JD Van Brunt grain drill

I'm looking to add a grain drill to our equipment and have come across several JD Van Brunt drills of mixed quality and price. I'd like to own a planter for seeding hay and grass. I'm wondering if this is the right kind of planter and what is a good price for the Michigan region. Any recommendations would be very helpful, I have little understanding of what makes a good unit and what I should be shopping for. Thank you in advance, feeling a little puzzled at this point.
 
I no longer own(or use) a grain drill.I use one of those three point 'whirlybird' fertilizer spreaders. Works great for all
grains.Some guys even get a cart and mix both fert and seed for the larger fields.Especially good for the fine small
seeds.Double spread(50 ft pattern,split tracks),then cover.Roll(with pulvimucher),harrow,or disk.These days,in our area most
grain or hay is spread/brodcast rather than drilled.
 

JD grain drill were/are very good machines. I've seen prices all over the place but to me. I would think $300-$800 should be enough. JD Van Brunt drills are getting some age on them as chart will show. I assembled many JD grain drills at the dealership where I was employed. To plant grass successfully you'll need a small seed attachment. I've broadcast seed and covered it with a field cult for many yrs and drilled seed prior to that. I think with drilled seed one gets a better stand over broadcasting/covering.
Jim
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Can't help you on price, but if the option is there, go with the hydraulic lift over the trip rope. I have a trip rope model that I pulled as a kid working for a neighbor. It kills my arm now to try to trip every turn, so I leave it down and use extra seed double planting turn rows. Chris
 
You are only supposed to trip it one time when you go to field and once when you pull out. The drills are designed to go around the field instead of back and forth. The Van Brunt I had the disks threw the dirt all the same way and if you would have tried that back and forth stuff then you would have had ridges and valleys for every pass, going around left a level field if you had it leveled ahead of the drill. Also going around would take less time as you are not wasting time and extra distance in turning.
 
(quoted from post at 08:02:33 10/18/15) Can't help you on price, but if the option is there, go with the hydraulic lift over the trip rope. I have a trip rope model that I pulled as a kid working for a neighbor. It kills my arm now to try to trip every turn, so I leave it down and use extra seed double planting turn rows. Chris

Are you one of those new age farmers that sows back & forth instead of round & round??

I have a neighbor that sows back & forth with a tandem JD hitch of 13' 8300 grain drills & I can guarantee that turning to the right with that setup takes a lot of extra time.
 
Yes I go up and down. So does everyone here. we kind of have to on account of our 'water marks'.On a flat/unmarked field,we go
crossways.Get better coverage that way.Aronnd here grain,hay,solid seeded crops are treated just like any rowcrop. Up and
down/back and forth.
 
This is on irrigated ground,correct? Assuming there is some moisture in the seed beed still after working it, and the ability to put more there once seeds have sprouted.
Our neighbor cut his malt barely early this year, that combined with the warm extended fall, what was broadcast out the back of the combine is a better stand than many get on the dryland around here with an air seeder.
 
I had three Van Brunts. (One 1930's on steel with hand lift,one from the 40's and one from early 50's both with rope lifts) Later
I up graded to an 8100 and a 8200. My wheat yields did not change a bit. My repair bills doubled! All the rubber and plastic parts
in the 81 and 8200 did not last as long as the steel and cast iron parts in the Van Brunts.

When Grandpa was here we HAD to go around in circles. That was a bunch of nonsense. Dad and I quit that and went back and forth.
Worked much better. had no effect on the wheat stand or yield.

You can buy Van Brunts in Nebraska for the price of iron. Noone wants a drill that old or that small.
 
Yes,flood/furrow irrigared. There is usually no moisture left after working/planting.We plant first,then make 'marks' and water
it up. I suppose we could go round and round on the flat ground before marking,but no one does.
 
(quoted from post at 01:12:36 10/18/15) I no longer own(or use) a grain drill.I use one of those three point 'whirlybird' fertilizer spreaders. Works great for all
grains.Some guys even get a cart and mix both fert and seed for the larger fields.Especially good for the fine small
seeds.Double spread(50 ft pattern,split tracks),then cover.Roll(with pulvimucher),harrow,or disk.These days,in our area most
grain or hay is spread/brodcast rather than drilled.

I like the idea of broadcast spreading, a new 3pt spreader is about the cost of a used drill and I would think a whole lot less maintenance. I Would only need a cultipacker to finish up.
 

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