fine on my land but I’m not sure I can stomach 20K+ on top of a new tractor.

 

[PrairieShadow]

The more I look at esch, the more I like their 3 footer. I’m guessing it would cost about the same as a 3p500 (dealer quoted me $13.7k with small seed box). Could avoid adding rear remotes with the 3p500

I think the L3560 would pull a 606nt fine on my land but I’m not sure I can stomach 20K+ on top of a new tractor.

The way I see it, I could have spent 12-13k on a drill that I just wasn't sure would get the job done all the time. I ended up spending 17k for a 3p606nt that I KNOW will get the job done. Those 06 series openers cover literally millions of acres a year in wheat country.