No-Till Planter Blades, One or Two?

Does anyone replace only one side on a John Deere planter to get the lead cutting effect such as with a Case IH planter, or does everyone replace both as they wear down? I no-till into wheat and barley stubble.

—bck, barknoll@yahoo.com

The problem with replacing only one blade and leaving the smaller, worn blade is that you won’t get a clean cut on the bottom of the seed trench. Case IH uses the same size blades, but they run one ahead of the other by an inch. They are run at the same depth on the bottom to get the dirt moved.

In addition, Case IH has a triangled piece of iron for a firmer that runs in the trench to get rid of the loose dirt. There is an easy solution to get the Case IH opener. Trade no-till planters.

—A

When the beveled edge of the blades wear off, replace them both. When you take the blades off, you’ll notice three or four washers on the shaft. Leave one or two washers on when you put the new blades on. This will increase the length of the contact between the two blades where they enter the soil. You have to leave enough washers on to ensure the blade does not rub on the shank of the no-till planting unit.

—John, deerefriend@hotmail

Don’t have too much contact between the two blades or you will wear out the bearings. The book says 2…