Closing Wheels for Drills

“Based on the effectiveness on the Thompson wheel, I had the best stand of soybeans with my JD 750 drill that I’ve ever had. And, I never had to change a bearing! I used to spend the majority of my time changing out bearings on the old cast iron wheels. Not this year. Even planting in our extreme wet conditions this spring, I had moderate to very little problems closing the trench. The T-whls did the job: closed the furrow beautifully. I think they even worked better in my double-crop soybeans.”

“I ran a Thompson wheel next to the stock cast closing wheels on our JD 1990 CCS drill for one season [’09]. In heavy residue, the stock wheels simply bounce over the top while the T-wheel runs smoothly and gets the slot closed. You can’t beat the T-wheels on the JD 1990 drill when planting in muddy field conditions as they get the slot closed and keep the drill running.” [2012 update:] “Basically, we wouldn’t run a drill without them. In other words, T-wheels are standard equipment for us.”

“When I first saw the Thompson wheels on the drill I bought, I thought: ‘Crazy—No way are these thin wheels gonna do anything.’ But I was wrong—they go into the soil easily and do a good job closing the furrow. After thinking more about the design, I now realize why this is.”

Comparing aftermarket spoked closing wheels: “As I get into more moist soils and heavier/bigger residue, the Thompson wheel is the only one to accomplish the job. The stock JD wheels bounce terribly, and try to smash the seed trench closed, so furrow closing is poor. The [competitor spoked wheel] is an improvement since it has dimples instead of being round like the stock wheel. Bounces less and does a better job of crumbling instead of smashing, but still smashes—much better furrow closing versus the stock wheel but still leaves furrow unclosed some. The Thompson because it’s thinner and more aggressive, crumbles the furrow closed and I don’t notice bouncing or the furrow being left unclosed…. I would never run the current version of the JD stock wheels again. I’m also confident that I would buy Thompsons only next go ’round.”

“I replaced 1/2 of mine last year with Thompsons and a few [competitor spoked wheels]. Replaced the remainder with Thompsons this year. Not near the bounce of OEMs and much less bounce than the [competitor]. Those solid cast closing wheels seemed to be in the air 50% of the time, then slam into the ground and are airborne again.”

“I wouldn’t run the air drill without Thompson closing wheels. In all conditions, and even extreme conditions, they work great!”

“I am all Thompson closing wheels. I have 192 brand new John Deere ones that are going to be scrap unless you want a good deal on some. The Thompsons just plain work great for me in clay loam soil, no-till.”

“The Thompson wheels are doing very well. Have had a couple of neighbors and the rep from my seed company look at the field after planting, and they were really very impressed with the seed coverage. Mine is an older 750, but I rebuilt the entire lower end. Your Thompson wheels were the icing on the cake. Performs better than new. Thanks again.”

“By far the best closing wheel I have ever run (tried smooth rubber and cast iron wheels). I was having trouble covering the seed in dry conditions and in wet conditions; the OEM wheels would smear and over pack the seed. I drill into no-till bean, corn and wheat stubble. The Thompson wheels work the best in my conditions and do a tremendous job of closing the seed trench. “

“In early 2004, Dr Dwayne Beck recommended that we replace the cast-iron closing wheels on our pair of 15-ft JD 750 drills, and mentioned the Thompson wheel as one of the better designs. We installed them on both drills, which plant, on average, 2,000 acres per year. After 9 seasons, I still have all the original bearings in them, no failures, no maintenence required. We went from having to replace the bearings in a half-dozen JD closing wheels every day, to zero repairs with the Thompson closer wheels. The Thompsons did a good closing job in our wet clay-loam soils. I retired and sold both drills this spring [2013]. Talked to both new owners this summer, neither had any closer wheel bearing problems. They seem to be like the Energizer bunny, keep going and going.”

“My drill works perfect after updating to everything you mention in your catalog. I updated my boots to the new 90 series boots, CNH SDX firming wheels, and Thompson closing wheels. It couldn’t get any better.”

“I am very pleased—in wet, heavy clay soil, the Thompson wheels still crumbled the soil to close the seed trench. The Thompson wheels get away from the soil ribboning and are a great improvement over the Deere cast closing wheels. I have no problem recommending the Thompson wheels.” In running the Thompson wheels from April ’07 thru 2017, “I’ve got 60,000 acres on them, and have had no trouble whatsoever. But they’re just about worn out.”

“We really like the Thompson wheels: We were able to run in far wetter conditions than we have in the past, and it’s doing a nice job.”

