I guess that is one way to get familiar with your machine, having to check every nut and bolt. Noticed some of the seed tubes were loose and one of the disc's at the bottom was off the shaft so I will have to put that back on. Don't get me wrong, these are minor adjustments but I did not expect the amount of them. It says made in China but assembled in USA. I must have gotten a Friday or a Monday model. Almost dumped the entire unit getting it off the trailer, the skid they had it on broke in two when I picked it up. Took almost 2 hours to get it off but finally manged to get it in the barn.
Tar River SAYA-507 No Till Drill
- Thread starter breddick
- Start date
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
I now remember I had some unloading problems too.....and put a slight kink in my hopper lid (very slight).
AFTER going through this unloading process....which was a cluster flock.....I finally bought a decent set of loader forks. I been 'getting by' with bucket forks for over a decade....but decided to bite the bullet and get some good QA forks.
The forks setup I bought allows the forks to be "inverted" in the frame in order to raise the forks to about 4' high when the loader is down. This allows my tractor and loader to lift 4' higher than normal.....and should be super for moving tower blinds.
john volkman
5 year old buck +
i looked on their site but cant find these pics? do you have a link you could post?
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
Then scroll down to the Zimmerman offer.....and open their add. 34 good photos.
I just ran some a few weeks ago on my pastures and hay fields to maintain tonnage with less fertilizer applied since N is so high this year. What I did was go to the wheat setting and opened it up about 1 more turn. It was dropping probably about 50# ac. I didn't calibrate but it was dropping seed adequately.
On a side note: My drill is the conventional DRL-072. My soil is sandy loam so I was still able to get about 1/2-3/4" depth. The packer wheel is pretty much useless. Just corrugated plastic but it might work well in a well tilled field. I definitely don't need no-till coulters but press wheels would be nice addition. I'm really thinking about running a shaft across and then install 10- 15# dumbbell plates on it and utilize them as press wheels. It won't be full floating but I think it might give enough pressure to close the seed trench.
SWIFFY
5 year old buck +
I talked to one of my local implement dealers last fall about a SAYA 507. I decided to order one and it came the middle of this winter. The guys in the shop there got it all put together and delivered it last week. I had called them ahead of time and expressed some of the concerns that you guys were bringing up here and they seemed to make sure all of them were looked at. Coulters line up with openers, nuts and bolts look good. It looks like they even calibrated the seed cups. Just the CAT Pins are at an odd spacing so Im going to readjust that. Other than that, it looks good and appears to be a simple machine as long as your expectations aren't too high. You get what you pay for I believe and these are a light-duty implement.
One thing that made me happy.... this winter I called down to Tar River and asked to talk with someone about these machines and what they are capable of and how they work. The receptionist immediately set me up with the service manager who specifically works on these planters and has tested them. He and I talked for an hour on the phone and he left me with his cell phone # and email if I had any questions or wanted to visit. Also, he emailed me specific directions on how to calibrate the seed cups and a rate chart that he had made on his own time. It just really put me at ease to see how willing he was to visit and explain the machine. He stressed many times, the importance of the owner PROPERLY calibrating the seed cups and knowing yourself it is all set to true zero, especially when planting small, small seeds at a low rate.
If there's one thing I don't like, it's those flaps in the back. I wish they did have packing wheels or something because these do look like some Mickey Mouse, chinsey spring covers. We'll see. Im happy with how it looks and am looking forward to getting some seed in the ground.
One thing that made me happy.... this winter I called down to Tar River and asked to talk with someone about these machines and what they are capable of and how they work. The receptionist immediately set me up with the service manager who specifically works on these planters and has tested them. He and I talked for an hour on the phone and he left me with his cell phone # and email if I had any questions or wanted to visit. Also, he emailed me specific directions on how to calibrate the seed cups and a rate chart that he had made on his own time. It just really put me at ease to see how willing he was to visit and explain the machine. He stressed many times, the importance of the owner PROPERLY calibrating the seed cups and knowing yourself it is all set to true zero, especially when planting small, small seeds at a low rate.
If there's one thing I don't like, it's those flaps in the back. I wish they did have packing wheels or something because these do look like some Mickey Mouse, chinsey spring covers. We'll see. Im happy with how it looks and am looking forward to getting some seed in the ground.
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SWIFFY
5 year old buck +
PM me your email Owen.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
If you have any tips on depth adjustment set up.....I'd appreciate hearing what you have.
SWIFFY
5 year old buck +
Sorry Foggy I don't. It was mainly an adder on proper calibration.
But if you have specific questions I would recommend calling down there. They were very friendly and happy to try and help!
