By Ethan Begle, Technical Service
Exapta now carries Airguard products to fix many common issues with your air seeder. Overheating, hoses pulling out, gunk in your lines, seed bunching up and seeds blowing out of the furrow can be a thing of the past. Give your air system a boost and have fewer problems in the field next year. Airguard was started to fix farmer issues in the field, aligning with Exapta’s focus of getting the most from your seeding equipment.
To connect the air cart to the towers, Exapta offers replacement 2.5” primary hose that is clear urethane, to quickly locate plugging, with UV protection so it doesn’t crack in the sun.If you still have an older air seeder with the long J-bolts that run through the riser pipe, it’s time to upgrade. Dimpled riser pipes help to distribute the seed after they turn the corner coming up the riser pipe. Exapta offers 1” outlet heads with 4-12 ports to accommodate any secondary runs you need. Formed into a dome shape with tapered rubber caps, the outlet heads allow a smooth transition into the secondary lines. Just like the primary hose, we have clear secondary 1” and 1.25″ ID spiral hose. These fit into our one-piece formed stainless seed tubes with Airguard’s Sabre hose clamps. It’s much easier to install and remove the hose by loosening the hose clamp. OEM makes it near impossible to remove and install seed hoses without heating the metal tube first. With our stainless seed tube and Sabre hose clamp, removal and installation is easily performed by simply loosening or snugging up the hose clamp. The adaptor gives more points of contact on the hose and especially helps keep Intelligent Ag sensors attached to the hose.
At this point in the seed delivery process, Airguard provides Seed Brakes to cut back on the air pressure before reaching the seed boot. This venting of excess air reduces seed bounce into the furrow and the spiral tube maintains seed spacing which helps stop the clumping of seed that can sometimes be seen after emergence. Another underutilized improvement for air seeders from Airguard is their blockage prevention system. This system uses a radiator to remove heat from your hydraulic lines and it also removes humidity from the air system. When it is hot outside and all the tractor remotes are in operation, a lot of heat is generated in the hydraulic system. Airguard’s blockage prevention system will reduce hydraulic temperature while removing humidity from the seed/fertilizer distribution system. Removing this humidity helps prevent gunky build-up from fertilizer and seed treatment in the hoses. If you have buildup in your seed sensors, giving false readings or often stop working, it is often the result of humidity in the air system.
Some OEM manufacturers now include these products from the factory and for good reason. As I’ve mentioned in previous newsletters, fertilizer applied with the seed is a good practice, but switching to stainless parts will ensure hassle-free seeding without rust issues. Also consider the importance of reducing hydraulic temperature, preventing seed hose plugging, keeping seeds spaced out uniformly, and not blowing seeds out of the furrow. These products bring less headaches and smoother running when drilling with air seeders.