As farmers continue to demand ever-larger and more efficient equipment, Bourgault has announced it’s ready to meet that need with the introduction of a new harrow bar series, the XR8. It’s available in 90- and 110-foot working widths, making them the widest five- and seven-row harrow bars currently on the market, according to the brand.
Available in two versions, the XR871 eXtended Range Harrows offers a seven-row set of tines, while the XR851 eXtended Range Heavy Harrows uses five.
“The XR871 is more of an all-around, general purpose harrow,” Bourgault’s research and design engineer Austin Pizzey says. “It’s very good at spreading and breaking straw. Those extra two bars of harrows are going to grab more residue and chaff. Whereas the XR851 has longer and heavier tines. It will excel at heavy harrowing applications, moving a lot more dirt.”
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While the XR8 models offer most of the same design features the previous XR7 series offered, the overall frame needed to be beefed up to handle the extra working width. Booms are now built out of 12-inch square tubing with quarter-inch wall thickness. That upsizing offers a 70 per cent increase in strength. And the hitch has been extended and strengthened, giving it the capacity to handle up to a 10,000-lb. (4,535-kg) granular tank.
The heavier frame now rides on larger 500/60R22 radial tires that provide improved floatation and weight carrying ability.
“Overall, the entire frame is redesigned,” Pizzey says. “From the hitch pin back, everything is larger and stronger than our previous model. Our previous models were 70 feet and 90 feet. We will still offer that 70-foot XR7 series for those looking for that working width. The 90 foot is only available in the new XR8 series.”
The XR8 models use the same harrow sections and tine options as the XR7 series did, so they will leave the same type of field finish.
“We have the same abilities and adjustment as the previous model,” Pizzey says. “Any of the field adjustments can be done on the fly from the cab. You can fine-tune it without having to stop. As you’re moving through the field there are four adjustments: the down force, the boom angle that pitches the sections front or rear biased or level, and then tine angle. Then there is also the ability to switch to up force to remove weight from the sections in really tough conditions.”
Larger hydraulic lines allow for more flow to the cylinders to make them more responsive.
“When you’re moving through a ditch or over a hill, each action will respond faster,” he adds, “because we have more flow available at the hydraulic cylinders that control the up and down motion of the sections.”
Each harrow section is mounted on parallel arms capable of 26 inches (66 cm) of vertical movement to handle uneven field terrain. The parallel arms ensure settings remain consistent as sections contour across the field.
Pulling the new XR8 models through the field will generally require a minimum of five horsepower per foot of working width. During field trials, the smallest tractor used on the 110-foot model had 570 horsepower, and it handled the load comfortably.
All that working width allows producers to cover a lot of acres in a short amount of time.
“We had test operators reach over 190 acres per hour in straight line speed,” says Pizzey. “We were comfortably averaging over 130, including turning and moving fields. Coverage wise, it’s incredible what you can do in a day.”
XR8 production will begin in May and models are expected to be arriving at customers’ farms in time for fall tillage.
