Any suggestions for a good used planter for small fields

ditchwitch

Well-known Member
A couple buddies and myself are looking for a 2 or 3 row planter. I have a old ford 2 row that we brought somewhat back to life. But we are looking for something that we dont have to work on every time we get ready to use it. Now the old ford planter has done us a good job and im not knocking it at all. We just need something a little more modern well not so much modern but something we can depend and work like its supposed to. We have small fields the biggest being around 7 acres smallest being about 4. I have a 135 massey ferguson gas tractor to pull it and a 2040 John Deere. We are not looking for brand new and thousands of dollars. Just something reasonable for what little bit we do.
We will use it for sunflowers and milo.
 
If you are going to cultivate row crops, get a 2 or 4 row cultivator. Brother coupled two 6-row IH planters together to plant 12 rows at a time on large acreages.
 
I think a 6 row planter would be to wide for our small fields. I was thinking maybe no mare than 3 row. We space the sunflower rows at 30 inches. Our can the planter you suggest be made into a 3 row. I am are willing to modify something if we have to.
 
I picked up 3 Cole planters on a tool bar at an auction. You can adjust them to what ever row spacing you want or drop 1 or 2 off.
That may be a good choice for what your talking about.
 
Forget 3 row and go with a 4 row and even tho they are old if you find a good John Deere 494A or 1240 planter and make sure it is in proper condition before you start, easy to rebuild if needing it, they will do good for you for years without any repairs. And best selection of plates avaible for any planter, even better than for McCormick and they also have a good selection avaible as well. I have to pickup and haul a 1950's 4 row McCormick planter 170 mile and it will be used on those size fields and will be set on 30" rows but be pulled by Belgin horsepower. You will never get a cultivator setup to work properly for a 3 row unit if you ever need to do it. You would have to use a single row cultivator to cultivate 3 rows but your wheel track is too wide for that so you would need to get and old tractor like the Farmal A or John Deere M that were designed as single row machines and they were designed to cultivate 40" rows not 30" so you might still be 2 wide to go between the row on each side of tractor. And I have used the 4 row planter set on 40" rows on a half acre field.
 
Its funny you mentioned the 494a i just emailed a guy that has one on craigslist here close for 700 dollars. Is that a good deal? . Can you move the spacing on that kind of planter??
 
I agree,skip the "3 row" idea and go with either a 2 or 4 row.There are lots of good planters out there. Stay with something more common.JD or IH.As was said,a JD 494 is a good choice,as well as the comparable IH model.Consider a 'unit' planter,As in a JD # 70,71,24B,44...IH 185,295...I have used this JD#70 for 10 years,does a great job.Currently set up as 4x30".Was also set yup as 6x30" at one time
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The picture of the 4 row is something we could live with. I just emailed a guy that has a 494a from craigslist for 700 that seems reasonable for what it is i guess. I looked in north carolina under farm and garden and typed in 4 row planter and the 494a was there. Ive never owned or operated one so i really dont know what to look for or look out other than obvious stuff. wheels ,bearings cylinders leaking. thanks deltaRed
 
I pd $100.00 for the 4 row outfit 10 years ago.That is an early pic. The 6 row is from last year.I simply dropped off the two end units to make 4 row.The old SM handled the 6row just fine,although the front was a bit light when the thing was filled with seed.No wonder looking at all the 'junk' bolted to it!LOL In my adobe dirt,4 row irrigates better,more evenly than 6 row because every other(water)row is either loose or packed.I pre-bed everything.JD and IH plates are common as dirt.Still available through Lincoln Ag if none are available locally.
 
There is a major backyard industry building 2 and 4 row planters out of old planters for food plot planting as you wish to do. The good news is there are 100s, thousands of planters to choose from.

The bad news is the market is pretty hot, and you will spend $1000 or more for a good one that you can just take to the field....

Plate planters you need to match the seed to the plates you have.

A finger planter like a JD 7000 series the fingers can pick up and drop various sizes of seeds, so it is much easier to just put seed in the hoppers and plant. A 7000/7100 setup would probably be a deluxe setup, with the depth gauge wheels by the openers, and easy to add row cleaners, it would be a do all work well everywhere setup. Shoup sells you any part you need for less than, and shipped to your door faster than, JD can supply parts....

The 494 is a good planter, you will be happy with it.

A JD 70/71 is also a good common setup, Yetter now owns the manufature of these, can get parts from JD or Yetter, very popular setup.

CIH has a similar row unit series of planters, 185/ 295/ other numbers, they are less common but work much like a JD 71.

Many others out there, Allis Chalmers and Ford also had a few row unit models, in good shape they work well also.

After looking around, you might find fixing up your ford planter and reconditioning it gives some satisfaction and a good serviceable planter for years to come for about the same money as you spend on something else?

Paul
 
Thats great information Paul. Thats why i hang around here yall folks are on top of it LOL Thanks again
 
I would seriously explore looking for a 700 that needed some work or a frame that could have some 7000 units added to it. There are a lot of them that can be bought in a 4 row version for not much more than it can save you in planting costs. They are simple, can be used no-til, and are easy to use and get parts for. They're made in 3 point and pull behind versions, may or may not have fertilizer, and are easily set up with insecticide boxes. One may cost a bit more, but you'll be very happy with one.
 
Don't be afraid of either a 4 or 6 row, a 4 acre field is not small. In my area our hills are terraced to hold down erosion so at the top of the hills we may have a 2-5 acre piece completely surrounded by a terrace that gets planted with no smaller than a 12 row 30" planter. The 12 row planters are the new 4 row here and they go up to 24 row still planting the same small terraced pieces.
 
I was looking at the 4 row ones for sale on that tractor house site. Now if i can find one close i can go pick up i think we will be in business. I think the 6 and larger rows would be to much for we have to go to the fields.
 
Generaly they will set from 30" to 42" and depending on boxes can go down to 28" rows, may have to shorten the markers. Orignal long ones are for 36" to 42", shorter ones are for 28" to 34".
 
I don't know anything about the 2040 Deere but the 7000 series Deere planters are way too heavy for your 135 and the unit planters to make a 4 row would also be to heavy for the lift-front end weight for the 135. Around here $700 is too high for a 494A unless it it in like new condition but areas price varies greatly. I don't know if you are setup for a remote cylinder on your 135 or not but you will need it for anything you can find that you could pull with the 135. If you decide to go with a Deere 494-494A or 1200 plate I can probably help you with any problems you might have. Have 3 494 and a 494A setting here now. Sunflowers and milo tell me you do not need to think about finding plates to fit seed. Plastic plates are redialible. And milo also tells me you are probably out west someplace.
 
Allis Chalmers made good planters even the older ones that were originally snap coupler planted real well,Cole planters are good I have 2 Cole planters mounted on a tool bar does good and I like the disk openers if there is some residue in the field it'll knife right thru it most of the time.JD 71 planters are good but a little pricey these days.
 
Gotta say I have a JD 1240. Its a good planter and as you can see I am a Red man. But I have had a few issue with hit but nothing a novice mechanic couldn't solve and fix within and hour of work.
 

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