HELP is it a 490 planter

mikeheine

New User
Picked it up over the weekend, and the guy said it was his dads 490 corn planter. But from all the pictures I see on line they have seed cans and fertilizer cans. This one only has the seed cans, and if it has a serial plate I cant find it. Id really like to restore it and use it for the sweet corn patch. Sorry if this is a repost I just joined today. Thanks for any input.

<image src="http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/photos/mvphoto26260.jpg"/>

<image src="http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/photos/mvphoto26261.jpg"/>

<image src="http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/photos/mvphoto26262.jpg"/>

<image src="http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/photos/mvphoto26263.jpg"/>

<image src="http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/photos/mvphoto26264.jpg"/>
 
Yup a 490. Don't waste your time looking for a serial number John Deere did not assign them numbers until later. I have a 494A and was trying to find the serial number and I was told that they did not assign them numbers until later.
 
Learned how to plant with a 490. When the farmer I worked for bought it,it was set for 40 inch rows. It was a clutch lift that eventually broke and was converted to hydraulic. It had seed boxes, insecticide boxes, fertilizer boxes, and herbicide boxes. I have the book for it which is in pretty sad shape but still helpfull. First lessons with a clutch lift,don't drop the shoes without moving forward,and don't let it roll backwards while the shoes are in the ground. Plugged shoes = replanting missing rows. Been there, done that. After turning, watch to see that the proper marker dropped all the way and not have both halfway down. Use the correct plate for the size seed and population.
 
(quoted from post at 01:10:01 08/20/15) ok thanks, do you know the right style and size tires it needs.

Didn't see a specific callout in the book, but the pictures show a standard multirib implement tire. They did call out tire pressure at 24 pounds.
 
You could be right or be wrong on the size as the later units did use the 15" wheel but the earlier units were 16" wheels for 6:00 X 16" tires. He needs to measure the rim where the bead sets to find out the size he has if not readable on tire. The 40's built units would be 16" while later 50's units would be 15". Last 490 is a 1956 model and first unit is a 1942 model. The first 4 row planter built by Deere was a 450 and guessing was built starting in 1937 with production of the G tractor untill 1942. I was going to tale one to Portland sho but it is comming up to fast to make it. The 494 followed the 490 in 1957 and that was a unique year for the 494, I have a 57, 58 and 59 and a 69 494A as well as 4 290 and 2 490 carcases setting here.
 
I wouldn't expect your local Deere dealer to be able to help much with new parts but they might be able to get some things yet.

DAD was the first in the neighborhood to get a 490 spring of '52. It was quite the planter when everybody else was still using a 290. He quit check rowing corn about 1960, and adjusted to 38" rows. Neighbor we farmed another 80 with had a 494 planter, a MUCH improved planter over the 490, lots stronger frame. We still planted in hills, 3+/- seeds per hill in corn. We "drilled" beans, a single seed about every 2-3 inches. We added Gandy insecticide & herbicide hoppers to the planter in '60 when we made the other changes.

The runner type planting row units were tough to set planting depth accurately. With the seed boxes full they buried seed, with boxes almost empty they dropped seeds on top of the ground. If the ground worked up nice and fine they buried the seed also, if you hit a clay side hill that was wet when plowed and was clods 2-3 inches in diameter they dropped the seeds on top of the clods and they maybe worked their way between the clods down below the top surface.

The last year Dad farmed, one Saturday we were planting the last 20 acre field of corn, and it worked up like a sandbox, he had to stop and adjust the planter FOUR TIMES going across the field the first time. He was planting almost 5 inches deep when he started!

The BTO neighbor I worked for planted corn with a 494 in 38" rows. He built a "690" planter from two 490's, and planted six 30" rows in beans. He was still using that planter in the mid-1970's.

It was common for our 490 to drop both markers every time. At least you had a mark to follow next pass and the extra mark in the last pass didn't hurt anything. I'd say 90-95% of the time both markers dropped.

They were an O-K planter, but NOBODY would want to use one today.
 
(quoted from post at 18:44:08 08/18/15) Picked it up over the weekend, and the guy said it was his dads 490 corn planter. But from all the pictures I see on line they have seed cans and fertilizer cans. This one only has the seed cans, and if it has a serial plate I cant find it. Id really like to restore it and use it for the sweet corn patch. Sorry if this is a repost I just joined today. Thanks for any input.

&lt;image src="http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/photos/mvphoto26260.jpg"/&gt;

&lt;image src="http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/photos/mvphoto26261.jpg"/&gt;

&lt;image src="http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/photos/mvphoto26262.jpg"/&gt;

&lt;image src="http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/photos/mvphoto26263.jpg"/&gt;

&lt;image src="http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/photos/mvphoto26264.jpg"/&gt;

Just a side note, gearbox should be filled with 20 weight oil, and further reading revealed that the gearbox has timing marks on the infernal gears and under the seed boxes the gears have timing marks. In the restoration process, you will need to get everything lined up properly.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top