The sowing season is coming to an end. To avoid nasty surprises when the season starts again, it is a good idea to keep your seed drill in top condition and maintain it before putting it to rest during the winter months. It only takes a few simple actions to get your seed drill back in perfect condition and ready for use! The following tips will save you time in spring when the sowing season starts again.
All machines should be flushed with plenty of water, especially the chemical tanks, then dried with compressed air. Particular care must be taken to keep the seeding organs free of obstructions, accumulations of soil, stones or aggregations of roots and grass, which can cause blockage of the seeding channel, malfunction of the furrow-opening discs (minimal diameter 370 mm) or blockage of the pressure wheels.
Carefully check all parts and replace damaged or worn parts if necessary, check the tightness of bolts and screws, check tyre pressure, oil all drive chains, grease the points indicated in the manual and protect all unpainted parts with lubricant.
Finally, it is advisable to roof the equipment after storing it stably, in a sheltered environment, out of reach of the untrained.
How best to preserve your precision seed drill?
MaterMacc seed drills require very little maintenance: it is only necessary to grease the pivots of the depth wheels, the folding arms and the cardan shafts. The Easy-Set slide bar, the protagonist of variable row spacing seeding, can be washed with a suitable high-pressure cleaner if it is affected by dust. Lubricant can then be applied to it to keep it clean and smooth when spring sowing starts again.
It is recommended that fertiliser tanks be carefully emptied via the discharge outlets. It is also advisable to turn the support wheel with the machine raised for complete unloading of the distributors. The same should be done for the micro-granulators. MaterMacc recommends removing the covers of the MagicSem distributor, the heart of the machine and the main responsible for seeding precision and quality, and storing them in a closed place away from any rodents: the curtains and brushes that make up the distributor are in fact much appreciated by rats and mice!
If you own the electric MS model versions, please remember that MaterMacc does not use batteries but capacitors: this avoids having to dismantle parts that are sensitive to winter cold.
A few tips for cereal seed drill models
For optimal storage of MSD and MSD ELEKTRO drills, we recommend emptying the tank and inserting a wire mesh sponge into the distributors. This action will prevent rodents from being attracted to and eating the rubber/plastic fins inside the distributors.
Even easier maintenance in the case of weeders
In addition to the general recommendations, for all weeder models of the UNICA family, it is recommended that the fertiliser tanks be emptied and flushed perfectly by emptying the dosing units in the same way as the precision seed drill.
