GREAT PLAINS PL5200, Operator'S Manual

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PL5200 Planter Table of Contents Index Operation
Great Plains | 411-825M | 12/07/2020 32
1. Adjust hydraulic flow to meter pressure change.
2. Wait 5 to 10 seconds for the system to update
while you continue planting.
3. Continue making small decrease adjustments
until the reported population levels out at the
target value.
Skips
If everything else is correct, and the overall average
population is running low, or there are gaps when
doing a furrow check, the cause may be seeds falling
out of disk pockets before delivery to the seed tube.
Increase meter pressurization to correct this.
Insufficient meter pressurization, or unusually rough
fields can increase the incidence of empty pockets.
Be sure to rule out other causes, such as skipping
chains, meter starvation, or incorrect meter disks,
before adjusting meter pressurization to reduce
skips. Excess meter pressurization can increase the
chance of doubles.
Doubles
If everything else is correct, and the overall average
population is running high, or there are double seeds
when doing a furrow check, the cause may be two
seeds in some disk pockets at delivery to the seed
tube. Decrease meter pressurization to correct this.
To decrease meter pressurizations:
1. Adjust tractor hydraulic flow.
2. Wait 5 to 10 seconds for the system to update
while you continue planting.
3. Continue making small decrease adjustments
until the reported population levels out at the
target value.
Fine Tuning Meter Pressurization
After several passes, if you are comfortable with the
planter operation, optimize the meter pressurization.
Do this during longer passes, so there are fewer
distractions.
1. Observe the current overall average population
reported by the console.
2. Adjust the meter pressurization down in small
increments, waiting 5 to 10 seconds between
adjustments, until skips occur. Not the pressure
where skips begin.
3. Restore the pressure to the initial value at step 1.
4. Adjust the meter pressurization up by small
increments until doubles occur. Note the
pressure at the which doubles begins.
If unable to adjust up to doubles, or if skips
happen instead, seed delivery is probably being
starved of air.
Increase fan rpm and repeat limit search.
5. Adjust meter pressurization to a value halfway
between the limits established at step 2 and step
4. This is the ideal value for your crop, disk, and
population, providing equal margin against skips
and doubles. Record this value for future use.
Alternate Skips/Double Check
Small seeds -particularly milo- and high populations -
particularly soybeans- may not be sensed as skips or
doubles by the seed tube sensors, and watching
seed monitoring system population is unlikely to
locate the pressure limits. The following test can also
be quicker for all seeds:
1. After planting a few passes with initial settings,
remove the rain covers from several seed meters.
Use rows with a variety of seed hose lengths and
routes.
2. Make a meter pressurization adjustment, and
resume planting for pass or less.
3. Stop the planter motion but leave the fan running.
4. Inspect the seed disks closely. Look for empty
seed cells, skips, and cells with multiple seeds
(doubles).
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 until limits are
established. Record the limits and calculate an
average.
6. Install the rain covers and plant with the
calculated average.

Planting Rate
Always check seed delivery rate before planting.
The seed monitoring system can count most
singulated seeds, but may not reliably the smallest
seeds, such as milo. It does not count individual
volumetric seeds, and several factors can cause
large seed singulated reports to be inaccurate, such
as incorrect speed calibration, Sensor Constant, or
Gear Ratio setup.
Methods of rate checking are described in detail in
the Material Rate manual. This is an overview of the
general process, which varies with the seed type and
planter meter drive type.