Kasco Versa Drill - First Try - Transferred from QDMA Forums

[yoderjac]

I tried out my Kasco no-till versadrill for the first time. My first attempt was on an old road way. I had used my loader to reclaim top soil and spread it on the logging road. This road had been plowed and tilled a couple years ago, but the soil was so poor it yielded little. I did not plow or till the road, but I did run the sub-soiler through it.
On my first trip along the road, I went over a small stump about the size of your fist. It caught one of the cutting wheels just right and put torque on it. The pivot arm snapped at the connection. The walking beam and wheels were unharmed. I simply picked up the walking beam and put it in the loader, tied off the seed tube from that center row, and used it as a 4 row instead of 5 row drill.
I planted a mix of sunflowers and buckwheat with it. It seemed to work pretty well. One problem I had was the cultipacker. If I set the drill for the proper seed depth, when I lifted it with the 3-point hitch, the cultipacker still touched the ground. This causes several issues. First, during transport, it will distribute seed. Second, when lifting the unit and turning the tractor, the cultipacker would get lateral pressure.
After a while, the lateral pressure caused one of the U-bolts that hold the cultipacker in place to break and the cultipacker to slide. This caused the drive chain to slip off. After putting the culitpacker back in place and replacing the U-bolts, I was off and running again.
The seed looks planted well, but I'm not sure how well the cultipacker did in covering it in this un-tilled soil. However when I checked on it the next morning, it was all covered OK.
Next I tried it on some fields I had already plowed and tilled. I first ran a lawn roller over these fields to firm them up. Even after this, it was hard to plant the seed shallow enough. I was planting soybeans, cowpeas, and sunflowers in this mix so I think they can stand to be planted deeper than some seeds. In this soil, the cultipacker worked very well to cover the seeds. I used millet in the mix for some of these fields. I was concerned that it would be planted too deep, so I broadcast it by hand ahead of drilling the larger seed. My hope was that the cultipacker would press it in to the ground.
It takes some fooling around with seeding rates, and time will tell how well it worked, but I think I'm going to like it in the long run. I have about 1/2 my fields planted so far.
Thanks,
Jack

I'm curious to see how your plots are doing. I am considering buying a kasco versa drill myself.

I got better germination rates than ever before by far! Now, let me qualify that a bit. First, I think my timing was better this year than ever before. I owe some of this to the drill in that it is much faster. I always had to start my planting as early as possible to ensure stuff was in ahead of the rain. I can only get to my property on weekends, so wet conditions could easily keep me from planting for 3 weeks or more depending on when the rain occurs relative to the weekend. So, I always planted early to be on the safe side. There were two problems with that. 1) Germination rates are lower when the soil temperature is sub-optimal. 2) My warm season plots were germinating and growing on the front end of the spring green-up curve. That made them more attractive to deer relative to native plants. So, they got hit hard soon after germination.
This year I waited until soil temperature was correct since I knew I could plant all my plots in very short order using the drill.
Next, mother nature was very good in my area this spring. It rained off and on for a full week right after I planted and we have had ample rain since then.
I will say that getting the proper planting depth is more of an art than a science. I planted mixes. With small seeds like millet, I broadcast them with a hand broadcast spreader then drilled over top of them letting the units cultipacker simply press them into the ground. I tried to keep the seed sizes in the mix relatively close in size. I tried to set the depth for the smaller of the seeds in the mix. This worked pretty well.
I did have some problems with the drill. Remember, I bought it used for 3K. First, I hit a small stump and busted a pivot arm on the center row, so I simply put a piece of duct tape over that port and tied the seed tube off and planted with 4 rows instead of 5. Next, one of the seed tubes was clogged and I didn't notice it. So, I was actually planting 3 rows instead of 5.
I kept a constant tractor speed and played with the opening size and gear setting for each mix. Because of the missing and clogged rows, I'll still need to fool around with this next year.
I have not yet tried to use it in a true no-till situation where I was cutting through trash so I can't really speak to that.
All in all, I'm very happy with the results so far (INTERNAL IMAGE LIKE EMOTICON REMOVED)
This picture was taken on 5/21:

