TO PLANT POTATOES? WITH PLEASURE!

Indeed, if you are energetic (that is, mini-tractor), then why waste time and energy on such a tedious and unproductive labor as planting potatoes by hand? With the help of a reliable mechanism of this bleak work becomes almost a game. Becomes possible without much effort to plant tubers land area from a few acres to a hectare or more. We, for example, in our farm in a given year planted to two hectares. It took two days.

 

How is our potato? Because its main objective is a uniform flow of tubers to a predetermined depth with a smooth incorporation of the soil, then we have this no problems. With the rows, depth of planting, and incorporation can easily handle simple mechanical devices — borosport, seed tube and closing wheels.

Node number one in any planter or drill — sowing machine, which provides a uniform (normal) flow of tubers or seeds in the soil. In order to realize this process, engineers in the design office many scratching their heads, inventing complex mechanisms with a large number of transmissions and drives. The Amateur designer such mechanisms are not always able to do.

 

 

 

…Never, I guess, I’ll never forget my first planting. Receiving the fall of 1991 the ground, I immediately quit my job and took over production of mini-tractors. The winter passed fairly quickly, but the main thing was done: at the end of March, humming motor, the tractor was running in the spring puddles. For the remainder of the planting time, I had to make him a trailer, Hiller and plow. Lacked only the planters, as the main profile of our farm — growing potatoes.

 

Already the seeds were ready and fertilizer supplies, and fuels and lubricants were imported, and I still can not decide to take up the planter. Painful difficult seemed the task… And so wondering, and that way, a stack of papers, he drew sketches, but simple and reliable seed distributor could not come up with.

 

And suddenly an idea: do all the sowing machine? What could be simpler… human hands! Put on the wife unit — she will replace a complex mechanism. After all, all you need is a rhythmically take the tubers from the hopper and to throw in the hoses.

 

The idea has fully justified itself. For the manufacture of potato I spent a week (time was running out) and just half an hour after it had been twisted the last bolt, tested it right there in the garden, the benefit on the eve of his plowed.

 

The result exceeded all expectations. The tubers were formed at a given depth, the distance between them in the furrow remained about the same (300-350 mm), zadelku furrow is also satisfied. I feel like a weight has been lifted.

 

The next morning we were already in the field…

 

The principle of operation of the planter is. The bunker is filled with several sacks of potatoes Yes on the trunk are placed in the reserves for another two or three bags to the middle of the field is not left without tubers. The sower, or planter — whatever you like to call it, sits on its place, the driver engages first gear, and a mini tractor slowly begins to move. Borosport, adjusted to a predetermined depth, is formed by two smooth groove, the bottom of which through the pipes-hoses, salycic rhythmically throws the potato tubers. The gap between the tubers depends on the speed of movement of the mini-tractor, which should not exceed 1 km/h, and the rhythm of the movement of the hands of the sower. Required skills appear quickly, and soon he becomes a sower similar to the car — so monotonous movement. From the sower, by the way, much depends, and not every person can handle things here. After all, you need to make simultaneously with both hands to take the potato, bring to the sprouts, toss them in there… so thousands of times, in the same rhythm, with the same amplitude of motion, or the distance between tubers in the row will differ markedly, and this is undesirable.

After the tubers were in the furrow, they should be covered with soil. To this end, the planter closing wheels is provided. Since the discs are located at an angle to the furrow, then rotating from the friction of the soil, it displaces a portion of the land in the direction of the grooves and fill them.

 

Closing discs are arranged in such a way that by loosening the ladders, clamping the rack to the supports, you can not only change the degree of penetration of the discs into the soil, but also their angle of attack by rotating the rack about its own axis. There is a third adjustment — move the disks in either direction on the axes on which they rotate. For this purpose the adjusting sleeve (four per axle): moving the sleeve, it is possible to change the width of the discs. Combining the three above-mentioned adjustment depending on soil structure, it is possible to achieve almost perfect job sealing discs.

 

Bunker planting material

 

Holder of rippers:

 

1 – clip (sheet s6, 2); 2 – solitaire (leaf s6, 4 PCs); 3 – Stange (area: 50x50x5)

 

Closing drive:

 

1 — drive; 2 — rivet (d6, 5 PCs); 3 — hub; 4 — bearing housing; 5,6 — bearings 180503

 

 

Wisewater:

 

1 – clonepod (pipe 100х3); 2 – borosport (sheet s6)

 

The adjusting sleeve stand closing disc

 

 

So, the tubers are laid at a given depth, at a desired distance from each other, exactly littered with soil. Everything seems to be? No, need another surgery. It is necessary to remove the tracks left by the wheels of the tractor and potato planter. Take them rippers — the cultivation legs on the racks. Penetration of the tines in the soil is also regulated — the vertical movement of the racks and fixing them clips through the fingers.

