Hi guys. Iwas wandering if someone could help me. I bought a New Idea 324 picker last fall and i put a 329 super sheller on it. It works awesome but I was wandering how much corn can the sheller really handle. Can it handle 150 bu to the acre yield. My plan would be to switch my corn from 36 inch to 30 inch rows next yr so i would get a 325 picker an use the sheller still. I just didnt know if i would ever get into corn that would yield 150bu to 200 bu if the picker and sheller could keep up. Thank you
I run the picker on a IH 1066 and have 4 wagons.The wagons probably hold 150bu to 180 bu. I've seen some bigger ones for sale that are like 235bu and 250bu but didn't know if it be to much on the picker and with pulling threw the fields i don't want to ruin or break anything.
Good. that's good to know. I'm only doing 30 to 40 acres of corn right now, but i'd like to get up to 60 . I prefer using the picker then a combine cause they seem easier to work on an for what i do not worth to have a combine
I wouldn't pull anything larger than that or you will stress or break the frame on the picker. Back when these machines were new, a 180-200 bu. wagon was a big wagon. You are pulling 4 to 5 tons of corn behind the picker with wagons of the size you have.
I second jdtom's advice. One of our four 324/327s came to us with several stress cracks in the frame that we have welded shut and braced. The other three pickers do not have the same issue. Everything contributes to the stress, including hillside fields, crossing washes, gopher mounds, etc. Anything that causes the picker to pitch or sway will be made worse by extra weight on the wagon. The worst spot we found in the frame was at the base of the elevator, but we have strengthened the frame in a few other spots that needed help. You can run a big tractor in front and pull a big wagon behind, but that picker frame will suffer in between.
We haven't used our picker attachment for probably 25 years, which of course was much lighter corn. However, we still pick about 10 acres each year of ear corn to grind to fatten out the cattle. (We combine the rest.) We pull our 324/327 with a D17 Series IV Gas through 175-200 bushel corn, and works fine. We use older, smaller wooden wagons, which would hold from 120-160 bushels of shell corn, depending on the wagon. The wagon brands are Heider, Jo Dandy, JD, and a couple I cannot identify. I have seen wagons like them, in great shape, sell for $100-$500 at auctions. The 50-some-odd horsepower D17 might lack a bit to run the sheller attachment, but it sounds like you have that covered.
We run our 324 in 30-inch corn. We replaced the lift cylinder with a fixed bar that keeps the snoots about a foot off the ground. The stalks ease into the picker, with very little ear loss and very few stalks in the husking bed. Of course, we have to pay close attention to centering the picker on the rows. It might seem counterintuitive, but it works. However, it might get a bit tedious if you get up to 60 acres. I only mention the idea because 325s are roughly 8-10 times the price of 324s in our area between Denison and Clarinda, Iowa (the range of auctions where I have seen pickers sell). You may find one cheaper, or the extra cost may be worth it for your additional acres.
Overall, I think your equipment setup will work fine as is. Welcome to the forum, and please keep us posted.
I figured the wagons i have would be the biggest i'll go. Most my fields are flat but i don't want to take a chance on breaking something. I'd like to get up to 60 acres of land but do half corn and have beans or something. I'd be happy with 30 acres of corn a yr cause i do roofing full time with my family business and I do the corn on the side by myself.Also my theroy is to build my pH up and get the ground really good concentrate on what i have instead of getting more land. My goal would be to do straight no till. As for the picker I really wanna keep it cause it in really good condition. I talked with country mechanics in PA , I asked them if they could take my 324 and convert the head to 30'' and they told me yes. So i may just do it.That way i know what i have no that i go to go buy another picker that could be in worst condition.
