4 Link Closer | Double Parallel Linkage Tail Sections

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4 Link Closer™

Double Parallel Linkage Tail Sections

4 Link Closer — Parts List
4 Link Closer - Brochure
MOUNTING INSTRUCTIONS
Beck's 2020 PFR Results
Beck's 2022 PFR Results

By adding the 4 Link Closer to the closing wheels you eliminate the blank areas through ditches and over the tops of terraces. These new 4 bar linkages give you nearly double the travel (up to 9″) of the present day swing arm tail sections.

The standard swing arm tail section found on a majority of the planters built today has a limited amount of travel up and down (roughly 4″) throughout full movement when planting. If you have ditches to cross or terraces to plant over then the amount of travel is limited to 2″ both ways of center. Sometimes this isn’t enough—giving poor seed to soil contact by not closing the seed V properly or leaving seeds on top of the ground.

Whenever the press wheels flex up, the contact points on the press wheels get wider, causing them to be toe out and they tend to over cover the width of the seed V. When the press wheels go down past center, they under cover or toe in, causing the seed V to not close properly.

Also, when you max out the wheels on the top side, it can raise the planter unit out of the ground, causing seed depth to change. By running extra spring pressure on the press wheels you create up pressure on the row units. Thus, as the planter travels through the field at speeds above 5mph, the swing arm closing system is constantly moving up and down along with the parallel linkage of the planter unit itself, causing uneven depth control.

When planting up and over terraces, sometimes there are areas over the top of the terrace where the double discs of the planter are totally out of the ground (planting seeds on top of the ground), and the press wheels are carrying the weight of the whole planter on one side or the other of the terrace. Then, on the opposite side of the terrace, the double disc openers are totally bottomed out for depth and the press wheels are off the ground, not closing the furrow. This leaves several feet of seeded area across a ditch or terrace that is blanked out due to poor seed to soil contact.

About the 4 Link Closer

4LC with Zipper closing wheels, the Rebounder, gauge wheel scraper, and G2 fertilizer disc on a Case IH planter

The 4 Link Closer (4LC) is a true parallel closing system for most double disc opener planters.

The 4LC has more travel than standard closing wheel systems. When up and down movement occurs, the 4LC keeps the pitch of your closing wheels from changing.

In contrast to standard closing wheel systems which have a spring under the tail section, the 4LC’s spring is in-between the parallel arms. This allows the 4LC greater mobility and puts less up pressure on your row units.

Going over terraces or through washouts, from the shallowest to the deepest planted seed, the 4LC will close up the furrow. With 3 different ground attachments to choose from, the 4LC will fit all of your planter closing needs. Patent pending.

4 Link Closer with Zipper Closing Wheels

4 Link Closer shown with the G2 fertilizer disc and Zipper closing wheels on a White planter

Features & Benefits of the 4LC

Benefits of the 4 bar linkage system over the swing arm closers:

  • Keeps press wheels from moving in or out over furrow as the row unit flexes
  • Keeps pinch points of wheels the same through 7″-9″ of vertical travel
  • Allows for consistent fertilizer placement and furrow closing
  • Takes the bounce out of row units when planting above 5mph
  • Fits John Deere, Kinze, Case IH, White, Yetter, and Horsch
  • Better seed to soil contact for uniform emergence
  • Travel of 4 link is parallel to the ground
  • More even depth control of planter unit
  • Works great with the G2 fertilizer disc
  • Run less down pressure on row units
  • Ground following tail section
  • No more blank planted rows

Gallery

Tim Brouwers of Manteno, IL sent the following picture from his plantings of Spring 2019, using the 4-Link Closer on one row. He had better emergence from the row with the 4-Link Closer and attributes that to not having to run as heavy of a down pressure with this closing wheel assembly.

With the OEM closing wheel sections he had to run more pressure in order to close the seed furrow, and the extra pressure caused a stand reduction in those rows due to the severe wet planting conditions of 2019.

The additional pressure also caused up pressure on the double disc openers resulting in corn seeds being planted at a shallower depth leading to the poor stand problem. The back of the planter with the 4-Link Closer wasn’t sinking as deeply and compacting the soil as badly as the other rows with the regular factory closing system.

The following photos are soybeans planted with the 4 Link Closer and without trash whippers into 260 BPA corn residue.

Testimonials

  • Neil G.

    We have ground that is both rocky and has draws and hills. We tried the 4 Link Closer on one row last year and found that it prevented some of the issues we were dealing with. The main improvements were better row unit performance around the draws and hills due to increased tail section travel. The increased travel also allowed smaller stones to pass under the row unit and not get caught in the closing wheels, as sometimes happens with spiked closing wheels in our situation. We decided it was good enough of an improvement to use them on the whole planter this year.

  • J.G., Nebraska

    I went from having 78% plants up within 36 hours of each other, to over 95% of the plants up in a 36 hour period with the addition of the 4 Link Closers on.

  • P.M., South Carolina

    Last winter you were kind enough to spend time explaining the operating principles and benefits of your 4 Link Closers and Rebounders. Having started no-tilling in 1972 (under variable and adverse soil conditions), I have a deep appreciation for products that perform under challenging circumstances. The addition of your Rebounders and 4 Link Closers to my Case IH 800 planter resulted in the best and most uniform stand of corn that I have ever had. This was planting “green” into a dense cover crop. Schaffert Rebounders and 4 Link Closers were 100% trouble free, and produced excellent results under difficult conditions. Thank you for your personal service and outstanding products!

  • J.G., Nebraska

    Kris and Paul Schaffert explained how the stock closing wheels on my John Deere planter can lift the row unit out of the ground in rough conditions created by pivots, wash outs, or even root balls that don’t get cleaned out by the furrow openers. I tried their 4 Link Closers, and was amazed at how smooth the planter ran through the field. Another thing that was impressive was how consistent the seed to soil contact was.  Whether the soil was clay, silt, wet, or dry, the closer tucked the seed in the soil like a freshly tilled garden. We even had some rain following some wet planting conditions, but the crust was so minimal that it had no effect on the seed emergence.