 

In addition to “covering up” the traces of rippers perform another job — are the markers that help the tractor navigate to the next (reverse) pass of the mini-tractor. It is necessary to consider that the distance between adjacent rows in the aisles may vary from 600 mm in a big way, but not in the smaller, otherwise in a subsequent interrow processing the bushes of potatoes in these rows will podruzhatsya working bodies of the cultivator or Hiller.

 

Now about the design of the planters.

 

Frame it as in any machine that serves as the basis, to which are attached all other nodes. For the most part the frame is welded from segments channel number 8. Device it is simple: two longitudinal spar connected by three crossbars.

 

Front to the side members welded to the arch of the fork attachment to the Central rod and two fingers of attachment to the lower tie rods of the tractor hitch; side, both sides, vane support

 

seed stands and sealing discs; rear — three planks of the flooring of the trunk.

 

The frame is reinforced by two inclined struts of the steel strip, stretching from the arch to the middle of the crossmember, two trapezoidal pads in the arch and plenty of scarves made of sheet steel 4 mm thick in the form of rectangular triangles, the length of each of which ranges from 40 to 80 mm.

In addition, to the side members secured support of podselenie of angle 50x50x5 mm and footboard of 6-mm steel sheet, whose location on the frame were determined depending on the growth of the sower. For its growth were selected and the height of the legs of podselenie, so their sizes are not given. The seat itself is made of angle 50x50x5 mm (frame), boards (bottom) and foam rubber, covered with leather (cushion).

 

To the inclined braces welded a plate bracket to which two bolts M10 is attached to the hopper of the planting material (potato tubers) with a volume of 0.17 cubic meters, the Bunker is made of sheets of plywood 12 mm thick, coated with linseed oil, and then water-resistant paint.

 

From the bottom to the frame by bolts attached to the wheel axle and a holder of rippers.

 

Wheel axle team. At the heart of it — a thick-walled tube, the ends of which are inserted machined on a lathe axle, or spikes. The steel spikes hold the steel pins that are pressed into the radial holes drilled after Assembly. Head pins welded.

 

The wheels are welded from several sheet metal parts. Their production is quite a laborious process, but it is justified by the fact that a cylindrical surface of the wheel is less soil compaction. However, it is possible to use a suitable rubber wheel from farm machinery.

 

 

Wheels are welded to the hub, each of which rotates on two bearings 205, impaled on spikes. Pollution bearings are protected with covers and felt pads.

 

The frame of the potato axis is attached with four bolts M16 by means of two clamps made of sheet steel.

 

Holder of rippers, on the contrary, is quite simple. This is a rod with clips on the ends, which are inserted in a rack of a cul-tivating feet. Square rod welded from two pieces of angle 50x50x5 mm (obtained profile is much better resists twisting — their main workload than normal “square”, although the latter is smarter), and clips from pieces of sheet steel with a thickness of 6 mm. the dimensions of the clips are chosen so that stands of hoes were in them with millimeter clearances.

 

Did not require special material and labor costs and you severely. Each of them consists of the VAS deferens — tubes with a diameter of 100 mm, bottom which is welded to borosport from 6 mm sheet steel. The thickness of the tube wall is 3 mm (not less thin will bend under the pressure of the resisting soil). The degree of penetration of borosport weakened step ladders is regulated by the vertical movement of the hoses along their supports on the frame. Ladder after adjustment, tighten very firmly, otherwise the seed will unfold around its axis — load on borosport significant.

 

The sealing disks taken out of the planter WITH at 4.2. They required a slight alteration, because they have only one bearing 203. I bored through the hub of each disk to the required size and pressed to her body, are designed to have two bearings 160503. New bearings have the same housing size as the old one (except a little wider), but closed with one hand seal, so they are preferred. Installing bearings seals out, got a site, completely isolated from dirt and dust.

 

This planter is a pretty solid car. Mini-tractor with the engine from, say, scooter “Ant” and weighing 300-500 kg, she is probably “too hard”. But the truck is bigger and more powerful — quite on forces. For example, my mini-tractor is equipped with an engine UD-2, together with the driver, ballast loads on the rear wheels and front counterweight weighs about 850 kg, and it operates in conjunction with a planter without any effort. A counterweight is needed in order during lifting of the planters tractor stability, not bullied “nose”. Without counterbalances this happened.

 

The work is heavy, but grateful. And to make it easier, productive and interesting. Only need not hesitate to undertake the manufacture of various mechanical assistants. Since there are tools, appropriate materials, time and, most importantly, interest in the case — will succeed. If not first time then certainly the second — for sure!

G. LEGOSTAEV, farmer, S. M and W to n o, Bashkortostan