Good Morning & Merry Christmas - I've long had an interest in pull type combines. There's a guy in town that has an all-crop, he uses it in demos. 90 % of what I own is green. I'm looking for input on the merits & detractions of an ac vs jd pull type combine. The implement would be pto with hydraulics. I farm a little over 50 acres and plan to try a variety of small grains.Thanks for the help
- Thread starter Agman1
- Start date
I can't speak to the JD combines but I have an AC66 and they were were a very good combine. A bit newer models were the AC72 and 90. The newer ones eliminate canvases which is good but will cost you more money to buy. There are a lot of parts available for these combines, including new canvases. The big challenge is finding any of the older combines that have been kept inside so they don't have a lot of rotted metal. Combines easily rot underneath the thrashing cylinder and any augers where the chaff hasn't been removed and gets wet. Good luck - I wish I had more reasons to use my combine.
The AC is the easiest to change from one crop to anouther and handles more variety in crops better but that side discharge is a bad thing when you first open a field as when you get to picking up the backcut you are putting thru the straw from both the first couple of rounds plus the backcut. Definatly need a live PTO or engine for that and then the ground speed drive real does not like to get all the straw up to the cylinder. Have had 3 AC 60 machines, one with engine. Never a pull type Deere but 4 of the Deere 45 SP combines and they are simiular in changing settings.
Hoenes
Member
Agman, I can"t speak for the JD pull-types, but my childhood is filled with AC 66 memory"s. As long as the ground is dry, they are OK. If it is wet, they are about like dragging around a battleship anchor. We even tried using two tractors and a log chain! What a mess when you break through frozen ground! The header "rolling" canvass is expensive and gets alot of holes in it when it starts to wear. In top condition though, the machine is known for clover harvest ability. We only used our"s for beans and wheat. We had two extra machines for spare parts. Good Luck, merry christmas
A different take on this conversation. Probably going to take some doing to find but maybe a JD 6601. The 6601 was a pull type combine made from the core components of a 6600 self- propelled combine. We are talking at least an 85 to 90 pto horsepower tractor without getting into mud or steep hills. Have not paid attention as of late but used to see them advertised for a couple thousand in fairly decent condition. I wish I still had the old literature but I believe you could outfit it with a cutting platform, pick-up, or corn head. The one thing I really like is the being the brother to the 6600 means parts are available to a much better degree than the older 6, 12, 30 series.
Of course this has to fit what you are doing. If this is for show and themed to a two cylinder or early New Generation tractor then I would see where you might want to go to a model 30 to match in terms of age and horsepower.
I like the idea of the 6601 if you could do it because it might be a little more rare at this point in time and if you could outfit it with say a 343 cornhead might turn some heads at a show. Just wanted to put something different out for consideration. They would have been made from 1970 to 1978 approximately. Good Luck.
Of course this has to fit what you are doing. If this is for show and themed to a two cylinder or early New Generation tractor then I would see where you might want to go to a model 30 to match in terms of age and horsepower.
I like the idea of the 6601 if you could do it because it might be a little more rare at this point in time and if you could outfit it with say a 343 cornhead might turn some heads at a show. Just wanted to put something different out for consideration. They would have been made from 1970 to 1978 approximately. Good Luck.
I want a small combine, the 30 JD or AC 72, getting away from the canvas machines. Pulling with 30 - 50 hp. I bale 20+ acres of hay using 14T, just to give you an idea of the type of machine I like. I prefer mechanical linkages with the necessary adjustments made through experience and education to the more modern machines. It has always seemed to me a bit of the art in farming has been lost.
Paul from MI
Well-known Member
I have used my old 1940 AC 60 for 17 years. I run about 8 acres of wheat & soybeans thru it every year. I have replaced the canvases and cylinder bars, canvas tension springs and a few other minor parts in all that itme. It is a very simple reliable machine. I pull it with my 1948 JD D, so no live power. If you stay alert and don't get in a hurry it's not a problem. My grain is threshed as clean as anyone's, but you can expect larger header losses with the old machines compared to a new one. It does the job for me, and my payments are non existent. Besides when you use one, people stop along the road to watch you.
Paul
Paul
They still use them in these parts.A real nice one still brings 16 000 bucks if you aren't in a hurry to sell it.There are quite a number of brand new machines,but many farms here are large potato opperations with a number of near new nice tractors sitting fairly idle in the summer months so an extra combine,ie 6601 is a good fit.
I don't know the availability of these where you are, but maybe a JD 42? You may be short of horsepower, though - I think 50 hp is a minimum for one of these. No canvasses to deal with and these had a 2-row corn head available (if you can find one). There are also the IH 80 & 82 models. I'm not familiar with these as to reliability, ease of use, etc. but would be of the size you are looking for.
