Not too narrow, not too wide, not too rigid, not too soft, but just right.
Now with chamfered hub to let dirt fall away more easily, for better bearing life. Easy bearing replacement when that time arrives.
The narrow, sleek hub sheds mud better because there is more clearance between the hub and the firming arm. Also, there aren’t bolt heads sticking out to snag on vines and straw. The urethane wheel ring itself stays cleaner than other designs too — and stays down in the bottom of the furrow better.
The DuraLok is the narrowest firming wheel on the market at 0.45″ and outperforms the others because of this — it simply fits down into the very bottom of the furrow better. Further, when the soil is getting slightly hard or dry, or when you need extra firming such as for soybeans (they must draw more water to germinate than other crops), the relatively hard plastic of the DuraLok does a better job of imprinting the seed into the soil, unlike softer tires where the seed indents the tire instead of the seed embedding in the soil. We’ve done a lot of digging and comparing, and nothing else firms the seeds like DuraLok.
The sleek shape of the DuraLok allows it to stay clean when OEM & competitor (aftermarket) firming wheels are clogging with mud, pulling seeds out, and dragging mud against the gauge wheel. Even the SDX firming wheel was having more problems than the DuraLok (see photos below). A great many of our customers report that no other seed-lock wheel even comes close to staying as clean as the DuraLok. We’ll keep you running when all the others are clogged up.
Content of this page is copyright 2005-2025 Exapta Solutions, Inc. (reprint with written permission only).
Thompson wheel covered by U.S. Patent No. 6,907,833. Liquid delivery feature of Valion seed tube guards is U.S. Patent No. 8,978,564. Ninja seed bounce flap U.S. Patent Pending. UniForce U.S. Patent Pending. All rights reserved on other designs. Exapta is a registered trademark of Exapta Solutions, Inc. Keeton is a registered trademark of Precision Planting. Mojo Wire, Thompson wheel, Valion guard, Ninja flap, UniForce, DuraLok, No-till Seeding Explained, and No-till Seeding School are trademarks of Exapta. Disclaimer: Recommendations & page content are current, accurate, and believed to be broadly applicable as of the time of writing (Dec 2005) and last update (2005 – 2014). Because of diversity of soils, climate, crops, planter & drill models/designs marketed worldwide, combinations of attachments, etc., actual results may vary. No warranty is made as to actual results obtained. Should you encounter exceptions or worthwhile annotations to the statements made on this page, please contact us.
Derek is Kansas native who grew up in a 100% no-till farming operation. From an early age the benefits of no-till were made known to Derek by his father and by attending no-till conferences. From there he furthered his passion for soils while at Kansas State University getting his agronomy degree. He has had the experience of working in various roles and sectors of agriculture from sales and consulting to management, which have all been within production agriculture. Derek has also worked in specialty ag markets such as turf and ornamentals.
Sales & Service Representative
Prior to joining Exapta, Bob Pagel was an Agricultural Territory Sales Manager for Ritchie Brothers, serving parts of MN, WI and IA. He continues to support his family farm in SE Minnesota.
Current Product Engineer
Jonathan Zeller joined Exapta excited to return to working with no-till planting equipment. He supported research of no-till planting and other ag related projects for 7 years with Kansas State University’s Agricultural Engineering Department after getting his engineering degree. He later worked 3 years for Landoll Company, LLC. where he gained experience in a design engineering role. Jonathan grew up on a small family farm in NE Kansas working with row crops, hay and cattle. Jonathan enjoys solving engineering problems and improving or creating products to be robust and easy to install and service.
