Noticed its been pretty slow around here lately, I suppose every one is busy with spring field work. Figured we could get a little discussion going.
We bought a 7000 John Deere 4RW a couple weeks ago at auction. Fixed the markers and marker pivots up as they were junk. and checked everything over and it ready to plant when the time comes. Planning on putting in around 10 acres of wide row to play with our pickers.
Looks good, looks like it's got the heavy no till coulters. Planted many-a-acre with a planter just like that from the mid-80s until 2004 when a friend of ours planted everything for us. Dad then bought a used 7000 6row narrow, currently using an 8 row three point hitch model that will do everything but wipe for you!
In typical JD fashion, it always seemed like any moving parts that needed to be repaired/replaced were sandwiched behind or underneath two or three other parts that had to come off first. You evidently have already have experienced the goofy marker system (not too bad but why not a simple one way cylinder on each marker??) the only other thing is if you have to take the drive clutch apart, make absolutely, positively, 100% SURE you have the little ratchet dogs assembled correctly on each drive sprocket (driven by the chain from each planter wheel.) If you get one backwards, BAD THINGS will happen when you try to turn!
I use my grandpa's 1953 Farmall Super C with his two row Lister. The 50 Chevy pickup was my great uncle's. I restored all of these and put them right back to use. Thanks for asking, always like to show off the toys.
Back in the day, my dad used a 4RW IH 56 plate planter pulled by an IH 666. Most recently, I planted some indian corn with a 2RW IH 56 planter that I was given and fixed up.
It shows in the John Deere 7000 operator's manuals (at least in the 1 for my 8RN) how to run hoses to the marker actuator cylinder from tractor remote so you can operate hydraulically and not have to raise/lower planter to cycle the markers. Plant with an 8 row narrow 7000 JD...pick with an 802 Uni with JD 444 head converted to 30 in. or 325 pull-type with 12 roll bed.
Well I have 17.6 ac (according to the monitor) planted in wide row for this fall. Went pretty well. The planter could use a bigger diameter cylinder as the Super M didn't like to pick it up very well when the planter was full. When it got down to about half full it picked up just fine. Had to cycle the markers each time for the waterways which wasn't to bad. the Super M on has a single set of hydraulics so we just plumbed markers and lift cylinder together.
New guy here. I'm just getting started with picking corn, thus the reason I joined this forum. Anyhow, I bought this nice old IH 56 4 row planter. It was a one owner machine. Probably pull it with a AC 185.
-- Edited by David G -KY on Saturday 7th of May 2016 10:19:54 PM
38" is the most common row spacing. This year we were shooting for around 29000 population but after the corn come up its around 30-31, so it's a bit a the thicker side. Have a feeling the 2MHs and 2MEs won't like it the best but the 234 will be just fine I'm sure.
We combine most of our corn, which is planted on 30" rows. So, the 10-15 acres that we pick to ear corn is the same. Our average yield is probably 175 to 200 bpa, and the NI 324/327 handles it. The hopper fills up pretty quick when we stop the elevator to turn around on the ends, though. We use a fixed bar in place of a hydraulic cylinder to keep the snoots a foot or so off the ground. The narrow rows ease themselves around the middle snoot and into the wide-row picker, but it takes extra care to stay on the row.
38" is the most common row spacing. This year we were shooting for around 29000 population but after the corn come up its around 30-31, so it's a bit a the thicker side. Have a feeling the 2MHs and 2MEs won't like it the best but the 234 will be just fine I'm sure.
The last years we were on 36" rows we were shooting for about 27,000. I think back in the early 80s when I was a kid we'd run 23-24000.
I have a 2 row blackhawk set on 30 inch rows but am going to set it back to 36-38 inch rows for my mounted picker. I also have a ford 352 set on 30" rows27500 i think was my populations but i've never got to plant a crop at the new farm yet. Long story but might experiment to see if i cant actually tell the difference between wide and narrow row yields on my poor indiana soil.
