494A planter AGAIN!

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I folks, I'm sure my ignorance of the subject matter will become obvious, and at the risk of being burned at the stake, I'm going to trudge on.

I have the opportunity to purchase locally what appears to be a very clean and straight forward 494A planter. I know absolutely nothing about them, so I wanted to pick the collective brain to find out what issues I need to be on the lookout for, etc.

I also would like to know (and this is where many of you will laugh), if the planter can be used for other than corn applications? Primarily beans, peas etc.(are these paltes available)? It appears to be set on 30 or 36" spacing, but are they adjustable to bring those in tighter for beans?

Please see the attached photo. Are the hoppers up front original or replacements. Most of the photos I've seen have the large metal hoppers up front.

Thank you in advance,
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Decent old planters.The 'standard' of the 50s. Plates are readily available.New(Lincoln Ag Products)or used Leaveit at the 30"
setting,even for beans(you need to get through them to cultivate).If you want closer beans,drill em. One word of advise. Buy a
book! you will need a book to really understand set this thing the right way. BTDT
 
Those fertilizer hoppers are the first thing that caught my eye. Never saw any like that on a 494. What caught it next is,where are the fertilizer openers? The shoes or discs that put the fertilizer in to the ground. Maybe it's the angle of the picture,but I'm not seeing them. You can't just let it run out on the ground.
 
It looks like somebody replaced the old fertilizer bins with cole sidedresser units. If you look closely under the units, there are deep-placement fertilizer shanks instead of the usual disk openers.
 
I stand corrected. What I thought were the shanks are the springs for the front harrow attachments. Oops.
 
A tape measure will tell you where the seed units are set. There is a wide and a narrow axle for that planter. I'm going to guess your units are set wide, and that you have a narrow axle, given how close the tire looks to the inner unit.
I have no clue on that "fertilizer" set up, if that's what it's supposed to be.
 
Interesting. We had a 494A back in the 60's. But that one looks like it has shadows that look like disc openers instead of
shoes. Perhaps maybe even a 71 unit cobbled on in place of the older 494 unit. Without a side view, it's impossible to tell.
 
Those are good planters.

Whatever that one actually is?

As others say, there are some odd bits about that thing, it looks a little different. It wouldn't be one of those inbetween models, between a 494
and a 7000? 1200 series like 1240 or so? So e of those even had seed meters, not plates. Sure would like some side pics, or of the planter unit
up close.

You can move row units a little; wheels get in the way so you can't move too much without a torch and re welding, and its not a job you would
do every year!

Plates are around for beans, and peas, and other big seeds. For soybeans you can get a slow-down sprocket, plant 1/2 normal rate, and come
back plant in between the rows to make 18 or 15 inch rows. Takes twice as long to plant, and can't cultivate then of course.

Generally Deere made really good planters, a 7000 has better features but the 494 or the in between models were all generally good.

Paul
 
My 6 row 7000 planter came with those spring harrow opener deals in front of the row. They actually work pretty good, I was going to replace them with star wheel row cleaners, but haven't needed to in three years, the springs work out. I'd never actually seen them until I bought my planter; yours is the second set I've seen now.

Paul
 
Hard to say what it is. The fertilizer is something cobbled up that I don't see how it could work. The 12XX series in the plate units are practically same as a 494A. And it could have eitherof several disk or shoe seed openers. Early 494A had a gear box for seed adjustment, later ones a series of sprockets that are hard to set. Earlier ones had non adjustable axle and with large seed boxes spacing was 30" to 42", narrow axle would go to 28" and the adjustable axle on later models could go from the 28" to 42" Those springs on the front I have them but never used them, they are for in rough worked soil toget the clods out of the way to get a more finer seedbed for he row. It has no markers that are needed to keep row spacing equal. I have 3 of the 494 versions and a 494A setting here now none being used and I would run not walk away from that planter, nothing but problems.
 
I spoke to the guy today. They are indeed Cole units that were put on the 494A. He's had it for 25 years and plants 12 acres of corn each year.
He also added that he borrowed his neigbor's bean plates to plant beans one year with it. Says it does a great job, but hasn't used the fert.
bins, and added they would need some work. He's asking $500 for it, and says if it has a problem he doesn't know about it.

The Fert hoppers where my biggest question, since obviously they look out of place. I'll post up another picture when I get home tomorrow that
shows the back, which look original.

I think I will take the time to look at it because it's near by, but the LAST thing I need is something I have to work on before I can take it to the
field.

Tim
 
Earlier 494A with the short style seed boxes and that is the wide non adjustable axle so planter will only adjust down to 32" rows. It does have the optional disk seed openers tho. And if the ground is not in perfect shape the seed trench does not hike to close at times. It does not have the covering disks that are supposed to be used with those openers. I had them but never got to use them because the bearings were froze up. Planter currently set on 40" rows. I still would not consider it for use. And his figure for it as is its is about 10 times what that planter is worth for use. Now if you were only wanting it for certain parts it has on it could be worth more as in those disk seed openers they are hard to find. It is only a parts machine.
 
There is a wide wishbone yoke (thingy mechanism that the wheels pivot on) and it is slightly narrower one on the newest models.

If you have the wide wishbone it is possible to still possible to get down get to 30 inch rows, but you have to replace 2 of the funnel shaped seed hoppers with the older style that are straight cans. Otherwise as Leroy stated 32" is as narrow as you can get with the funnel shaped seed hoppers. If you have the narrower wheel wishbone then no problem getting to 30" inch rows even with funnel shaped seed boxes (course you could always cut the wishbone to make it narrower and then reweld too real easily).

As others have stated I have never seen those style fertilizer applicators on a 494. That said it is likely a good thing cause almost everyone we ever had as original were rusted off and none functional. One planter we simply torched them off as they were in terrible shape.


family members owned 3 494 (and 494A) models back in the 1970's, 1980's, and early 1990's. Also had a 69? as well there at the end. They are good plate planters and different plates are still available for different seed sizes and density desired. Never had a bad stand related to the planter. They were the gold standard for their era and design type.

TIP: We broke 2 gearboxes in the early years as those gearboxes have no seals so the gear oil just runs out real even without any wear at all and not real easy to check it either. We started drilling and tapping them for grease zirts. No more problems in over 2 decades of use (160 to 220 acres per year) with the grease zirt installed. If I ever put one of these planters back in the field to use it would be the first mod that I performed. Although today I might use Cornhead grease but we did not know about that back then. The gearbox simply got a few pumps of #2 every time the rest of the planter received grease and it worked well.
 
If you can get it down to the 32 inch rows offset it on your hitch by 8 inches from center then turn around and follow back over your tracks. It'll leave you with 16 inch rows.
 
I would look for a 7000 or Kinze with
finger pickup. Or a 5100 White. Probably
good for 10 to 20 extra by.
a205636.jpg
 

Thanks guys, I've decided to pass on the unit. After hearing what you guys had to say, and seeing it in person, I believe it was way way more trouble than worth. I'm on a small budget, but the last thing I need is something I have to rig or work on before I can take it to the field. Think I'm going to keep my eyes out for a good 7000 unit. They are around, but seem to fetch in the $4000-$6000 range. Hard for me to justify that for one, but my time is worth something too.

Thanks for all of the information folks, really appreciate it,

Tim
 

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