The C850 has five tank lids to make filling convenient and quick. The three back tank lids are operated by pushing forward on the foot pedal and straight down on the handle. The lid slides out of the way, following the contour of the tank, so it does not interfere with the conveyor while. The tank lids seal tight by pulling upward on the handle and stepping back on the foot pedal. The three back tank lids offer a wide opening, making an easy job out of placing the conveyor in the right place during fills. The design is a single per tank design, providing for faster fill times.

The front 50 bushel tank has two options to make loading low rate products easier. If the grower is filling the tank with bags, the front lid is accessible from the bottom platform of the cart. The two front railings of the cart can be removed to allow for a truck to bring bags directly to the platform. As pictured above, the bottom fill location of the front tank has a bag splitter.

To fill the front tank with a conveyor, the top tank lid is easily reached with the hydraulic conveyance system.

The John Deere ultrasonic bin level sensing system will increase the accuracy of bin level read outs in the cab and on the cart side display compared to the paddle design. The accuracy of this system is within 10 percent of actual product in the tank. Product in the tank is measured utilizing high-frequency sound waves (ultrasonic) that are emitted from the unit and received back when they reverberate off the product in the tank. These sound waves generate a digital signal which can be mapped across the angle of repose for the product in the tank. Using calculus volume can be determined from the convex slope determined from the ultrasonic frequencies. When metering two products into one airstream, ultrasonic is able to improve the accuracy of detection up to 50 percent more than traditional paddle sensors.

The total capacity of the C850 is 850 bu, measured by conveying product into the tank. The front tank is dedicated for low rate applications and holds 50 bu. The remaining three tanks in order of front to rear are 260 bu, 130 bu, and 410 bu.

John Deere air cart tanks are solid molded polymer, known for superior corrosion resistance compared to steel while providing semi translucency allowing for visual verification of product level in day-time operation. Each tank is mounted in a cradle frame to eliminate interference between each other. The polymer material does not require weldments like on steel tanks. Weldments on steel tanks are prone to failure over time as the metal is fatigued under stress.

The improved top bevel design on tanks allow for greater capacity and meets 850-bu capacity without the need for shoveling product into the corners while conveyor filling.

Each tank has a wide single opening, which means it is easy for access for the conveyor and entry to the tank. Inside each tank is a ladder for cleanout access. Ladders in the tanks have been designed so that material cannot build up on steps. Top rails have been capped and sloped to ensure product sheds from the surface. When cleaning out the cart, the tanks slope steeply at bottom for product to flow easily and each tank is accessible for fill and cleanout with the conveyor.

Tanks come equipped with digital pressure sensor, ultrasonic bin level sensing, and camera-ready harnesses mounted from the factory.

Conveniently monitor products in each of the four tanks and see what is behind the cart from the in-cab display. From the factory, the cart comes with an integrated camera wiring harness that brings connections up into the tank. The harnesses enable both CabCAM and Voyager cameras available from the John Deere dealership.

The more frequently calibration is completed, the more accurate a seeder will be. A number of variables, including product weight and changing climate conditions throughout the day, will have an effect on any volumetric metering system; with the John Deere ActiveCal system, calibration can be done from the cab of the tractor while seeding to minimize the variation in product metering.

The process to calibrate the cart starts with the Gen 4 CommandCenter™ 4600 display in the work setup page. On the work setup page, the operator defines product types, rates and selects meter roller. Based on information enter into the work setup page, a preconfigured meter displacement value (MDV) will populate per meter. An initial manual calibration will give the most accurate MDV to start with, however, the preconfigured MDV will be a good starting point for growers who do not wish to manually calibrate.

The operator engages ActiveCal while stationary and once the button is selected on the screen, begins seeding. When enough product has been metered out, typically after about 8-12 acres of seeding, depending on the product, the Gen 4 CommandCenter will prompt the operator to stop. When convenient to do so, the operator stops and the data points are calculated. New MDVs with percent difference is provided and can be accepted or rejected. If accepted, the system automatically calibrates to the new MDV. If rejected, the system continues at the previously calibrated numbers.

The C850 comes standard with the wireless-controlled hydraulic conveyance system with a low-profile hopper. Maneuvering the conveyor can be done from the wireless conveyor remote or the remote tethered to the cart. With five pivot points on the arm, all tanks can be filled from one spot. The pivot points also allow the conveyor to be easily positioned and moved when filling from a seed tender.

This conveyor moves up to 100 bu. of product in a minute with a 40.6-cm (16-in.) belt inside the 30.5-cm (12-in.) tube. By moving the hopper under meter, the conveyor can be used for clean out on each tank as well.

The shut-off switches on the conveyor are located at the bottom of the tube, above the hopper and at the top of the conveyor near the spout. Filling at night is easy with the light-emitting diode (LED) 900-lumen lights on the cart and conveyor conveniently placed to illuminate each meter, the stairway and platform.

Main menu on the C850 Cart side display

The durable display on the side of the cart will make filling and calibration easier than before. Selecting the menu button on the far left will take the grower to the main menu where they can select:

• Tank: shows product weight and tank fill level
• Meter calibration: preform a bag calibration without going back and forth to the cab to make inputs on the Gen 4 CommandCenter™ display
• Info: shows display and software information
• Tank pressure: shows the differential pressure between the tank and the meter for each individual tank
• Monitor settings: allows the customer to adjust the brightness of the display

Tank screen

Tank weights and bin level will be shown on the first screen when the display is powered on. Navigating from one tank weight to another will be done by pressing the left and right arrow buttons.

Meter calibration

Meter calibration can now be done cart side. To select the tank or tanks you want to calibrate press the display button that matches the icon below the respective tank on the screen.

Tank pressure screen

The digital screen replaces the mechanical tank pressure gauges on previous carts.

The C850 comes equipped with rear dual Mitas 800/75R38 SFT and front single Mitas 800/70R38 SFT tires as a high-floatation, low-compaction solution. An optional tire package for even greater floatation and decreased compaction includes rear dual Firestone® IF 850/75R42 tires and front single 900/75R32 CFO tires. The 900 allows for increased air capacity, which provides greater floatation. A proprietary side wall compound and radials allow for a lower tire pressure (PSI) which provides lower compaction across a wider footprint.

SFT or super flexion tire technology means that the sidewalls on the tire are developed with additional reinforcement and superior rubber compounds, which enables the tires to run at a very low pressure while under higher loads without damaging the sidewalls. By running at lower pressure, the tire is able to flex its sidewalls and squat, allowing more a much wider foot print and improving floatation.

Firestone is a trademark of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC.

The stairs to the platform are 33.02 cm (13 in.) from the ground and feature wide, tall, and sturdy handrails that will support operators as they carry bags to the dedicated low-rate 50-bu tank on the bottom platform. A wheel-speed sensor will automatically fold the stairs as the air seeding train moves. The powered stairs also have a manual release. The stairs are equipped with compression springs to make folding up the stairs manually an effortless task.

The lower platform was designed with comfort and convenience in mind. The front two handrails can be easily removed so operators can load from a skid steer or the back of the pickup truck. The stairs allow access to the mini tank when carrying seed bags. The platform has room designed for seed bag storage with cut outs for tie-down straps in the railing.

To improve scale accuracy, the upper platform has been isolated from the tanks to eliminate interference. With that design, movement of the platform can be expected. The handrail system is foldable so the handrails are flush with the tank lids.