4420 DKD

4420 Deep Knife Drill™Bourgault Main

Purposefully Designed & Built For Australia By The World’s Leader In Air Seeding Technology

The 4420 Deep Knife Drill™ by Bourgault combines a robust and easy to adjust deep knife opener with a durable & versatile frame that can be paired with any Bourgault air cart and can accommodate on-board liquid tanks.

The Drill

Built to Withstand the Test of Time

Built for the needs of today and well in to the future, Bourgault 4420 DKD™ drills are designed from the ground up to keep pace with the latest integrated operations focused technology. Australian farmers are at the forefront of this movement and that’s one reason Bourgault chose metric measures for the 4420 DKD™ frames. This results in true 12 metre (3-plex) or 18 metre (5-plex) working widths with a standard row spacing of 250mm or 300mm; ideally suited to Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) systems.

Standard opener layouts have an even number of openers and are set out totally symmetrical across the frame width to simplify inter-row seeding in alternate years.
The DK™ openers are direct mounted to a universal bolt-on 3-row sub-frame. This clever design of sub-frame allows growers to reconfigure their row spacing if their farming system changes. This maximum flexibility in customisable opener layouts is a unique feature to the 4420 DKD™ drill design.
The 4420 DKD™ sub-frame is carried on a heavier built 2-row structural main frame for improved durability and stability during seeding. This structural weight also allows for consistent penetration of the leading knife.

Best in Class Transport Window

As farming enterprises have grown in scale over the years, the need to transport large farm equipment between properties has become much more common and this can become a logistical challenge. Bourgault engineers were fully cognizant of this when designing the 4420 DKD™ drill frames and matching DK™ openers.

Both the 12m and 18m 4420 DKD™ have exceptional transport width and height.
Fore and aft running gear has excellent flotation characteristics in field use yet also provides for outstanding stability and cornering in road transport.

Convenient Depth Adjustment

Growers and their operators will learn to appreciate the convenience of the easy to use and reliable frame height adjustment. The frame to ground distance is set via shims on the main frame lift cylinders, which also determines the digging depth of the leading fertiliser knife. Once set correctly this provides total confidence that the drill will return to the same digging depth position after each headland turn.

Hi-Flotation™

When seeding starts growers need to know they can plant their entire cropping program without fear of soft conditions holding them back.

Here the 4420 DKD™ design delivers again.

The 12 metre width “standard chassis” drills [4420-12SC] feature wide foot-print 600/50R22.5 tyres fore and aft on the main frame and 560/45R22.5 on the wings.
Larger 18 metre width “standard chassis” drills [4420-18SC] feature Bourgault’s unique steerable front axle and floating hitch with industry-leading traction lug 800/65R32 tyres on main frame. The rear of the main frame has 600/50R22.5 with 560/45R22.5 fore and aft on the wings. The steerable front axle design ensures optimal depth control and un-matched tracking ability.
Both the 12m and 18m drills can also be specified with a “heavy [duty] chassis” (HC) option in lieu of the “standard chassis” (SC) when ordered new. HC takes usability up another notch by providing traction lug 800/65R32 tyres to the main-frame rear. When set up this way, currently nothing else on the market compares.

On-Board Liquid Tank Option

When fitted with the optional heavy duty rear chassis and running gear (HC), the 4420 DKD™ can also be configured to carry up to 5400 litres of liquid products using two on-board 2700L poly tanks.

For maximum productivity between fills these tanks can be set up with converging connection for use with a single liquid product. In this format, the system utilizes one pump assembly and liquid product distribution package drawing liquid from both tanks simultaneously for even weight distribution. Alternatively, the system can be configured in parallel connection for dual liquids, with dual pumps and distribution providing full flexibility for application of two liquid based products at different application rates to two alternative locations on the ground engaging opener. This convenience provides growers with optimum opportunity to place multiple plant nutrients and/or soil surfactants in a one-pass operation.

When fully optioned the system also includes a convenient 300L clean water rinse tank with ground accessible fill port and a connection for system flushing.
Optional Bourgault supplied pump cabinets include a hydraulically driven stainless steel bodied pump, filtration, flow meter and regulator plus can be set up for in-tank agitation.
The pump cabinet requires a dedicated tractor hydraulic remote valve and low pressure case drain connection.
The Air Cart that is paired with the 4420 DKD™ is required to have a suitable controller capable of providing liquid application rate control and calibration in addition to all other essential products.
The Bourgault twin tank package can be accessed safely by factory installed ladder and platform assemblies for convenient field use, maintenance and cleaning at any time.

Important Note:
During transport, on-board liquid tanks (where fitted) must be empty at all times.

3-Year Frame Warranty

The Deep Knife (Dk™) Opener

The dual shank DK™ opener is designed from the outset for a deep banding seeding system. Pure and simple, it can dig deeper than conventional seeding openers, placing granular and/or liquid fertiliser below the seed row. Seed placement is totally independent with its own seed shank and easy to set depth adjustment. Routine maintenance is low with 250hr greasing intervals

Pure and simple, it can dig deeper than conventional seeding openers, placing granular and/or liquid fertiliser below the seed row. Seed placement is totally independent with its own seed shank and easy to set depth adjustment.