I cant answer your question directly as I've never used a JD pull type. I have used AC, Massey Harris, and IH/McCormick. Of the three, I really liked the Massey Harris (Model 35). No canvas, bullet proof design, and fun to use. But, its slow and gawd what a mess. I hate riding in all that grit.
I had a 72 for a few years. It did a very good job of putting clean grain in the bin.
The down sides for me were the left hand cut was very uncomfortable when cutting with my 730 JD with the hydraulic control on the right side.
As stated earlier, the side discharge makes you run the straw through the combine again when making the back cut when opening a field.
The hitch does not fold for road transport which makes the machine quite wide when moving between fields.
Overall I find the IH 80 I previously owned and the IH 82 I have now to be better suited for me. I would love to find a JD 42 though. If anyone knows of any in Minnesota let me know.
My $.02.
What kind of crops have you seen those run in? Pull combines were on their way out of here in the 1960's. Only saw (1) 6601, never any 7701 or 7721 combines. The fellow that had the 6601 also had a 4010 wheatland (the only one of those I ever saw in person). Good farmer but was one of a kind here in the Finger Lakes area. Pretty much see the older AC All Crops, 66's, JD 30's, and the Massey Harris. None of which are very common here anymore. A fellow kept talking about getting an pull IH axial-flow but never followed through.
BANDITFARMER
Well-known Member
We had a 60,66,72,90 and 100 and loved them all. The 90 has a toung that slides for transport, it was the only one that did. The 90 is a very good machine we used a wd-45 and a D15 to pull it with no problem. You do have to overlap on the first round but in wheat it gives you a nice big windrow to get the baler shined up. If it has a scour kleaner on it thats even better for clover or timethy, 90in cut is nice to bale after you cut your crops. We cut your low to get the seed then baled it. The JD pull types took forever to cut with the 30 and the 42s were just to heavy. As pull types go you cant beat a AC 90 for small grains. I would not worry about the color, anyone that knows the old combines for small grain will know you got the best! You have to remember A-C made more pull types than anyone else, and there was a reason for that QUALITY. If you put 4 skid plates off a Hart-Carter floting cutter bar on it and tighten the springs up it helps it flotalong, a trick we figuared out. Buy the 90 you wont be sorry! Bandit
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
Only know ACs and last had a 90. A nice big pull type but probably pretty rare and mabey a little larger than this poster is looking for. I see 72s around here every so often and would be a fine choice.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
Do these 7701's have the quick tach feeder house?
I've only seen one in person and that was at a salvage yard in Minnesota. According to the sales brochures, you could combine small grains , etc. with the 212 belt pickup or the 200 series platform, sunflowers and soybeans with e 454 head or corn with the 444.
That Finger Lakes farmer sure was one of a kind, as all of the Tractorhouse and Machine Finder ads put all of the big PT's in in the Northern Great Plains.
That Finger Lakes farmer sure was one of a kind, as all of the Tractorhouse and Machine Finder ads put all of the big PT's in in the Northern Great Plains.
haymaker421
Member
6601 is good and there is a 7721 at the St. Anne Auction Dec. 29. Don't see many of those around here.
Jerry Coulter
Member
Having grown up in an AC dealership, I would strongly recommend the 72. Parts would be easier to get since many of the 60 and 66 parts fit. Parts for the 90 became difficult shortly after production ceased. Because these machines were lighter than most of the competitors, they pull through soft ground easier. One critical point, run the PTO speed within range. If the machine is run too fast, the straw rack and sieve shoe tends to break up.
Nathaniel Watts
Member
Take the Deere 30. Most likely easier to find parts for. I own a 11a, 12a, 25 and 30 plus a AC 72. The AC is good for wet ground and grass but I prefer a Deere for long straw/heavy crops.
I have 2 66 ACs. The one I use has wooden guides for the canvis. The one I junked has metal ones. I havnt figured out how to get to the bolts that hold the guides, as, on the outside, the heads are covered by the metal frame. I used it on milo and wheat. Worked well enough, but couldnt croud it. I couldnt seem to get my 34 CC Case to go slow enough in milo not to plug it, and yet with enough speed to keep up the power to pull it.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
I've had an AC 72 for over 15 years, it does a great job of cleaning grain & beans. Have replaced many parts over the years including the knife & cylinder bars. You can get parts through Agco or YAZ allcrop. I am a JD man also but bought the first pull type I found. Guy who sold it inherited a IH 82 he now uses. My father always claimed the AC's cleaned better because design, material didn't travel stright through. Only thing I don't like about it is the width, very wide, a stright through machine is much smaller. I could fit through about a 12' opening removing the hood. I built my new shed with a 15' opening just to fit the combine in.
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