The latest in the search...

Several machines under consideration, finding the time to go look at all of them is going to be a problem. I have, first of all, what looks like an older JD 4400 with corn head. Then an IH 1460 with flex head, a second IH 1460 with corn head, an IH 1660 with no heads, and a Gleaner R50 looking a little weathered and no heads. All of the IH machines look in excellent condition with the 1660 looking best of the lot. Next machine available, my personal favorite just because I love the way they look...a Gleaner F3 with corn head but the guy wants an arm and a leg for it. Last combine I have found? Well I was hauling a trailer with a gravity wagon on it up from Ohio yesterday and came up a hill and there sitting on an embankment above the road was a Gleaner R52 for sale. I was drenched in sweat, tired and, worst of all, late for dinner so I did not stop. I muttered "whoa, that is really sweet!" and my daughter said right away that I should buy that one. Has kind of a Star Trek thing going on with that cab design. Really nice looking combine. I could see myself in one of those in a few years. I have looked into all of the machines. they all are around 4000 hours or less except the JD. Some have had chains replaced inside. I am sure they have all had belts replaced. One said he replaced the ?????? floor (can't read my own notes!). I guess I need to get on the phone and make some appointments to see them. Ought to be fun to coordinate 6-7 guys in as many counties to be available at the same time. Anyone favor any of these machines in particular let me know. Still have a couple months before my corn matures so...I'm not getting nervous...no...not at all...

Dave, I'm really anti-gleaner, I used to have an "M" been green every since. Around this area there are almost as many gleaners as there are red and green combines, we have a strong dealer in the town near me. The problem I've been seeing with the gleaner rotaries is that in a dry fall the dust builds up somewhere and they burn up in the field. So it's just an observation but I'd stay away from them. That being said if I was to choose between the combines you're talking about and their condition, I'd go for the 1660 but that depends on your budget and finding good reasonably priced heads. JMHO

It would be nice to get at least one of the heads with your machine. It seems a separate head or heads is priced high compared to a package. And if they come together you know they work together. Gleaner heads are kind of specific to the combine. Case and JD are more universal though.

How are the IH's pricewise? The 1660 is probably pretty expensive, and its a big combine for a small farm. It could probably easily harvest 5 acres an hour in 200 bushel corn. The other side of that is that it will load a tall truck, a 4400 or F3 may not. And there are a ton of aftermarket parts for a 14 or 1660.

I guess for a small farm an F3 is pretty hard to beat. If its nice, and somewhere close to the budget I think that would be my choice. If you think you are going to expand a lot, the 1660 would be nice too, but the F3 could easily handle 100 acres or so.
Josh

100 or so???? Waaay too low. A K does more than that.

As you know I run old combines.

I would not get a JD 4400 any more. They are just very small, with the crop size we get these days.

A JD 6600 or 6620 is good.

I've not really been around the Red combines you mention, but a good 1660 is a monster machine for you very simple to run and parts available. If I got away from Silver, that is what I would get, hands down.

The rotary Gleaner combines like the 50 you mention just came out during a bad period at Allis, they were in and out of the Duetz situation, dealers were running away, etc. they just are not popular on resale.

Now, the 52, that is when the Silver recovered and came back to the good side. That will be a big modern machine for you. I believe there may have been different engine options in that series, maybe some good some not?

Just random thoughts.

Paul

I am sure an F3 is capable of much more. Probably when they were new some were used on 1000 acres. I was just thinking a guy after work could harvest 100 acres with one pretty easily and still have time to haul the grain to town, plant some wheat, and not pull many all-nighters.
Josh

The poster is a novice and needs realistic throughput capacity ratings to decide which machine is appropriate. Adding all the side issues doesn"t help. In the 70s when bean yields were in the 30s, on a good day with the K, I could do 30 acres. With today"s yields I can match that acreage with an M2, and in either case I"d need some unloading help.....or more wagons. Combines need to be judged in terms of bushels per hour, cuz everyone"s "day" is different.