It wasn't taken for the purpose of showing the field, but it gives you a general idea. The far side is a perennial clover plot, but the near side was planted on 4/28 so it is about 1 month old. You are looking across the rows. It has a mix of I&C Cowpeas, Soybeans, Sunflowers, and Buckwheat in it.
Thanks,
Jack

Hi Jack,
Not to hijack this thread, but i would be interested in your experience with the buckeye cam. feel free to send me a PM if it is easier.
thanks

Charlie,
I'll just start a thread on the QDMA Trail Camera forum. That way, others can benefit from the information unless there is something you think requires a PM. Here is the thread: <http://www.qdmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=24416
Thanks,
Jack

Jack,
If you had it to do over again would you still buy the Kasco and if so would you get anything added to it, and would you buy it new or would you get a used one again.

If I had an unlimited budget, I'd probably have gotten a brand new great plains or tye. Even a new Kasco was over my budget. I paid 3K for the unit (used but very lightly) and I'm already convinced it was a steal.
I called Kasco and asked about adding options. Most of them can be added in the field if you can do a little welding according to them. I thought I would need an agitator for planting mixes, but I just stopped every now and then and checked the box. As long as the seeds are in the same ball park size wise, there is no issue.
I also originally thought I would really want a legume box. I think on a higher end drill I would. But on the Kasco, there is no real way to adjust the depth for the second box (at least that I could figure out). Instead, I've simply been broadcasting my small seed like clover, millet, or turnips and then drilling through it letting the compactor on the rear press the small seed into the soil. Perhaps this would be an issue with trash in the field, but I haven't tried that yet. The other way I think you could do it if you did have a legume box is to simply let the tubes hang loose. This would drop the seeds on top of the soil in front of the cultipacker. I'm not sure how you would adjust the rate with the second box. There are 3 factors that control rate, the opening size on the box, the tractor speed, and the gear setting. I know the legume box would have it's own metering system, but I don't know if it would have it's own gear box. If so, it may be worth it.
I would have preferred a 6' model over a 4' model because my tractor is about 6' wide, but other than that, I'm pretty happy with it.
When I consider the fuel costs associated with plowing and tilling as well as the time plus the fact that the seeding rates for drilling are lower, it won't take too many years to pay for itself.
Thanks,
Jack

 

[yoderjac]

It is like anything else. You get what you can afford and make the best with it. Everyone would like a Sunflower or Great Plains drill but if all you can realistically afford or justify is a lower end model, then so be it. Just like other kinds of <i>toys</i> we buy. Some drills manufactures have a long history of issues but it is not for me to call them out.
Sounds to me like your center link is adjusted far too long. I might bet the farm on it(INTERNAL IMAGE LIKE EMOTICON REMOVED)

Quote:
==================================
Originally Posted by foodplotdude
Some drills manufactures have a long history of issues but it is not for me to call them out.
==================================
Why not. If there are lots of issues from certain manufacturers, we would all like to know.
Quote:
==================================
Originally Posted by foodplotdude

Sounds to me like your center link is adjusted far too long. I might bet the farm on it(INTERNAL IMAGE LIKE EMOTICON REMOVED)
==================================
Why do you say that?
Thanks,
Jack

 

[yoderjac]

END TRANSFER FROM QDMA FORUM

 

[yoderjac]

Updated Picture Links

 

[TreeDaddy]

Jack,

What is your updated experience with this drill?

bill

 

[buckdeer1]

I also have one and the only issue I have is sometimes the chain will come off or bind.I have tried every adjustment but you just have to watch.i really wouldn't call a no till but maybe a minimum till.I would like to rig a drag as the roller doesn't always cover seed all the way across

 

[yoderjac]

Well, I've got good news for you. This solved many issues for me with it:

http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.p...ic-top-link-transferred-from-qdma-forum.5580/

http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/hydraluic-toplink-transfered-from-qdma-forum.5539/

With this addition, I now use added weight to the frame to control seed depth (more of an art than science) rather than loosening or tightening the top-link like the instructions say. When I was doing that, I had the same issue of the cultipacker not covering the seed. You traded off seed depth for cultipacker pressure. Now, I have the best of all worlds. When I lift the drill I shorten the top link and have plenty of clearance for turns so the cultipacker never contacts anything during transport or turns which is what causes chain issues. When I drop it to plant, I lengthen the top link enough so the chain has slack. This lets the drill "float". It acts more like a tow-behind drill that follows the contour than a 3-point drill that leaves gaps on uneven terrain. I just add buckets of concrete if needed to the frame in front of the seed bin if I need more depth depending on soil conditions.