Thanks. I'm not to worried about the oats. Just using them as a carrier for my clover and collards.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
I was just re-reading this thread on the SAYA drill. I'm a little late to this discussion as I got my Saya 505 drill (last summer) after you did. I appreciate some of the good advice you presented here in the first few pages of this thread.....and it was worth the time to re-read this. I kinda echo your experience.
Regarding the small seed box and the calibration of same......I was able to get down to about 10 lbs minimum of seed distributed per acre on my 5 foot drill. I had a mix of several seeds in the small box when attemting this.....including a mix ratio of 2# white clover, 5# red clover, 2# PTT, 2#DER, 2# Collards.....IIRC.
Like you, I tried a few filler materials including pelletized lime (to set up initial drop for depth settings as I could easily see the lime in the dirt), kitty litter, and finally Millorgranite fertilizer. The kitty litter and lime are too big IMO to use in the rear seed box. The Milorganite was quite fine and seemed useful.......but I did a limited amount of testing as I had the aforementioned blend I was putting down. If I were to just want to drill a few lbs of turnips....I may try the milorgranite again as it is relatively low corrosive, cheap and provides some mild fertilizer value. A good washout would be required but I think the Milorganite is less corrosive than other synthetic fertilizers, it's fine grain, and relatively smooth shape....much like small seeds. The last time I bought this I paid about $20 / 40 lb bag.
One consideration is....that the Milorganite will keep deer away for a few weeks....until the odor is gone. I used it in the past to deter deer from my soybean crops and it seemed to work well as the beans established for a few weeks before the deer returned.
my 2 cents. Thanks for creating this thread.
john volkman
5 year old buck +
if you can please send to me as well!
Buckhunter10
5 year old buck +
This thread keeps getting better!
Zimmerman assured me when I put my down payment that they completely go over the drills and make sure they are calibrated. Not sure if they do this due to the issues other mentioned but I’ll be sure to follow up when mines ready.
Hope to add something to this thread at some point!! Thanks!
Zimmerman assured me when I put my down payment that they completely go over the drills and make sure they are calibrated. Not sure if they do this due to the issues other mentioned but I’ll be sure to follow up when mines ready.
Hope to add something to this thread at some point!! Thanks!
ACCMan
5 year old buck +
Two weeks ago I rolled and sprayed my rye field in prep for drilling beans. We were dry until last week, got some rain, and yesterday got 1". I checked my field and could easily insert my knife blade 3" so decided to drill. I had previously played with the drill and planted where I had lightly tilled, everything went well. Today I was drilling a mix of soybeans and iron clay peas into my rye thatch. I found the drill to be much to light for my Va clay. I added 200lbs, and got enough coulter penetration to plant. I checked frequently to see if seeds were getting in the ground and found the iron clay peas doing fine but alot of the soybeans not planted.
I found what I perceive as design problems with the drill. The covering fingers, especially in thatch, are useless. The drive basket needs angle iron welded to the longitudinal bars as the smooth longitudinal bars don't get any "bite" in thick thatch and the basket can stop turning. If you are going to till its not a problem but true no till is giving me a fit.
Honestly the basket should be replaced with closing wheels and the fingers go in the scrap pile. The alternative is to add a ton of weight to the rear of the drill to get enough weight on the basket, which I will try tomorrow.
So far the things I like about the drill is #1 its red, and #2 it connects to the tractor easy. If I am going to have to till to use it I'll go back to my old JD, and find a new home for the Tar River.
I found what I perceive as design problems with the drill. The covering fingers, especially in thatch, are useless. The drive basket needs angle iron welded to the longitudinal bars as the smooth longitudinal bars don't get any "bite" in thick thatch and the basket can stop turning. If you are going to till its not a problem but true no till is giving me a fit.
Honestly the basket should be replaced with closing wheels and the fingers go in the scrap pile. The alternative is to add a ton of weight to the rear of the drill to get enough weight on the basket, which I will try tomorrow.
So far the things I like about the drill is #1 its red, and #2 it connects to the tractor easy. If I am going to have to till to use it I'll go back to my old JD, and find a new home for the Tar River.
Buckhunter10
5 year old buck +
That is a bummer to hear. One thing to consider might be better to run that drill through the standing rye grain first - then roll/bush hog off the rye. Trying to get a lighter drill through the thatch and a high CEC soil might be asking too much.
Was there a large size difference between the pea and bean seed, assuming the beans coming out of the machine but not getting into the cut - due to the opening being too narrow due to not cutting through rye well enough?
Thank you for the honest feedback! I have gone back and forth on if I want to proceed or not.
