Tar River SAYA-507 No Till Drill

[yiengsty]

I think it's just cheaper route. I don't know where intended. Found YouTube video of Asian lady selling them. Just didn't say tar.river.

 

[yiengsty]

 

[ACCMan]

I called Tar River today about a problem I spotted in relation to one of my disc openers. I turns out that there are a couple of updates to the disc openers in relation to the cast iron casting. Mine had 1 generation one opener and 2 generation 2 openers. They are sending me another generation 2 opener tomorrow. If you need their assistance ask for Brad, nice guy and knows the drill well, along with its history. He is also interested in our feedback and wants suggestions on making the drill better. That is unusual as most manufacturers from my experience feel they got it right the first time. He also said there will be updates to the manual and he will pass that along to me via email. Anything I get will be shared with you guys if you want it.

Its funny that last night I was racking my brain on a simple way to aid in closing the seed trench and then it came to me to use the JD covering chains. I have a set on my old JD Van Brunt that I will rob and install.. Then I play catch up reading the latest posts a see that Foggy is doing that. I still have other things I am kicking around in my mind. Does anyone know the size chain for the drives?

 

[ACCMan]

Its brand new, ZERO

I will have a lot of different seeds through it by Sept. 15 this year. Right now we are flooded so I'm just sitting and waiting to actually plant wi

Hey Swiffy, have you put pontoons and a trolling motor in your drill yet?

 

[swat1018]

As bad as these things sound off the showroom floor, I can't wait to see how they do in a decade.

 

[Foggy47]

I think it's just cheaper route. I don't know where intended. Found YouTube video of Asian lady selling them. Just didn't say tar.river.

There are at least two more versions (brands) of this drill that have (are?) been marketed here in the USA. One was is being sold by Northern hydraulics. Other brands have not had the stainless hoppers and really cheap stamped hand wheels and such. By comparison to those....this Tar River SAYA appears to be a Cadillac. Still for a few bucks more they could do still more improvements.....but at some point you approach the price levels of those other products that we don't want to pay for.

I like to do my own mods....to a point.....kinda like owning a Jeep Wrangler. lol. Gotta own a set of wrenches to make mods on either product....and it's part of our culture.....fun. As the wrangler owners say "you wouldn't understand....it's a jeep thing". Now I can also say...."it's a SAYA thing". When I am in OZ (AZ) in the winters....I love wheeling my Jeep in the desert or mountains.....and doing mod's that make it "mine". It's a jeep thing. Grin.

I'd likely have bought a better drill had the prices not skyrocketed and became hard to get recently. Still...these drills represent good value and can last a long time IMO. Also....I'm getting to the age where I cannot wear out even the low cost products....smile. ;)

 

[Foggy47]

I called Tar River today about a problem I spotted in relation to one of my disc openers. I turns out that there are a couple of updates to the disc openers in relation to the cast iron casting. Mine had 1 generation one opener and 2 generation 2 openers. They are sending me another generation 2 opener tomorrow. If you need their assistance ask for Brad, nice guy and knows the drill well, along with its history. He is also interested in our feedback and wants suggestions on making the drill better. That is unusual as most manufacturers from my experience feel they got it right the first time. He also said there will be updates to the manual and he will pass that along to me via email. Anything I get will be shared with you guys if you want it.

Its funny that last night I was racking my brain on a simple way to aid in closing the seed trench and then it came to me to use the JD covering chains. I have a set on my old JD Van Brunt that I will rob and install.. Then I play catch up reading the latest posts a see that Foggy is doing that. I still have other things I am kicking around in my mind. Does anyone know the size chain for the drives?

My memory is shot...and I am away from my drill. The have a different size for the front and back. (duh?). So I think the big box (front) is size 60 and the small box (rear) is size 50. No promises. I bought 6 of each on Amazon for about $7 per size. Figured it's best to have the means to repair a few things.

Has anyone asked about other repair parts for these drills. those drop hoses would be nice to have. They also are different size on top and bottom. (sigh)

 

[buckdeer1]

Running that conduit off the small seed box is like when used to pull tubes out of a VB drill for alfalfa.I would try the chains before the packing wheels.On our big ag drills they have both.I have a Kasco Versa drill and it has a big heavy duty cultipacker on back and even that doesn't always cover seeds

 

[buckdeer1]

Maybe those 4ft NT drills on purple wave under grain drills look pretty good at 800.00

 

[Foggy47]

As bad as these things sound off the showroom floor, I can't wait to see how they do in a decade.

