Opinions on acres through combine

I have a pretty good 1460 IH, I bought it when I only had about 2-300 acres of corn/beans to do. That was 5 years ago, I have put a lot of parts into it and do all the work myself and it has 4000 hrs. Pretty good machine, but now I am combining 550+ acres and looking for more, is that to much in your opinion for a 30 year old machine. I am thinking of moving up to the 1990's and about a 2500-3000 hr machine like a 1680 or 1666. Would also like to get something with reverser, chopper, and yield monitor on it. I have even seen early 2188's for around $40,000, dont want to spend quite that much. Mine would be good for someone with 250 acres of so to do I think, I just need something a little more dependable, always little things going wrong like A/C, hydraulic controls, electrical that can be fixed, but when its time to run I have to go as I work full time off the farm too. Just want to hear a few other opinions, so I might look to trade this winter

I also have a 1460 & run 1100 acres thru it.

It sort of depends on You. Are You patient, or do You work a full time job like me? I rented a 1680 a few times when I was working lots of overtime, dodging a lot of bad weather, & really high yield years for 400 acres. One thing to look at is can You keep up hauling with a bigger machine. When renting the 1680 I couldnt keep up with the combine at all in corn when hauling 8 miles to a grain bin with gravity wagons. 2 300 bshl wagons at a time.

I would make the jump to a newer machine, unfortunetly they do not last forever. a friend bought a second machine to have around for a backup and when friends show up he puts them to work. having to old machines is an option but could be twice the work.

Have you ever ran a 2188? Guys please dont jump on me,I'm not trying to bash the red brand but the 2188 that I ran two years ago was the biggest dissapointment in a piece of machinery that I have had in a long time.It would not feed thick rye in no way shape fashon or form.After fighting it two days and digging out the feederhouse in 100 degree heat because the electric reverser worked only when it wanted to I parked it and finished the rye with my Fords. I was running it for my neighbor trying to help him out and we tried everything to get it to go but it just didnt happen.If you think you have electrical problems now wait till you get one of these--everything is electric.He is constantly having the Case-I.H. man out there to work on it.In my opinion the 1460 is a lot easier to work on and get around to smaller fields.My thinking would be spend the money to get another good 1460 which will cost a lot less than the 2188 and that way you have a backup if the one goes down.If everything is going good and you have enough to cut hire someone to run the other 1460.In my little custom harvest business I have come to the reality that newer is not always better.When me and my father climb down off of my two Fords at the end of the day we are both tired from pulling levers all day and eating dust because the cabs arent as nice as the new machines but I can sleep at night knowing that if something breaks down I can fix it myself no matter what it is.You asked about acres through a machine--We have combined over a thousand acres of wheat and 600 acres of irrigated corn so far this year with the two machines and still have 200 acres of soybeans and 300 acres of sorghum to go when they get ready.I know several people that run the 1440-60 series machines and they are very dependable,you just need to go over them before the season and fix anything that is questionable.By the way there was a guy with a 1440 cutting his rye right up the road from where we were fighting with the 2188 and he had no problems cutting rye that was just as good as the rye we were in.

Sometimes its better to keep a machine you know and know its problems than switching to an unknown machine and get another persons headaches. 1600 series are pretty good machines if you can find one thats been maintained well. But they have a lot more electrical components but are a bigger machine with more capacity.If your only running a 4 row head and a 15" header and planning to stay with that Id say stay with what you know and have. Im not sure if the heads are easily interchangable between a 1400 and a 1600 series or not. If your wanting to jump to a 6 row head and a 20 or 22" bean head Id switch machines to gain more capacity. It mite also mean adding another truck or gravity wagon to your hauling fleet. Sometimes its more beneficial to add a bigger truck or another truck to the fleet than add a bigger machine, but as you grow in acres, the jump to a bigger machine eventually becomes neccessary as well as bigger or more trucks. If it were me and I farmed by myself Id jump to a bigger 6 row machine and look at gettin a semi or a big ten wheeler or find someone to custom haul for you. Just me tho.

I was in the same position as you, a couple of years ago…..600+ acres (small grains) to get over, a full time job and a 1440 with 4000hrs. Good luck finding a 1680 / 1666 with 2500 hrs…I guess they are around but difficult to find, and all the ones I looked at still needed $$ spent on parts and tires. In the end I got a 1680 with 4000 hrs, good tires, and a bunch of new part on it. I put a bunch more new parts into it, and I finally have it running pretty good. I just ran 300 acres of wheat through it with only a couple of minor repairs on the header (30ft 1020).

I kept my 1440 as it wasn’t worth much and used it as a back up, which got me out of trouble a few times. I did most of the work on the 1680 myself and parts aren’t cheap!!....there were times when I thought I would have been better off with a $40k machine, but I still only have less than half that in the 1680 (excluding the header), and it is now running pretty good….still have a list of small stuff to do on it. I’ve seen 14 and 16 series combines running with 6 – 7000 hrs. My 1440 still runs good, but I’ll probably sell it now.

If you are looking to increasing your acres every year, you may be better of spending out for the newer machine, but beware, some of the $40k 21/23 series machines with 3000+ hrs need as much or more money put into them than the older 16 series that have alrady had some major parts changed or upgraded., and they still have their share of the little things going wrong like ac and electrics.

Good luck,
Chris

I am currently running 6-30 corn head and 20 ft. platform. I work 40 hrs a week in town and farm nights and weekends basically. I do know a lot more about these machines since I have owned one and now if I buy another I might be a little smarter in knowing what I am getting. Leaning towards 1680 size machine so I can go to 8 row in a few years. Hard decision to make because I do know mine pretty well, but every time I use it something else goes wrong, and I try to go through as much as possible before season. Like today my unload auger valve is not working, it only swings half way out, I can push it really easy the rest of the way and then it goes right back to half way. I think I am going to take the valve apart tomorrow. I also have not ran a 21 or 23 series so I don't know about the problems they can encounter, I also realize the new it is the more electronics and such can go bad. My old machine just has every connection either lose or corroded or something it seems. Thank for your time guys, I have about 260 acre of corn to run yet this fall and all winter and spring to think about it.

Really and truly theres not much to be scared of with the 1600 and 21 and 23 sereies having more electrical stuff. Sometimes simple is better but sometimes you have to give in and adapt to the new. I think if your already runnin a 6row and a 20' on a 1400 series your gonna be happier with a newer machine. Your gonna get more thrashing capacity, a bigger grain tank, more horsepower o and working brakes. which equals getting threw your fields faster. Before we went to green combines we had 1460's 1688's and 2188's and honestly never had any major troubles with any of the electronics other than a few issues with the auto header height control.The newer you go the better the cabs get with dust and noise and comfort. The better the improvment to the whole machine as far as making more horsepower and higher capacity. I dont like how everythings becoming more electric but I cant imagine trying to cover the acres we do in a 1400 series either. We would have to have a fleet of them to get anything done.Id say start keepin an eye out now for what your lookin for. Low hr 1600 series are out there but getting hard to find. If your looking for a reverser and yield monitor and all that you mite have better luck with finding a low hr 2188. At any rate your the one who knows your operation and its needs but I think in my opinion you would be better tryin to get a bigger newer machine to help you speed up your harvest.

I forgot what brakes were on a combine, mine have never been worth a darn. I agree with you 100%. Like you said I think I will try to shop around a little this winter, maybe some guys in drought areas will need to sell if they don't have crop insurance, thanks for your reply.