K-Hart Industries is making some additional options available for its Spyder air drill for the 2026 model year.
“We wanted to focus on the openers for model year 2026,” K-Hart’s director of engineering Erron Leafloor says.
The openers will be available with a new floating carbide scraper design.
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“It’s an upgrade from the traditional carbide edge scraper,” he says. “That (edge scraper) works in most soil conditions. But… in heavy clay or really light soils where the blades might not have much traction, we found a lot of advantages to that low contact pressure scraping.”
The double disc openers can be fitted with an optional stone guard to keep debris out from between the blades and protect the seed tube. That is particularly useful in fields with gopher mounds or other uneven terrain features the openers have to run through. It can be installed just on the front rank, or on both.
“It actually acts as a battering ram to blow through those mounds and keep mud from potentially plugging the seed tubes,” says Leafloor.
Behind the discs is an new packer tire option, which has a chevron lug pattern like a tractor tire. The lug pattern can keep water from running down the rows on hillsides and eroding the seed trench. It also provides what Leafloor describes as pinpoint packing, leaving soil less compressed between the lugs.
“This is important in wet clays sometimes, where you can have crusting where you overpack,” he explains. The packer wheel design also sheds mud a bit better than a smooth wheel.
“A real customer request we’ve worked hard on is getting rid of the greasing regimens on our openers,” he adds, “especially on the disc bearings.”
K-Hart, which manufactures its products at two plants in southern Manitoba and at Elrose, Sask., has moved to maintenance-free bearings with just a single grease point on each opener.
The company has also taken a close look at how the drills deliver seed, adding an optional package to extend the life of product lines on drills that seed a very high number of acres annually.
“We’re going to offer a premium air pack,” says Leafloor. “That’s going to include premium stainless steel pipes. It also includes higher-grade hose. This should give extra life to customers who are really trying to push this machine to its limits.”
The Spyder drill is available in 60-, 66- and 74-foot working widths that use the five-plex design. K-Hart also produces a 40-foot, three-section model.