I would tend to agree that from a seed depth perspective you may need light tillage in hard clay for a fall plant if things are dry, but I don't use it for any fall planting anymore. I have no issues in the spring with getting good seed depth. However, it still functions as min-till for me and here is why:

First, my clay can crust and until I can improve the OM significantly to prevent this, very light tillage (less than 1" with a tiller helps). The second issue is with the Kasco. It does not handle trash well. Trash tends to collect between the mud scrappers and the opener on some of the rows (more than others). When this happens, the trash clogs the planting shoe at the bottom of the seed tube and seed just collects in the tube. Depending on the conditions I have to stop after each row and ensure there is nothing clogged.

I have learned ways to make things work better. First, I bushog cornstalks (corn is always long gone) in my soybean/light-corn mix as soon as the season is over in January. This puts the stalks on the ground giving them more time to decompose. Then in the early spring, I use a tiller set very high (less than 1"). This chops up corn stalks and other vegetation and gets a little soil on them to speed decomposition but does not seem to bother the crimson clover or winter rye in my cover crop. It does however terminate the PTT which is another significant reason I do it. The winter rye bounces back along with the crimson clover. I drill through them and then spray. For some reason the drill loves to drill through clover. I do this in fall with no issues at all. I'll drill radish into established clover plots that are dormant, mowed very low, or suppressed with gly. The drill works great for this and never clogs. It handles living plants much better than dead debris. When I get the timing right with works great.

I bought the drill used and it has been very well worth it for the price I paid. Again, if I had $20K or so to spend, I'm sure a heavier big boy drill like a tye or great plains would be nicer, but for a food plotter, it works well.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Many of the early no till drills were to light. Farmers discredited them but all they needed to do was add some weight to them to make them work flawlessly.

 

[yoderjac]

KASCO NOTILL VERSADRILL UPGRADE ATTEMPT

As you may know from some of my other posts, I've always had an issue with debris when using my Kasco no-till versa-drill. Debris builds up between the openers and the mud scrapers and eventually clogs the planting foot. I'd done a lot of messing around adjusting things. Some rows don't seem to have an issue but others do. I can't figure out what the difference is. I finally came up with an idea for modifying it.

I went to Lowes and bought a 3/4 inch flexible conduit fitting: https://www.lowes.com/pd/CARLON-3-4-in-Conduit-Fitting/3659290. I used cable ties for now to secure it to the existing planting foot. The lower opening is about an inch above the opening in the bottom of the planting shoe. It should not clog. The only issue I can see is that seed may be moving too fast and bounce out of the trench. If that happens I'll put a smaller fitting on the bottom to slow it down. I simply connected the seed tube to the top of the fitting instead of the planting shoe.

I plan to try this out. If it works, I'll probably replace the cable ties with hose clamps.

The next thing I plan to try to do is to make dividers for the seed box. On occasion I may want to plant one kind of seed in one row and another type in another row. If the seeds are about the same size they should meter at about the same rate.

I just used a piece of cardboard to make a template. When I get home, I'll use my table saw to cut a thin piece of plywood to see if it works. I plan to hold it in place by simply placing magnets on each side.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[SwampCat]

That is a great idea. It should work very well in my woods seeder. Otherwise, I have been taping the holes shut to direct the seed to the openings I want. In addition, seed tends to work towards the center in my seven ft seed boxes. I could put one on both sides and keep the seed more evenly distributed.

 

[Freeborn]

KASCO NOTILL VERSADRILL UPGRADE ATTEMPT

As you may know from some of my other posts, I've always had an issue with debris when using my Kasco no-till versa-drill. Debris builds up between the openers and the mud scrapers and eventually clogs the planting foot. I'd done a lot of messing around adjusting things. Some rows don't seem to have an issue but others do. I can't figure out what the difference is. I finally came up with an idea for modifying it.