ACCMan
5 year old buck +
Iron clay peas are 1/3 the size of soybeans. I'm running with the thatch, not across it. I have no problem getting through the thatch to dirt and the coulters are slicing about 1" deep. Tomorrow I will try weight on the rear and see if the openers are able to enlarge the slit AND keep the basket turning to keep depositing seed. This ain't my first rodeo, I've used drills and have an old JD71 with coulters that outplants the TR, just slower because its a 3 row planter. There is a slim chance its planting better than I think and will know when I get seed germination. One thing I noticed is momentum is your friend. Planting faster sets the coulters deeper and they cut better. Planting slow tends to allow the coulters to ride higher, especially when you hit a harder patch of ground, and when the planter rides higher pressure is removed from the drive basket. This Va clay is tough. I am a coyote trapper and sometimes its hard to even be able to bury a coyote trap.
Buckhunter10
5 year old buck +
Really good feedback, I am in SE Ohio - so we likely have similar soils (Appalachian region). That is also very interesting about the coulters wanting to ride higher - just curious, do think a top link adjustment could help at all?
The JD71 likely works so well due to the weight-to-opener distribution. That unit probably weighs 1800lbs and is concentrated on 3 openers vs. 10 via Tar River- just food for thought. This was one of my concerns with ordering my tar river (which hasn't arrived yet) when I compared it to 2 rows or other drills.
Thank you for sharing the feedback ACCMAN!
My thought was to run the drill through the standing vegetation ( reducing resistance on the ground via thatch for coulters and openers), and then rolling/cutting/crimping/spraying thatch after - anyone tried this with a tar river?
ACCMan
5 year old buck +
Well, today was round two of soybean planting. I experimented with top link adjustment and might have made some improvement. I also added 3 concrete blocks to the rear step plate for weight. I have found that when adjusting the top link to level the drill there is a fine line between leveling, coulter penetration and rear basket contact. The drill acts as a fulcrum, lifting the rear and removing down pressure to the openers. It is going to be interesting to see what my germination is going to look like, but it will not be a true representation, of single pass drilling, as it was a ongoing experiment.
I finished my field then tried to plant a long strip that consists of oats, clover and kale. That was a total bust. Next year I will terminate my rye earlier to give the roots more time to rot. In the fall when I sow rye in my soybeans I'm going to also sow diakon radishes. I've been doing this in other plots for a couple of years and my deer love them, and another plus is how they really penetrate deep and bust the soil, which will help drill penetration.
Now before you guys put yourself on suicide watch, please bear in mind I think my dirt is the worst case scenario. Its is heavy red clay with rocks, rocks, and more rocks. If you have decent dirt and moisture content I think it will no till beautifully. I know for a fact it drills beautifully in lightly till dirt. I planted in lightly till dirt last week, wheat, iron clay peas, and buckwheat and as of this morning it is popping up. My dirt is so hard groundhogs wont even stop and set up housekeeping. They just move into town where the asphalt and concrete is easier to dig in.
I have a couple of ideas to get rid of the closing fingers as they are as useless as VP Harris, our border czar. Agri Supply sells aftermarket cultipacker wheels which would add needed weight on the extreme rear of the drill and they will help closing the seed trench. The basket does a great job on tilled soil, but I think when no tilling in thatch it actually buoys up the drill because of its width, and two actual drive wheels would work better.
I finished my field then tried to plant a long strip that consists of oats, clover and kale. That was a total bust. Next year I will terminate my rye earlier to give the roots more time to rot. In the fall when I sow rye in my soybeans I'm going to also sow diakon radishes. I've been doing this in other plots for a couple of years and my deer love them, and another plus is how they really penetrate deep and bust the soil, which will help drill penetration.
Now before you guys put yourself on suicide watch, please bear in mind I think my dirt is the worst case scenario. Its is heavy red clay with rocks, rocks, and more rocks. If you have decent dirt and moisture content I think it will no till beautifully. I know for a fact it drills beautifully in lightly till dirt. I planted in lightly till dirt last week, wheat, iron clay peas, and buckwheat and as of this morning it is popping up. My dirt is so hard groundhogs wont even stop and set up housekeeping. They just move into town where the asphalt and concrete is easier to dig in.
I have a couple of ideas to get rid of the closing fingers as they are as useless as VP Harris, our border czar. Agri Supply sells aftermarket cultipacker wheels which would add needed weight on the extreme rear of the drill and they will help closing the seed trench. The basket does a great job on tilled soil, but I think when no tilling in thatch it actually buoys up the drill because of its width, and two actual drive wheels would work better.
