Grimme GL 860 Compacta/Farming Simulator 17
The Grimme GL 860 Compacta is a Potato Sowing Machine available in Farming Simulator 17. It only sows Potatoes, and is the largest machine in the base game that can do this.
Overview
The Grimme GL 860 Compacta is the largest Potato Sowing Machine in the game. It can only sow Potatoes.
In order to plant Potatoes, the GL 860 must be hitched behind a tractor. It has a Drawbar (Ball) hitch at the front, which can be attached to any tractor in the game.
Furthermore, before it can start sowing, the GL 860 must be filled either with seeds or with actual Potatoes. The GL 860 will not operate while empty, unless using a Hired Worker (more on this below). The GL 860 can hold up to 9020 liters of either type of fill. You may mix seeds and Potatoes in the same tank if you find it necessary.
Seeds can be acquired at the Seed Pallets at your farm. Drive the GL 860 up to the pallets, and hit the key to start filling. Filling will stop if you hit the key again, drive away from the pallets, or when the tank is full.
Alternatively, you can use already-harvested Potatoes to fill the GL 860. There are several methods to do this. The simplest way is to drive the GL 860 under the Potato conveyer lift behind the storage shed at your farm. This will fill up the device within a couple of seconds. Other ways include using a Front Loader, or even unloading a Potato Harvester directly into the GL 860's tank. Of course, Potatoes are also worth money, so this is not truly a free seed fill.
After attaching the GL 860 to a vehicle, it must be towed to the field, lowered, and activated. Although the store claims that the vehicle must be supplied with 125 kW / 170 hp in order to work, it can actually be activated by any vehicle that can tow it. Note that smaller vehicles may have trouble going up slopes when dragging a working GL 860 behind them, but on a flat field it should prove no problem for even the smallest of vehicles.
When activated and dragged across a field, the GL 860 will sow the Potatoes on any valid patch of field it passes over. While working, the GL 860 enforces a speed limit of 12 km/h.
The GL 860 has a working width of 6.0 meters, making it the widest Potato Sowing Machine in the game. It is twice as wide as the smallest, which is the Grimme GL 420. Like all other Sowers, the GL 860 will only sow seeds when it passes over a patch of field that is cultivated but not currently sown, nor growing any kind of plant (including Potatoes). It will ignore "invalid" patches entirely. This ensures that the GL 860 does not waste seeds unnecessarily.
You may use a Hired Worker to operate the GL 860. Be careful not to let the Hired Worker run out of seeds, because he will then buy more automatically, at a much higher price than normal. Note that Hired Workers will not refuse to work an already-sown field. They may end up going over the entire field, trying to find patches of cultivated, unsowed land.
Finally, the GL 860 is equipped with Ridge Markers that can be extended to either side. These will mark the centerline that the towing tractor will need to aim for on the next pass, in order to get perfect coverage. Be very careful when using Ridge Markers, as they will destroy any plant and seeds they touch, turning the soil they touch into empty plowed soil. You will need to remember to switch between ridge markers as you go, to ensure that they do not destroy the seeds you have already planted.
Specifications
- Price: $58,000
- Maintenance: $140 / day
- Capacity: 9,020 L
- Working width: 6.0m
- Required power: 125 kW / 170 hp
- Max speed (work mode): 12 km/h / 7 mph
- Selling price: $29,000 ($34,800 at shop)
- Fruit Type: Potato
- Fertilizes: True
- Cultivates: False