Openers for a walk-behind tractor: what is it and how to install it correctly?

The expansion of the capabilities of motoblocks is of concern to all their owners. This task is successfully solved by means of auxiliary equipment. But each type of such equipment must be selected and installed as carefully as possible.

Many farmers prefer to make their own openers with their own hands. This technique is not popular because of its cheapness. On the contrary, a handicraft element is ultimately more expensive. But the fact is that it ideally meets the needs of a particular farm. If there are no special requirements, standard serial products can also be used.

The opener for a walk-behind tractor is a device that allows you to implement a precision farming system. Important: we are talking about self-made tools, and not about standardized work items. According to experts, it is the opener among other parts of the seeder:

• most important;

• the most difficult;

• most intensively loaded.

It is needed in order to maintain a consistently specified depth of seed penetration into the soil horizon. The field contour is copied independently with the coulters. With proper use of the coulters, it is possible to:

• reduce energy consumption in the technological process (thereby dispensing with a smaller class walk-behind tractor);

• reduce the total fuel consumption;

• to raise the overall productivity of work by 50-200%;

• increase the yield by at least 20%.

Experts most often recommend custom-made coulters for DIY installation Class. Their characteristics are fully consistent with those described above. A consistent seed placement depth is achieved by a special arrangement of levers and support wheels. Since the hinges in the most loaded area are supported by springs, it is possible to adjust the pressure on the coulter surface. A well thought-out safety spring prevents damage to the main parts of the opener even when hitting various kinds of obstacles.

First you need to put on the earring. It will already be necessary to attach the working part to it. Attach it using cotter pins and bushings. Important: the fasteners should be inserted into the second hole from the bottom. This allows you to adjust the depth of the cutters in the optimal way for full-fledged soil cultivation.

It so happens that the standard deepening (by 20 cm) is not enough. To set the opener for a deeper approach, it is lowered and attached to the shackle through the upper holes. Conversely, if only the topmost layer of soil is required to be processed, it is attached through the lower hole before using the tool. Experts recommend that you initially arrange a test run of the walk-behind tractor. Only he will show if everything is done correctly.

It is important to understand that the opener installed on walk-behind tractors and motor-cultivators is not capable of performing the same work as similar devices on "large" tractors. It makes no sense to expect from them:

• pruning;

• loosening the earth;

• the formation of grooves.

There are only two functions available: adjusting the depth and rate of cultivation, and an additional anchor point for storage. That is why various names for this part may occur:

• stop-limiter;

• plowing depth regulator;

• spur (in the lines of a number of European firms).

The coulters installed on individual models of walk-behind tractors (cultivators) can have only 2 adjustment positions. There are even those in which the deepening of the sharp end is not regulated. An example is the proprietary Caiman Eco Max 50S C2 coulter. But it is possible to change the speed of movement of the cultivator by manipulating the handles. For your information: on powerful cultivators and walk-behind tractors, the opener must necessarily move freely to the right and left.

The correct organization of work when using the opener is as follows:

• pressing the handles;

• stopping the cultivator;

• waiting until the ground around the cutters is loosened;

• repetition in the next section.

When it is planned to plow virgin lands, usually the burrs are made relatively small in order to evaluate the result. Only after processing the trial portion of the plot can it be said whether the depth needs to be changed or not. If the motor starts to accelerate when the working depth is reduced, the opener has to be buried a little more. On motoblocks of the "Neva" type, the regulator is set to begin with in the middle position. Then, focusing on the density of the earth and the ease of overcoming it, they carry out the final adjustment.

For information on what openers for a walk-behind tractor are and how to install them correctly, see the video below.