ih 400 cyclo

Lookin at maybe purchasing an ih 400 cyclo planter. Need some opinion on the machine and some things to look at

Even with the planter in optimal condition the tubes are prone to shaking in rough conditions (rocks) and that distorts the seed flow. The biggest maintenance issue by far is maintaining proper air flow and avoiding flow loss which could be due to a number of things. In tough soils they are handicapped by lack of modern depth wheels and closing wheels though the one I had over 25 years ago had after market depth wheels (rare). Not a planter I would recommend for a novice unless you are patient and have a good understanding of mechanics.

I'll bet DaveH would second that right about now.

Don't let the nay sayers discourage you. I planted 300 acres/yr for 15 yrs. with a 400. Got along real good and had yields that would match the best of them. Here's the thing. If you want accuracy you have to drive slow and I mean SLOW. Think about it. If you drove slow enough there would only be one seed in the tube at a time therefor it could not catch up with the next. Since driving that slow is unrealistic, you have to pick a speed that gives satisfactory accuracy for you. If you have a lot of acres to cover in a little time then a 400 is probably not for you. The next thing is depth control. They are terrible for depth control because the depth wheel is behind the opener disks. So I used to harrow all my ground ahead of the planter. If the ground is level then the seed depth will be the same. One thing to look for is the -I'll call it the manifold- where the seed drops from the drum. After enough acres they will where through.

I used to own one, it was cut up for scrap, went to a JD 7000. Ill never go back to a IH. With the 7000, dump in the seed and fertilizer, grease the fittings,lube the chains and you are ready to go. No worries.

Well here is the deal. I've been avoiding that area like the friggin plague for a week. Trying to buy an adjoining property which has me stressed out but I think mostly because I don't want to see what a balls up mess I made out of the planting this year. But I had to go out there today because the fella who sold me the swather is expecting me up in Frankenmuth come the AM to load it out. SO, to make a short story long, I drove in there and picked up my trailer...which is loaded with scrap but that is another story and made my day that much longer. Noticed a few little corns growing down by the road. Looked up and there is row after row of corn coming up. Not the spacing I would have liked and not as good as last year, but there is a fair amount coming up. The Cyclos are really good planters. Mine planted a fair stand with pressure so low it was barely registering. They are NOT complicated. A fan is powered off the tractor and it lightly pressurizes the system, etc etc. Chain driven off a ground tire. Pretty simple really. I would only suggest he pass the 400 by and go to a more modern version...like the 800 or 900. Very affordable. I can also tell you from looking at it, that the JD 7000 that I bought this week is a fine planter also. I think I am going to like it. Eventually, I will probably use them both. The kid can help me plant and we can get done faster.

Locally none of the air planters were thought much of until the 900, and now since the 1200 are pretty popular again.

It may work well for you. I hope it is priced around scrap iron price, and that you don't have bad hills.

Honestly, I haven't seen a 400 or 600 sold to plant a crop in 20 years, every one was $150 or so to a scrapper.

Paul

I would rather have an older plate planter than a cyclo, i don't know your budget but a John Deere 7000 series will make a nice investment .

Thank u very much for your help and opinions. I decided against the planter but do appreciate ur input