I went to Lowes and bought a 3/4 inch flexible conduit fitting: https://www.lowes.com/pd/CARLON-3-4-in-Conduit-Fitting/3659290. I used cable ties for now to secure it to the existing planting foot. The lower opening is about an inch above the opening in the bottom of the planting shoe. It should not clog. The only issue I can see is that seed may be moving too fast and bounce out of the trench. If that happens I'll put a smaller fitting on the bottom to slow it down. I simply connected the seed tube to the top of the fitting instead of the planting shoe.

I plan to try this out. If it works, I'll probably replace the cable ties with hose clamps.

The next thing I plan to try to do is to make dividers for the seed box. On occasion I may want to plant one kind of seed in one row and another type in another row. If the seeds are about the same size they should meter at about the same rate.

I just used a piece of cardboard to make a template. When I get home, I'll use my table saw to cut a thin piece of plywood to see if it works. I plan to hold it in place by simply placing magnets on each side.

Thanks,

Jack

I picked up one of these drills used late last summer so I'm pretty inexperienced with it. I did drill oats and radish into existing alfalfa and had some clogging.

Are you drilling into existing cover crops? When possible I'll mow before I Drill.

 

[yoderjac]

I picked up one of these drills used late last summer so I'm pretty inexperienced with it. I did drill oats and radish into existing alfalfa and had some clogging.

Are you drilling into existing cover crops? When possible I'll mow before I Drill.

I have not drilled into alfalfa, but the drill works great drilling into my clover fields. No clogging at all. It is when I spring plant and I'm drilling into a terminated cover crop that it has the most clogging issues. Mowing makes things worse for me. It is debris that tends to clog mine.

The best thing I did to improve the drill was to add the hydraulic top-link and chain.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Freeborn]

Thanks Jack,

Have you ever seen a Kasco with a liquid fertilizer unit attached? I'd like to rig up a starter fertilizer attachment so I could add fertilizer in the row rather than broadcasting.

Ill also be drilling into cover crops so I'll follow this thread and let you know what I experience.

 

[yoderjac]

Thanks Jack,

Have you ever seen a Kasco with a liquid fertilizer unit attached? I'd like to rig up a starter fertilizer attachment so I could add fertilizer in the row rather than broadcasting.

Ill also be drilling into cover crops so I'll follow this thread and let you know what I experience.

I have not. I mostly see those on planters.

 

[Rit]

This got me looking at their Eco-Drill. It’s cheaper than the big boy drills but still quite pricey. I was reading the operators manual and it states to be used with minimal debris. Kinda defeats any purpose of drilling for me. I still don’t think I can justify the cost for 2.5 acres.

 

[swat1018]

Not to discourage anyone, but a buddy had a Kasco drill. He bought it new from the plant in Shelbyville in about 2002. It was a huge piece of crap that was of horribly poor design. Perhaps this was the first year of production or something, but it wasn't worth the price tag, quite frankly it wasn't worth a tenth of the price tag. The drill was stored in a barn around 2005, because nobody would buy the thing and by friend couldn't stand to try and use it. He traded it to a JD dealer in 2016 for a used Great Plains drill. Again, perhaps there are huge improvements since this time period. The thing was a monstrosity that required a gigantic tractor to even pick up, it was probably 8' from the front to the back that leveraged a tractor terribly.

Just saying, make sure and do your homework before laying down the cash.

 

[yoderjac]

Not to discourage anyone, but a buddy had a Kasco drill. He bought it new from the plant in Shelbyville in about 2002. It was a huge piece of crap that was of horribly poor design. Perhaps this was the first year of production or something, but it wasn't worth the price tag, quite frankly it wasn't worth a tenth of the price tag. The drill was stored in a barn around 2005, because nobody would buy the thing and by friend couldn't stand to try and use it. He traded it to a JD dealer in 2016 for a used Great Plains drill. Again, perhaps there are huge improvements since this time period. The thing was a monstrosity that required a gigantic tractor to even pick up, it was probably 8' from the front to the back that leveraged a tractor terribly.

Just saying, make sure and do your homework before laying down the cash.

I would agree with that based on my experience with my Kasco. It is not even close to the same class as a Tye or Great Plains. I had to replace a couple parts on mine that cost me a couple hundred bucks when I got it. Other than that, it was like a new drill. It was not even close to being worth the price they were asking for a new drill.