There aint no showroom on these drills.....and they ain't that bad.....if you do a little work (that the dealer or the assembler) should be doing. I WILL grant you that. The design is pretty good.....and the price point is great....for the right buyer.

But....also need to say this....and it's important for "Americans" to understand where these drills come from ....and a bit of machine philosophy "across the pond". In times past....all implements were shipped to dealers in a "broken down" components basis. Plows, cultivators, planters, and many more items were all shipped as component parts and were primarily assembled and adjusted by the DEALERS. For example....You could fashion a two, three or four bottom plow from the same basic parts....with the right "SKU's" or similar packages of time gone by. LOTS of the (third) world still operates that way....but we here in the USA have gone another direction for the most part.....and often rely on the seller to do all these things for us.

I grew up during those prior times said....and spent allot of time with assembly and set-up personel that worked for my dad's implement dealership....back in the 50's. I think much of the import world is still in this era....as are some of the tractor dealers.....like Kubota.....or Ikea for that matter. PEOPLE WANT CHEAP.....and if that requires DIY then so be it.

Kubota dealers need to assemble many of those tractors they get shipped to them too...and I suppose some of the implements? Not sure of the other brands.

So....if you do not understand mechanical things.....or want plug and play....some of this stuff may not be in your best interests. Pay the higher price and be happy.....IMO.

The thing is BELCO either needs to have better instructions or better dealers....or do a better job of assembly......if you want to sell these product to today's USA consumer. (and....there goes the low price....if your not careful). Many lack the know-how to deal with a "kit" assembly. (no offense to anyone - we just don't know what we don't know.). My 2cents. If you want to go "kit"....you better have GREAt illustrated instructions....Just saying.

I spent most of my life with mechanical stuff (and have over 20 utility/mecancical patents on stuff to prove it) but today it's not what most folks know much about....at least here in the USA. Belco has somehow got to make this product a bit more user friendly and provide more bullet-proof assembly....or instruction....IMO. If they can do this...they will have a real winner.

Still...if what I say here about the ability to deal with the few shortcomings of this product is "you"....you'r gonna love this drill and it's price point. "Its' a SAYA thing". grin..

 

[somich]

^^. Regarding the assembly.....I would strongly encourage anyone buying one of these to spend some time getting these drills set up properly......and checking as many fasteners and chain alignments and more. Tighten set screws on sprockets, grease those end caps to carefully fill with grease (too much and you will blow the cap off). Buy some chain repair links and maybe some hoses (note to myself on these hoses). I think you could easily spend a day to get this done.....if your a putz like me. ;)

One thing that took some time on my drill was getting the seed cups uniform across the drill. Front and rear........so they dispense equal amounts of seed. I think this is a "one and done" operation.....but it is somewhat of a crucial step in my opinion.....and those little clamps are kinda funky to work with. Also......my seed cups would blow perhaps 1/3 of the seed out of the gap in the sight window on the small seed box.....which I noticed when calibrating. I used some super tape to close the slot in the mating parts for a solution.

Perhaps that blowing the seeds out of the seed cup is not a bad thing for small seeds as I feel the small seeds are getting buried too deeply when dropped in between the openers as this product comes from the factory. I did post (elsewhere) my solution to dropping the seeds behind the openers....as found on other drills. However being able to calibrate is lost if you are scattering 1/3 the small seeds out of the intended system. Anyone else notice this??

Would be nice if TAR RIVER would come up with a set up checklist for this product - if they are not going to assemble properly. It does take some time.....but it also makes you familiar with the machine. Many of the dealers selling these drills do not have a clue about how to set up a grain drill......nor do they want to do that work on a $5000 product "for free".

Having said the above....these drills represent allot of bang for the buck and seem ideal for the food plotters and low use farmers among us. If I were a commercial user or larger scale operator.....I would buy a better machine. I think I can be happy with this product knowing the above shortcomings.

I really appreciate your detailed experiences with your drill. I've read through them multiple times. I'm setting up a 505 and the posts you've made have been very helpful.

Hopefully, I plant buckwheat next Sat. or Sun. as we're supposed to get rain Wd-Fri and we're already wet. Looking forward to a good first planting.

 

[356]

I am "stuck" in a hospital for a few days.....so I use my downtime to study such stuff......and make a little mayhem.

Sorry to hear of the hospital stay and pray it is short, your downtime in productive and the mayhem is minimal. I am following this thread as a SAYA may be in my future.

 

[ACCMan]

I don't know how you guys are calibrating your drills but I found an easy rainy day way to do it in the shop. You can raise and level the drill, then remove the plastic axle cap, and place a 21mm socket on the end of the axle and rotate the basket with a breaker bar to achieve your calibrating distance.