Opener Hydraulics

To regulate this immense pan-busting capability and ensure the opener operation remains smooth and free from sudden shocks, 4420 DKD™ employs an active connection to the closed centre hydraulic system from the paired tractor. This helps to protect the opener from damage as well as minimise troublesome rock debris being lifted to the soil surface.

The active hydraulic system directly controls the breakout of opener leading shank through a combination of system pre-sets and on-the-go operator adjustments.
The system allows each DK™ leading shank to independently trip out over small objects in the field without impacting seeding depth.
When encountering larger objects, the entire DK™ opener assembly is unrestricted to freely trip out and return softly in to the work position.
For road transport the entire opener assembly hydraulically retracts close to the drill frame for excellent ground clearance and a tighter transport window.

The active hydraulic system directly controls the breakout of opener leading shank through a combination of system pre-sets and on-the-go operator adjustments.

Fertiliser Placement

DK™ features a deep working fertiliser shank formed with a tapered design and rounded leading edge to assist smooth flow of field residue through the drill.
The fertiliser shank breakout force is controlled electro-hydraulically, on-the-go from the tractor cab using the M500 control box.
Available breakout range is comparable to the highest industry rating at 68kg - 450kg (150lb – 1000lb) measured at the tip of the fertiliser knife.
Fertiliser drop is optimized for 120mm – 165mm working depth.
The ground engaging knife point is 16mm wide with carbide tiles and hard-facing for longer life.
Knife replacement can be done with ease with just one retaining bolt for each.

Seed Placement

Seed placement is determined by a bolt-on seed boot mounted to a spring steel shank
Depth adjustment of the seed shank is independent of the fertiliser knife digging depth.
The seed shank assembly features ground-following parallel arms for a true 1:1 contour ratio.
The standard seed boot has in-line placement of seed with a 40mm furrow closer plate. Options for other configurations may become available. Please liaise with your Bourgault dealer for the latest information.
Packing pressure is regulated by dual extension springs mounted directly to the parallel arms of each opener.
Packing pressure adjustment is very easy to set using a cordless impact driver.
- LoPack Springs: 37-55 kg indicative packing range
- Standard Springs: 45-85 kg indicative packing range
Setting the seed placement has never been easier with a simple pivoting handle and locking pin for depth adjustment.
Each opener has a calibrated depth indicator scale for repeatable setting across all openers on the drill. This repeatability also assists larger enterprises when setting up multiple drill combinations to operate side by side in the same field conditions.

Packer Options

Packers provide a critical function to the planting process and deserve careful consideration when configuring a new drill.

Ideally the packer should be able to close the furrow, gently cover the seed and provide good seed to soil contact. They are also essential to forming a field finish that can conserve moisture throughout the growing season and promote swift germination. Other considerations may be to help crumble lumpy, hard soil clods or float in soft sand. Packer selection should not be able to over-pack which can be as damaging to crop establishment as under-packing.

The DK™ has a variety of packer sizes and profiles available to suit most typical soil conditions.

4.5" V-Style Semi-Pneumatic Packer
Provides a moderately aggressive narrow profile furrow well suited to in-line seed boots with seed boot closer plates of up to 40mm. 4.5” V packer has excellent mud-shedding characteristics in most conditions.
5" VU-Style Semi-Pneumatic Packer
Provides a slightly wider and more rounded V-style profile also with good mud-shedding characteristics. The slightly wider profile offers a reduced risk of over-packing compared to the 4.5” V and better flotation in softer conditions.
4.5" U-Style Semi-Pneumatic Packer
The 4.5” U-Style is a good all-rounder particularly well suited to in-line seed boots with closers of up to 40mm. Provides a well-formed, rounded furrow profile with generally good moisture retention.
5.4" U-Style Semi-Pneumatic Packer
Provides a wider, rounded packing profile with a greatly reduced risk of over-packing. Typically matched with a wide opener or used in very soft conditions.

Bourgault also offers a bolt-on mud-scraper kit to assist with packer performance in particularly sticky soil conditions.

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TruTrac™ Coulter System Option

The 4420 DKD™ has been designed for use with the optional TruTrac™ (TTC™) stubble management system.

TTC™ helps to cut through troublesome field residue and reduces any side shifting to keep the drill tracking straight.

The TTC™ system is available to be optioned new on all sizes of 4420 DKD™.
TTC™ installs on a dedicated mount frame across the front of the drill.
The coulters are mounted in pairs with the cutting discs in-line with the DK™ opener.
One assembly, complete with hydraulic cylinder operates for two DK™ openers.
Available with smooth discs or wave disc profiles.
A shim arrangement on each TTC™ assembly is used to set the coulter working depth independently of the fertiliser knife and seed boot.
TTC™ is hydraulically controlled in tandem with the drill operation.
System settings can be adjusted to suit varying soil conditions.
An isolation switch enables the operator to raise the coulters independently of the DK™ openers.

Additional Resources

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Visit the Bourgault Electronic Documentation System for parts and operational documentation.