Having said that, there was no better planting investment I made than that drill. For 3K and a couple hundred in repairs it was a great value. When I got it, I was planting about 7 acres of beans with a light mix of corn in the spring and drilling radish into suppressed clover in the fall on a few more acres. It was a huge time saver in the spring as there was no deep tillage, broadcasting, covering, and packing steps. It has no problem cutting reasonable debris or opening a trench but I frequently had to stop and remove clogs. That is the problem I'm trying to solve now. Getting it to drill at the proper depth and cover seed with the cultipacker was impossible before I added the hydraulic top-link. Even with all these issues, it was still much faster than traditional tillage. I could not have even begun to plant in suppressed clover without it. It is a great tool for me.

Even with all that, the best benefit is the improvement in soil health I get from minimizing tillage.

Would I recommend buying a new Kasco? Never.

As for picking it up, it hangs behind the tractor quite a distance and has a lot of leverage. I had no issues lifting it with my Kioti DK45 with FEL. One year my tractor was in the shop and I borrowed a Kubota L-series in the 30 hp range. It had plenty of lift power to raise the drill, but the front wheels of the tractor lost traction with the ground. I had to put quite a bit of counter weight on the front of the tractor to use the drill.

 

[yoderjac]

This got me looking at their Eco-Drill. It’s cheaper than the big boy drills but still quite pricey. I was reading the operators manual and it states to be used with minimal debris. Kinda defeats any purpose of drilling for me. I still don’t think I can justify the cost for 2.5 acres.

I couldn't justify the cost of a new one even when planting 7 acres. I've tried to be quite clear with the issues I've had with my Kasco. I'd never consider one for large acreage, but for a reasonable amount of acreage, if you can find one used for a good price, it gives the food plotter a way to plant row crops (beans, corn, sunflowers, etc) without traditional tillage. The only alternative I can think of for this is a cut-down JD planter. You are only planting a row or two at a time verses 5 rows and you are limited to the kinds of seed you can plant with one. I looked hard that them. At the time, they were in the same ball park price as I paid for the kasco. I chose the Kasco because it is more flexible. I plant all kinds of seed with it.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[swat1018]

I would agree with that based on my experience with my Kasco. It is not even close to the same class as a Tye or Great Plains. I had to replace a couple parts on mine that cost me a couple hundred bucks when I got it. Other than that, it was like a new drill. It was not even close to being worth the price they were asking for a new drill.

Having said that, there was no better planting investment I made than that drill. For 3K and a couple hundred in repairs it was a great value. When I got it, I was planting about 7 acres of beans with a light mix of corn in the spring and drilling radish into suppressed clover in the fall on a few more acres. It was a huge time saver in the spring as there was no deep tillage, broadcasting, covering, and packing steps. It has no problem cutting reasonable debris or opening a trench but I frequently had to stop and remove clogs. That is the problem I'm trying to solve now. Getting it to drill at the proper depth and cover seed with the cultipacker was impossible before I added the hydraulic top-link. Even with all these issues, it was still much faster than traditional tillage. I could not have even begun to plant in suppressed clover without it. It is a great tool for me.

Even with all that, the best benefit is the improvement in soil health I get from minimizing tillage.

Would I recommend buying a new Kasco? Never.

As for picking it up, it hangs behind the tractor quite a distance and has a lot of leverage. I had no issues lifting it with my Kioti DK45 with FEL. One year my tractor was in the shop and I borrowed a Kubota L-series in the 30 hp range. It had plenty of lift power to raise the drill, but the front wheels of the tractor lost traction with the ground. I had to put quite a bit of counter weight on the front of the tractor to use the drill.

It was on a 60+ HP Deere. It was a 6' model Kasco, I believe.

 

[Freeborn]

I have a similar story as jack in I picked up a used Kasco for $3,200. It has a large and small see box and at 4' my 35hp JD Picks it up with ease.

From what I can see it should be an improvement over my JD planter (which I still have). I have sandy soil so I'm hoping to improve my OM and to plant a broader list of seeds.

The seed tube clogging, we will see what occurs.