 

[Foggy47]

great idea

I don't know how you guys are calibrating your drills but I found an easy rainy day way to do it in the shop. You can raise and level the drill, then remove the plastic axle cap, and place a 21mm socket on the end of the axle and rotate the basket with a breaker bar to achieve your calibrating distance.

Great idea! Thanks. Was considering spinning that wheel. This sounds better......other than cleaning up that grease? ...but I supposed that saves too.

I block off my hopper with a section of wood I cut to match the v shape in the hopper floor. That way I can just add a little seed to calibrate about 3 seed cups. If you have a long tub......you could just catch seeds under the openers.....and would not have to use bags and rubber bands. easy/ peasy.

 

[somich]

I called Tar River today about a problem I spotted in relation to one of my disc openers. I turns out that there are a couple of updates to the disc openers in relation to the cast iron casting. Mine had 1 generation one opener and 2 generation 2 openers. They are sending me another generation 2 opener tomorrow. If you need their assistance ask for Brad, nice guy and knows the drill well, along with its history. He is also interested in our feedback and wants suggestions on making the drill better. That is unusual as most manufacturers from my experience feel they got it right the first time. He also said there will be updates to the manual and he will pass that along to me via email. Anything I get will be shared with you guys if you want it.

Its funny that last night I was racking my brain on a simple way to aid in closing the seed trench and then it came to me to use the JD covering chains. I have a set on my old JD Van Brunt that I will rob and install.. Then I play catch up reading the latest posts a see that Foggy is doing that. I still have other things I am kicking around in my mind. Does anyone know the size chain for the drives?

Can you post a picture of the difference? I just recently bought a 505 and the more I see that others are doing the better, for me at least.

 

[ACCMan]

I talked with Brad Mon afternoon about the disc opener problem and this morning received a replacement disc opener. I can't get JD parts that fast, I am pleased with the service. He told me they have a complete stock of parts for the drill. If you have miss matched openers the way to tell is raise the drill, and with all of the openers on their stops, they will not hang at the same height.

 

[Foggy47]

I talked with Brad Mon afternoon about the disc opener problem and this morning received a replacement disc opener. I can't get JD parts that fast, I am pleased with the service. He told me they have a complete stock of parts for the drill. If you have miss matched openers the way to tell is raise the drill, and with all of the openers on their stops, they will not hang at the same height.

Does Brad read this site? Could pick up a few pointers....grin. They do have a good bang for the buck.....a few more tweaks and it would be great.

 

[SWIFFY]

I talked to Brad over the winter and he was a very nice, helpful guy to me as well.

I raised my drill and manually spun the basket by hand. I calibrated for 4 different seed types at one time. I did it from opening 1-8 on each seed and then weighed (oz.) each seed, each time. Then I did the same for Switchgrass and Radishes in the small seedbox. It took me a few hours one night and it worked great. Also, I bought a 1-gallon ShopVac for cleaning out the seed bins when I'm done... so far that's been priceless! Ive been through my whole drill and I feel mine was set up pretty good as far as no loose nuts and bolts etc.

One question I have is how much weight have you guys added? Ive tried planting a couple times now in a dry "test area" and I cant get my seed openers to touch the ground! The cutters barely, the basket makes good contact of course because I can adjust the top link to do so. But am I missing something to really get the cutters and seed openers in? Or is it simply weight? It seems to be... Im going to try building a crib to hold several hundred pounds of sandbags this next week and see if that does it. If it does, I should get my stuff going well by Tuesday. Fingers crossed!

 

[ACCMan]

Swiffy, I planted with 200lbs up front and about 100lbs on the rear. Lower your opening discs with the handwheels, and believe turning ccw lowers. When lowering rotate one for several revolutions, then move to the other for several revolutions. You may also have to raise the basket also. Its a balancing act getting the openers down enough to plant, and keeping enough weight on the basket so it engages the ground enough to rotate to drive the drill to plant. If the front coulter discs are penetrating the ground, say 1", then its all about lowering using the handwheels.

 

[SWIFFY]

Ok yeah I tried some of that... Those handwheels are Mickey Mouse IMO. CCW I could only get so far before they just completely unthreaded out of the bottom. I don't quite get it. The other way they ended up binding to where I couldn't turn them anymore. And I didn't see a difference either way really.

The basket will come up when the little black wheels are tightened, but man, i could only get so far by hand there as well.

I'll keep playing. I think weight will be my biggest friend.... OHHH and NOT mud!