Looking for advise on older planters

I am looking into getting an older planter for planting 40-80 acres with. What were some older planters that some of you may have used back in the day that you were really satisfied with?

I am looking for a 4 or 6 row, 30" spacing.

I have currently been looking at the JD 7000 series, any thought on those?

I currently have a JD 70 (plate type)'unit' planter.It is adequet,but could be better. A 7000'MaxEmerge' is about as good as they get.They are getting quite reasonable and affordable,too.

Jd, White or AC in the era you are looking for are good, jd probably easiest to get parts for.

7000 series Deere's are a pretty good machine. Since 4 rows are not overly plentiful they a lot of times price similar to 6 row units. I don't know about your AGCO support locally but the White 5100 planters are right there with the 7000 plus quite a few White parts can be had through Shoup. Those would the two models I would look at. If you typically have a wide window in the spring it is easier to consider a smaller planter. Around here guys go a little large because a wet spring can mean a small planting window.

I started out with an IH Cyclo 800, 8 row air planter. Very nice planter. Very little to go wrong with them. The biggest issues are the air pressure. If you have a problem anywhere in that system it will adversely affect planting across ALL rows. Problems with air pressure can happen at the tractor, at the compressor below the seed hopper or it can develop leaks that cause pressure to stay low. If you were to use one of these make sure you get a good monitor and pay attention to it, but that is true of all planters of the era. The other issue on the Cyclo is the clutch on the drive line. Mine tended to slip a lot. Same basic clutch you will find on many planters and drills. They can get worn from slipping and once they do they need replacing. This planter comes in a plate version also. The first year I used it I had it operating very well and it did an outstanding job on population. Really nice stand of corn. Don't be mislead by the above, they are excellent planters.

Last year I had a chance to get a JD 7000 for a good price so I bought it. Mostly because my Cyclo was an 8 row and my corn head is a 6 (my JD is 6 row). REALLY important to match your planter and head or you will not be happy with the combining process. So I have not used the JD yet but have been working on it a lot. Comes in plate or finger pickup. Mine has the finger pickups. These are small metal "clamp" type devices that rotate on a wheel and grab a seed which is brought to the top and dropped into a hole where it is delivered via a special belt to the drop tube. Looks like a very efficient system and has the added advantage that the whole planter doesn't go south on you if one row fails...but then again a monitor is a must to avoid this on either planter. JD has a very simple chain driven transmission from the ground driven drive wheels. IH does also.

There is just a few observations on two major brands that are out there. Most planters from the '80's are very worn and will need a lot of TLC but they will work fine if you go over them very carefully and make sure you bring them back to speed. I don't get too excited about fertilizer boxes. I tried that one year and had some inconsistent results. Prefer to broadcast my N and, if anything, maybe add a little in the row for the headlands where I am planting closer to the tree competition. HTH...Dave H

7000 series deere or ih 800 900 series all are very good units. i had all three and like the 900 the best of all. no machinery owned nowdays thou.

I have a JD 1240. Paid 350 for it and after a few adjustments and reading the manual over a couple times it plants pretty good. I only plant about 3 acres(if that) so I can't attest to reliability over a long day but i like it and it was cheaper than any of the others mentioned. From what I heard lots of good things about the 7000's though.

I would take that 1240 any day over a 7000 to do hundreds of acres a year. Would not own a 7000.Planted for years and still own them 494, 494A.

John Deere 7000 planters with the finger pickup are pretty tough to beat. Parts availability will not be a problem.