by Ethan Begle, Technical Service
Kinze 4000 and 5000 series planter owners have a renewed option to place liquid in-furrow under the seed. The Valion seed tube guards last 3 – 4 times the life of OEM guards. Not only will you not have to change the guard as often, but a heat-resistant (500° melting point) ¼” plastic tube runs through the guard to place liquids in the bottom of the furrow. The most common rates would be 3-5 gal/acre but higher rates of 10-12 gal/acre are possible depending on what fertilizer you are applying. Kinze designed a quick and easy installation that slides into the shank from one side. Once your guard measures 5/8″ wide at the bottom rear point it should be replaced.
Also pictured are the Thompson closing wheels which bolt right onto the Kinze closing brackets, whether it has an airbag or spring to adjust closing pressure. A common question is what’s different compared to other closing wheels. The Thompson wheel is narrow (1/4″) wide AR400 steel and weighs 9.5 lbs. This allows it to penetrate and crumble the sidewall easily. The spokes are square at the tip, so they won’t go too deep and dislodge seeds. The ability to angle the wheel outwards at the front to pull more soil in ensures the slot gets closed. This wedge is built into the dust cap, and you can adjust between 0, 3, and 6 degrees of toe-out. You won’t find this feature on any other closing wheels. As shown in the picture, getting the spacing between the wheels 1.75-2″ apart on the inside of the wheels will give the best closing action.
Kinze’s new 5000 series planters offer a lot of interesting improvements. These models would be worth a look if a planter upgrade was needed on your farm. The cast iron row units won’t bend, and the new gauge wheel arms are simple to adjust and have greaseless pivots. I also like how you can quickly pin up the closing bracket to check your furrow depth.
Finally, if you still have a 3000 series Kinze planter, we have a Valion to fit that will outlast the factory guard 2-3 times longer. We’ve received questions about fitting our 205 opener blades on Kinze 3000 planters and we can now offer them when you purchase the pair of longer bolts. These blades offer a larger hub to fit the double row 205 bearings as well as 5/16″ rivets vs ¼” on the standard blades.