Tar River SAYA-505 No Till Drill
- Thread starter wolfpack412
- Start date
wolfpack412
A good 3 year old buck
Go over it really well when you get it and spineverything by hand. I had to add a link to the chain on the big seed box because it was binding. I added cement blocks on the drill to get a bit more weight on it. My approach next year will be this. Cut, spray, spray again, wait for a big rain, then drill. I found the area I planted after the ground had been soaked for a couple days did incredibly well. This drill can go through a bit of duff on moist ground but it's no Genesis type drill so I recommend cutting, spraying, then giving it a few weeks (otherwise you could mow over it a few times). For what it is, it did a terrific job and should save me 20 hours of work this year (tilling, hand spreading, and cultipacking). I used it to plant corn this year for my brother. It was planted way too late to do anything but we wanted to test it. The corn did come up fairly well.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
I bought a SAYA 505 in August last summer. Immediately I saw the front coulters and the double disk openers were not in alignment with one another. So.....I first set the coulters to be evenly spaced across the front tool bar of the drill. Then I used a 7.5" wide board to carefully align the double disk openers to follow that front Coulter (an electric impact wrench is helpful). With those set up correctly, I then set up the seed cups to be more closely calibrated with one another. Some of these were off by quite a bit....and each row would have been somewhat different. It takes a bit of time to do this funticon.....but these things are pretty much "one and done". I spent some time to tighten the remaining fasteners.....and I had to replace a broken zerk, etc.
I did zip tie a two foot level to the side frame of my drill.....and was sure to set it level when putting down seed. I have a hydraulic top link on my tractor.....so I could easily adjust the seed depth by adjusting that hydraulic top link. I experimented with some pell lime to set up the depth. Easy to see the pell lime. I just put it in the ouside seed drops on either side of the machine. I also made a couple of wood "inserts" to form a wall when calibrating the drill via two or three drops (my choice).
With the above things corrected, I calibrated the drill according to instructions I found on you tube and in the manual. I think if you spend several hours getting to know and understand the machine.....before you start seeding.......you will do fine with it. I did put four 70# suitcase weights on my front weight tray.....but I dont thing they are necessary IN MY SANDY SOILS....your results may vary. I did tweak my settings from the calibration a bit.....but it was fairly close after an acre of trial and (minimal) error.
Hope these tips are of help. (see my pics in the Tar River Saya 507 thread). Both drills are identical except for width. (I am somewhat partial to the 5 footer....as it stays protected by my tractor when I operate around timber and old stumps and such.).
I may have spent nearly 8 hours to do these things.....and they do require a bit of time to get it set up correctly....IMO. I am certain I could do another one in 4 hours or so.....as it takes time to read and follow the manual and figure out a new drill. I also spent some time to fasten down the suitcase weights on the front tray. Reading and understanding the manual go a long way....IMO.
Last edited:
wolfpack412
A good 3 year old buck
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
Buy an electronic scale from Amazon that wieghs in grams and oz's and such. They only cost about $10. Will be invaluable in calibrating the seed drop. I used some plastic bags attached to the seed cups via rubber bands to collect the seeds from three drop tubes.....then weigh the seeds and do the math (depending on who's instructions you may be following.).
Nightvision
5 year old buck +
wolfpack412
A good 3 year old buck
This is exactly what I did. I bought a mechanical one though so I can leave it with the drill and not worry about batteries dying.
Hello guys, hard to find, but did find SAYA505 for $5400 +tax. Strong urge to pull the trigger on it.
Would everyone buy again after using?
Success with wheat? Clover? Turnips? Soybeans?
Are you making multiple passes to thicken coverage?
Problems with flex tubes holding seed or clogging?
Would everyone buy again after using?
Success with wheat? Clover? Turnips? Soybeans?
Are you making multiple passes to thicken coverage?
Problems with flex tubes holding seed or clogging?
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
I bought a Saya 505 in August....and planted 10 acres with mine. No tubes clogged with seed. These drills are a solid value but I do not think they handle lots of rocks and stumps too well. Reason I say this is that rolling basket at the back is somewhat prone to damage in rough terrain. I also wonder how that rolling basket will do when planting into heavy rye or stemmy plants. I fear it's going to wrap...as has been my experience with a tiller. I did not make multiple passes. I planted a mix of 134 lbs of ten varieties of seeds. Seemed to work very well in my previously tilled plots and in sod that was mowed and nuked prior to planting. I got seed in the ground over several different seeding situations. I've posted my results elsewhere.
I seized an opportunity to buy a Genesis 5 at last years price. But I am still waiting for delivery. I think I could be happy with the SAYA product if not for my concerns with that rolling basket. Maybe it will work fine in thick rye. Dunno. I dont know of any other drill that employs that rolling basket. If my Genesis 5 does not show up I will find out. Maybe someone will chime in on how there Saya worked in thick Rye??
Thanks, been looking through the posts, haven't really seen any complaints on small acreage. Instead of rye, we use winter wheat. Deer keep it grazed to the ground through about now, as it grows taller we'll mow to manage thatch and weeds. Plots are narrow strips beside logging roads and widened skidder trails off those. Been working them for 8 years, got stumps and problem rocks out. Getting older and slower, so looking to cut out steps and save time.
Hmmm, wonder if a drum spiker would have been better than basket.
SWIFFY
5 year old buck +
Hey Foggy, curious how you planted the 10 seed varieties? Did you plant them all from one seed box or did you separate them and plant the larger seed from large seed box and smaller seed from small seed box? Either way, how did it work? Were you happy with your coverage? Feel like small seed went to bottom?
Thanks for your insights!
Swiffy
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
If my memory serves.....I put 100# cereal Rye, 8# Austrian winter peas, 5# Radish, 5# Delar Small Burnett in the front box. Then put smaller seeds in the rear box: Alice White Clover, Ladiono Clover, Purple Top Turnips, Forage Collards, ......maybe a bit more of some odds and ends. My target was 134 lbs of seed in one drop.....with 100 lbs of rye being the major lbs.
Its really hard to know what ends up on the top or bottom of the seed trench. I kept the depth at less than an inch......but I am certain there is some variable here. I got some of all the species to germinate.
I did show some pics of my efforts in another Tar River thread. Search is your friend.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
I think some individual wheels would be a better solution to that rolling basket. I cannot fault that basket when planting last fall given the conditions I had (tilled and nuked soils and some prairie sod that had been nuked via roundup). But as I plan to plant green into my newly estpblished plots with lots of standing rye and later buckwheat.....I question if the rolling basket will not bind up with the stems and such. That has been my experience when trying to operate a tiller in rye......no go. Had to mow it first. (which I suppose is an option).
SWIFFY
5 year old buck +
Im going to assume that your rolling basket is going to act more as a roller/packer than a tiller. If the basket was spinning faster than the speed of your tractor I could see potential for a real problem (like a tiller) but they arent designed that way. You may get some tangling but I dont think it will be bad, even in the thick rye. I may be wrong. I hope not as they shouldve designed it for cover cropping and with innerseeding in mind.
Similar threads
