Closing Wheels for Planters
All About Closing Wheels for Planters
Faster Emergence, More Vigor
- NEW: Bolt-on star wheel = cost-effective replacement stars
- Toe-out wedge built into shroud for easy adjustment!
- Same proven spoke design we’ve used for 20 years
- Zinc plating for even longer wear life
- Doesn’t overpack
- Aggressive furrow closing with self-limiting depth
- Creates ideal zone for crop emergence & rooting in a wide array of conditions
- Heavy-duty bearing with 5-year warranty (on bearing-type wheels)
- Low mud and stalk accumulation
- Ready to bolt on: no tearing brg-type OEM wheels apartT
Sizing Things Up
The bearing from a competitor’s wheel setting inside the Thompson wheel’s housing for its huge bearing. Our bearing features a triple-lip seal, as well as our unique, patented shroud to protect the bearing face from fertilizer and water. We’re so confident in our bearing arrangement, we guarantee it for 5 years.
High-Carbon Steel
The Thompson wheel’s high-carbon spokes resist wear and bending for an exceptionally long life. The thinness of the wheel allows it to easily enter the soil, for excellent breakage of the sidewall.
The blunt tip & tapering sides of the spokes further assist in crumbling the sidewall. The tapering sides gradually increase the resistance the spoke encounters while operating in the soil. This limits the depth, as does the overall length of the spoke itself (considerably shorter than some other designs on the market). So you get just the right amount of sidewall shattering, without digging too deep. The thinness is also what prevents mud accumulation on the spokes. It simply has nowhere to gather.
Built-in Toe-out
Exapta’s toe-out wedge is now built into the shroud for easy adjustment, from zero degrees, to 3° or 6°. Toe-out causes closing wheels (all types) to more actively engage and pull soil back into the furrow—the reverse of the opener blades prying soil apart to create the furrow.
No-till seeding (also known as zero-till) is a relatively new phenomenon, and more effective methods are continually being developed. In the U.S. & Canada, most planters and “no-till” drills are ill-suited to the task from the moment they’re built (they were engineered for tilled seedbeds). For instance, the original smooth closing wheels on all planters and no-till drills can overpack the furrow, especially when soils are damp, causing poor emergence and poor root penetration of the sidewall. Because of the soil structure in no-till, the solid wheel is ineffective at closing the furrow. To avoid the packing problem, as well as the poor furrow closing by smooth closing wheels, several aftermarket companies began offering spoked wheels to replace the original closing wheel.
New! 3-yr compilation of stand counts x row from Seeding Schools available. See how closing wheels and other attachments affect stands & root growth!
An honest assessment from numerous observations by 3rd-party scientists and farmers.
* Closing wheels that don’t pack the soil above the seed (a good thing) should not be used without a separate in-furrow firming device (Keeton seed firmer or seed-lock wheel).
Toe-Out Wedge Makes Thompson Wheels Even Better
The toe-out helps all spoked wheels to more actively engage and gather soil from the fractured sidewall and pull it back into the furrow—sort of the reverse of the opener blades prying apart the soil while creating the furrow. It even helps the beveled cast closers (non-spoked).
Pictured: Toe-out wedge on late-model JD 1700-series brackets.
“I love those Thompson wheels and wedges—they’re wonderful. I have some clay soils along the river, and I’ve tried a bunch of different types of closing wheels, and nothing else comes close to closing the furrow. Fabulous.”
Leo VojtaMobridge, SD, Exapta customer since ’08 (T-whls, toe-out, Keetons w/ Mojos on 24-row Kinze 3800 planter) 
“[A respected friend] convinced me to put T-wheels on our planter, and that paid off big time: WAAAAAY better stand on our corn on corn.”
Nathan Pearce, Homestead FarmsWallace, KS, Exapta customer since 2010 (Thompson wheels, Keetons & Mojo Wires on JD 1770 24-row CCS planter) 
“I put on one row of the Thompson wheels a few years ago, beside the other rows with [competitor] closing wheels. I’m putting Thompson wheels on the rest of the rows now [2009]—I don’t need a drag chain as they do a better job of consistently covering the seed.”
Steve Groff, Cedar Meadow FarmHoltwood, PA, Exapta customer since ’05 (Thompson wheels, toe-out wedges, Keetons w/Mojo Wires on Monosem/Kinze planter) 
“On my planter, I run two Thompson spoked closing wheels [per row] and get along great. Make sure you use Keeton seed firmers. I use the firmers with a Mojo Wire to stiffen them even more and really push the seed into the soil. After that, I like the fluffy crumbly dirt on top.”
Alan AufdembergeLincoln, KS, (Thompson wheels, toe-out wedges, and Mojos on 16-row JD 1700-series planter) 
“Your products help me make money. I did a trial with different spoked closing wheels and yours were by far the best wheels I’ve seen. I have Thompsons on my 16-row JD planter and am converting my 750 drill to them. They really make a difference in covering the seed and emergence. They break up the sidewall compaction and do a great job closing the seed trench. I appreciate you guys [Exapta].”
Dave MeyerArcanum, OH, Exapta customer since 2014 (T-wheels w/ toe-out wedges, Valions, Mojos on 16-row JD 1760 XP planter) 
“We planted hundreds of acres of corn into killed CRP sod in the spring of 2010. The Thompson wheels and toe-out wedges did an excellent job of getting the furrow closed in those really tough conditions.”