“This is my first year running the Thompson closing wheel on our drill, and we did 50 acres of beans two weeks ago into 15+ year CRP. I was impressed with how well the seed slot was closed. Just visually I’d say it closed it 75-80% of the time… without the spiked [spoked] wheels in the past it would only be closed about 25% of the time.”

“The Thompson wheels do a great job. They don’t hop like the cast wheels tend to do. They stay down and do the job of breaking up the sidewall and closing.”

“I used my drill for beans for the first time this year, due to a major planter breakdown. I love what the Thompson wheels were doing on that drill. And my emergence was sometimes higher than 85%, which is pretty good for beans.”

“On a new 1890 drill, I thought I’d get by with the cast closing wheels since everybody else was. After a day, I didn’t like how it looked, so I called and ordered the Thompson wheels. The next time I trade drills, I’m not messing around — I’ll put the Thompson wheels on immediately.”

“I am very pleased with the Thompson wheels—they are superior in all conditions.We left a few old [JD] ones on to see a comparison. It wasn’t hard to see the advantage of the Thompson wheels.”

“I really like the performance of the Thompson wheels. I ran the [competitor’s heavy spoked closing wheel] on 2 rows and ran 2 rows of Thompsons side-by-side this past year [2009]. The [competitor] definitely bounced more than the Thompsons in all conditions. The thin design of the Thompsons, and the angle that the closing arm holds it, allow for very little down-pressure also. It seems like the Thompsons just ‘pull’ the dirt into the slot, whereas a heavy wider wheel still has to ‘mash’ the dirt to get it into the slot. I think you have a great wheel in the Thompson design—keep it up!” [2013 update:] “Love my [full set of] Thompsons on my 1860 drill. Good on deep planting, and great on shallow as well.”

“I’ve always been impressed with Exapta products. Your products have improved my stands tremendously. I run Thompson wheels on my 8-row JD planter along with Keetons and Mojo Wires, but where I’ve been most impressed is the Thompson wheels I have on my 1890 JD drill. I sow a lot beans and wheat in tough, wet conditions—I get better stands and emergence than I have in the past, once I installed the Thompson wheels.”

“We outfitted the left side of the drill with Thompson wheels. You can visually see how well they run—smooth and do not hop like the OEM cast closing wheels do, so we know they are doing a better job closing the seed trench and not packing. Sometimes you can see the trench wide open with the cast wheels, but the Thompsons consistently cover the seed and we know we aren’t over-packing.”

“The Thompson wheels worked great this fall! I used the drill to put in winter wheat and I really liked how they closed the seed trench and broke up the sidewall. Well worth the money. [2014 update] I seeded into sod with my JD 750 drill last week and the Thompson closing wheels worked great! The factory closing wheels would have never been able to close the furrow.”

“No problems at all with wrapping of cover crops.”

Fall 2010, very dry for wheat seeding: “The Thompson wheels were a significant benefit, because they were actually covering the seed in 1 to 2 inches of soil. We feel they helped the wheat come up from the little 0.20″ showers that hit half our ground so far. Without the Thompson wheels, I’m sure we wouldn’t have seen the stand we currently have.”

“I’m quite impressed—the Thompson wheels provide superior closing to the original John Deere wheels, especially in wet sticky soils or in high-residue conditions….Sometimes it’s the difference between seeding and not seeding—the Thompson wheels and SDX firming wheels complement each other and let me start seeding more quickly after a rain. The Thompson wheels really shine with small-seeded crops such as alfalfa, canola, and mustard, which don’t have as much push to get through the compacted ribbon created by the JD closing wheels…. I’ve seeded 20,000 to 25,000 acres with the Thompson wheels and had good wear—they should last another couple years.” [He replaced the Thompson wheels at 35,000 acres.]

“We run Thompson wheels on one of our drills and have cast iron wheels on the other. We saw a huge difference, especially in the wrong/extreme conditions. We are 100% no-till and when it’s wet the cast wheels leave the trench wide open, but the Thompsons do a great job of covering the slot. This next year [2016], we will be outfitting our other drill with Thompsons.”

“Thompson wheels should come standard on the drill. We plant thru grass and really heavy straw and the Thompson wheels never wrap or collect residue. I was worried planting thru the residue and stubble, but these wheels worked tremendously well. They’ve made my drill!”

"We had much better stands on the back rows where the new Thompson wheels were installed. We were able to drill beans in soil where the front rank (without T-wheels) were not getting closed. They were a big improvement in our double crop soybeans. I’ve been happy with all the products from Exapta.”