Got a darn nice JD 6600 might be for sale I'm in ohio email is [email protected] variable speed with 404 engine

Sounds like a consensus so far. I have pictures of the R52 and, annoying enough, it is parked next to an L2 which is not in the auction. Same auctioneer sold an L2 in the consignment auction last month...was at $2200 an hour before close. Don't know where it ended. So far everyone seems to like the R52 and the big IH. I am still longing for the F3. Mrs Dave is pretty firm she doesn't want me out in a cold field repairing a combine like I was with the corn planter. I fixed it but it was touch and go for a while there. She wants me to "up front" the cash for a better machine. My plan was to buy an F3 type now and do my small acres then retire it as a backup to a bigger machine later. Never occurred to me I could do it in reverse. Better machine now...older backup machine later. Have to give that some thought.

My email is open in my profile (available in modern view). Could you give me a ping when you have half a moment? I have a question.

out of what you listed i would go with the 1660, i have a 1680 and if you run corn they will eat what you give them. the only down side with them if you get a bug in the control system it can be a bear to find.

You better marry that woman.....

I'll try this again. I put a bunch of posts on here last night and they are all gone except the one to Paul. Hmmmm.

Anyway, me email is always open thru the profile if you go to modern view. You can send me specs on that machine there. I have a dreadful aversion to green paint BUT I have used my two JD 224T balers for over a decade now and I love the little things. So I guess I best keep an open mind.

I know, right? A peculiar situation what with me being the tightwad and her saying "run with it". Sometimes I think she hasn't been keeping track of how much 7 acres of corn has cost so far. Well over $20K. OK...so I could resell the equipment and get most of it back but I still have a lot of cash tied up in tillage, spray and other equipment and no idea what type of return I am going to get other than the (real) satisfaction the whole process gives me.

But then I expanded my vocabulary some when I was cursing out that planter last Memorial Day. She may be worried about my soul.

NOVICE?!?! It says to the left of this post that I am a "Tractor Guru". Which only proves that you cannot believe everything you read on the internet.

He is right on one score though. Package deals are far more cost effective than buying all the parts separate. If I can get the combine with at least one head included I will save a good chunk in the long run. Last fall I wanted a good plow with a land hitch and the only one I could find was, once again, off the chart $$$. Guy had a nice Glenco chisel...also $$$. Nice little rock picker sitting in the weeds in good shape that he had no use for. When he got wind I might take all three he threw a number out that was thousands less than asking and better than I could do elsewhere. That darn chisel saved my bacon this Spring with the heavy moisture in the soil.

Appreciate you helping to keep things clear. You are correct...I know next to nothing about combines and I am trying to make a very difficult decision. Real facts applied to current yield expectations are what I need.

Control system? Are we talking monitor and sensors? What issues did you run into? I just spent two hours in a hot tractor cab with a planter monitor telling me that a perfectly functioning planter was not planting on 4 rows. It was, but apparently not to the level the monitor was looking for. If I had gone faster I might have hit the quota but it was a small field and all the equipment was "new to me" so not really going to happen. I am not a fan of beeping monitors and electrical issues.

Dave, fall of 2012 we were using a tired F2. Did an awesome job, but slow. One mentioned somewhere else that the "bucket elevator" is no good in corn.....to a point, he is right. That was the limiting factor in corn, it would shell faster, but the elevator wouldn't take it away fast enough. Yes, it had "buckets" , rather than paddles. Don't know if a F3 is any different there.
Anyway, we replaced it with a '90 model, 1660. A very simple machine to adjust. Does a great job in beans and corn, as most combines will, if set correctly. Out of the ones you mentioned, I guess I would go with the 1660, based on what I have experienced. Also, the best in your area for parts is something very important, which I'm sure you are aware of. We have been very happy with it, although it still needs minor repairs here and there. Parts are easy to get, and most parts on that machine are easy to get at. I said MOST ! you must remember even the newest 1660s are???...20 or so years old already. Good luck with your search.

Thanks! I like that one too. It's a bit childish, but when I was a little boy the hottest thing on TV was Star Trek. I just cannot look at the R52 cab without getting it out of my head. It's not just me...my daughter mentioned it too. Even so, I really like the 1660 and, since I have an IH 1586, TD6 and Loboy and 3 Farmalls, planter, plow...the local dealer parts guy knows me when I walk in the door. So the parts issue is good. I am wondering, if I cannot afford the 1660 would one of the 1460's be a good choice? Not sure what the difference is between the two.

Just to put a spin on that around where I live, the green ones leave the field green once their done. Looks like some one sowed a field plot.

If there is green in the field it ain't the machine it's a pizz poor operator or setup....I've run and set about all of em they can only do a great job if the person behind the wheel is capable of it