Jack SchmittScott City, KS 
“I tried 2 rows of Thompson wheels and wedges, and the rest of the planter was [competitor] spike closing wheels. When I did stand counts, the two rows with Thompson wheels had 1,000 – 2,000 higher final populations than the other rows. It was easy to see which rows had the Thompson wheels.” [Four years later, Thompsons & Mojos on all rows] “I think I have the best stands around of corn-on-corn in no-till.”
Steve LitwillerParnell, IA, Exapta customer since ’08 (Thompsons, toe-out, Mojos on Kinze 3200 planter) 
“The Thompson wheels really worked well — just like you said. With the complete rebuild of the planter… including Keetons and Mojo Wires, all the plants came up at the same time….With the Thompson wheels, and everything you said, it’s made a world of difference in how the planter performed—even the previous owner was really impressed with what I’d done with it. I’d think anyone using this setup would be overwhelmingly satisfied.”
Leon SchneiderCaldwell, KS, Exapta customer since 2010 (Thompson wheels, toe-out wedges, and Mojo Wires on 16-row Kinze planter) 
“We are in the South and plant mostly cotton. I tried several [competitor] closing wheels on our planter this last summer [2018]. We had Thompson wheels on our planter and went back to those, as in our conditions we felt like they did the best job.” [They have ran T-whls on their planter for many years, but were checking out some newer options.]
Terry McAlisterElectra, TX, Exapta customer since ’07 (Thompson wheels, toe-out on 16-row JD 1770 planter) 
2010 comment: “We are sold on Thompson wheels. We’ve used them for 4 years on over 7,000 acres, no breakdowns. Planting beans in Missouri-River-bottom gumbo, we could never get much over 15 bu/a, no-till or full-till. However, when we installed the Thompson wheels, we have raised 40-bu beans every year with no-till. Wet or dry, they do a good job of covering the seed.” [Feb 2014 update:] “The bearings last forever; we’ve never had one fail. Last spring was very wet. While full-till folks had to wait several days for the ground to dry, we went to the field and planted, all no-till. The Thompson wheels worked, and never balled up in wet soil conditions.”
Kersten Farms (Myron, Mark & Karl)Malta Bend, MO, Exapta customers since ’07 (T-whls, toe-out on all rows of 12/23 Kinze split-row planter) 
“I traded for a Kinze a couple of years ago; ran one rubber closing wheel and one [competitor spoked wheel] per row for a year and a half—about the only time I closed a slot was when it rained after I planted. I put Thompsons on this spring [2010] and had no problems closing.”
Gail FullerGail Fuller Emporia, KS, Exapta customer since 2010 (Thompson wheels & toe-out wedges on a 16-row Kinze planter 
“I had 4 different brands of closing wheels for several years before going to the Exapta Thompson wheels. I like yours because of the thin blade—it goes into the soil easier for good crumbling of the sidewall. There’s seldom any corn stalks getting stuck in them. It’s a good closing unit. No maintenance needed in 9 years.”
Mike PhillipsWaseca, MN, Exapta customer since '03 (Thompson wheels w/ toe-out plates on 8-row JD 7100 planter) 
“I first tried Thompson wheels after running [competitor ‘spikes’] several years. The Thompson wheels pull the soil in very nice and closed the trench. I have the toe-out wedges set at 3 degrees and had some mud adhesion, but didn’t hurt the closing job at all. I’ve really liked them! I also took off the wavy coulters like Exapta recommends and added Thompsons to the entire planter. This season I had the most uniform emergence ever.”
Eric BrooksNew Marshfield, OH, Exapta customer since 2014 (T-whls on 12-row Kinze 3000-series planter) 
“The Thompson wheels have been one of the best additions to our planter as they do a great job closing the seed slot in both extremely dry and extremely wet conditions. Having them on is often the difference in whether I can plant or not when the weather turns wet. Previously, the inability to fully close the seed slot with the stock JD rubber closing often left me setting at the edge of the field waiting for things to dry out. The T-wheels enable me to keep planting in these same conditions. Thompson wheels dig in and give us excellent seed slot closure in both wet and dry conditions, regardless of the volume of crop residue on the surface. And when conditions are wet at planting time, sidewall compaction is largely eliminated when using the Thompson wheels as compared to the JD rubber closing wheels.”
Dietrich KastensHerndon, KS, Exapta customer since ’08 (T-whls, toe-out, Mojo Wires on two 24-row JD 1770 planters) 
“A couple of years ago, my brother and myself both bought new planters. He put the [competitor cage-type] closing wheels on his, and I put the Thompson wheels on mine. Last year, they took the [competitor’s] off and replaced them with Thompsons because they couldn’t get them [competitor’s] to close the furrow even with quite a lot of pressure. We are no-till and ours soils are king of tough.”
Terry McAlisterElectra, TX, Exapta customer since ’07 (Thompson wheels, toe-out on 16-row JD 1770 planter)
“I like the size of the bearings and the self-cleaning action. They’re very trouble-free.”
Kent KinklerOnida, SD , Exapta customer since '03 (Thompson wheels on 36-row Kinze planter) 
Previous
Next
Closing Wheels for Planters in the News
Featured in No-Till Farmer: For Ambitious No-Tillers: There’s No Place Like Home
Almost to the Colorado border, these far western KS no-tillers credit some of their success to good seeding equipment set up — including Exapta’s Thompson wheels on their drill as well as their planter (although we do worry about the T-whls on their planter not being ran with a seed firmer).
Featured in No-Till Farmer: Using Residue Layers, Precision Tools to Boost No-Till Profitability
Todd Yackley says he uses Exapta Solution’s Thompson closing wheels on his planter as an aggressive furrow-closing tool with self-limiting depth.
