John Deere 494 planter.

Hey guy just went to look at a John Deere 494 planter it says 494 and then something below it that I can’t make out what would that be any ideas? Also are these planters or can they be made into 30 inch row spacing. I can’t tell what this one is since he has the outside boxes way apart and the inside real close. These are hydraulic lift correct? It has the seed boxes on it and he said the fertilizer boxes are some where along with the plates. I’ve seen some with 2 long boxes that sit in front of the see boxes what are these. I’m green to planters so any help would be great. Also are these planters really touchy on the type of seed you put in and constantly changing plates?

also I’m seeing you can buy plastic planter plates on eBay are these anygood? How many would you need to buy?

Plastic plates are fine I use them all the time. As far
as I know they are all hydro lift they stop planting
when you lift them. You should be able to loosen the
bolts and slide them to 30in. Or what everspaceing
you want. You would have to adjust the market
arms also.

thanks a lot for the reply! Are these a pretty decent planter ive heard the plate planters are a pain any truth to this ? Also do you have any idea what is underneath the 494

You must know nothing about planters. It may be a "494A" planter. The plastic seed plates are Lustran plates and have been used for decades. Tell us what you need a planter for and we can help.

Plant planters are fine just not as fast or percise.

no I don’t I’m young these are before my time so you’re right. This is my first planter tho I have many old combines.

I have 3 acres I plant combine and plow using nothing but old equipment so I’ll be planting corn. I’ve heard you have to have the perfect plate in there to fit the seed and you’re constantly hanging plates any truth to this.

Years ago seed corn was "graded" which meant that all the kernels in the bag had a very similar
size and shape. The label on the bag then included the suggested plate number to use for the
various planter manufacturers. However, now that most all planters being used for corn don't
require graded seed this has largely gone away and seed corn now contains a mixture of shapes and
sizes. Although not ideal for a plate planter it is still possible to use but a person should
expect more doubles, skips, and cracked kernels since the chosen plate will not be ideal for all
kernels. One other problem that can occur is that as you plant the plate will sort out the
kernels small enough to fit in the cells and then your planting rate will start to drop off as
more and more of the kernels left in the hopper are too big to get through. Planting ungraded
seed with a plate planter is certainly possible - I do it myself - but a person can't expect
perfect results and more thought needs to be put into the plate selection.

For corn you'll find plates for "flat" and plates for "round" kernels. For the ungraded seed
I've planted a "medium round" plate has always been more suitable than a flat. Unless you can
find a source for graded seed and know what you'll be getting the plate selection really can't
happen until you have the seed and can see what it looks like. It is then that having a number
of different plates on hand to choose from is very helpful.

As a source of plates you might ask around with the older farmers in your area. A friend of mine
gave me a large box of plates that had been collecting dust in the back corner of the shed for
years. Used equipment yards are another possibility - I've bought them for a buck each from such
places and had dozens of styles to choose from.

The early 494 planters had a round pipe for a front frame, the later ones had a square frame,ours was a square frame and it was a 494A. I have no idea what made it an A, but ours was.

thanks for the input it came with a few plates so I’m not really sure what I all have yet. It has a round tube in the front. I appreciate all the help and insight hopefully it plants pretty good with no issues. Just don’t want my plot to look like crap

what size tires come factory on these planters 15 inch rim is all I know

If it has the wide axle that bost had with the larger seed hoppers you cannot set to 30" rows but if you have the smaller straight sided seed hoppers then you can set to 30" rows but you would have to cut the inner part of the marker arm off. If it has the narrow axle then you can use the larger seed hoppers as limiting thing is tire clearance. I always had graded seed when I was planting and I do know there are a lot of plate planters in use out there now and should be graded seed avaible, just probably from smaller companys. Look in Amish country as about all planters will be plate type units. The biggest thing to get a good stand is working your ground to get a good seed bed as planting in very rough worked ground. I myself would still prefer a plate planter in a 494, 494A or a 12XX series that if plate is same as a 494A. And the front box is the fertilizer box, then seed and possibly insecticide and then herbicide.

yes you’re right it has the big seed boxes and the closest you can get them is 32 inch row which should still be ok I would think. I greased everything today now just trying to find and implement tire to put on it since mine are shot any idea what size these cane with new?

(quoted from post at 22:43:39 05/13/18) yes you’re right it has the big seed boxes and the closest you can get them is 32 inch row which should still be ok I would think. I greased everything today now just trying to find and implement tire to put on it since mine are shot any idea what size these cane with new?

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I have no idea, but would guess probably 15" or 16". Most of the ones I have seen had automotive type snow tread tires on them. I'm sure this was for additional traction since this is a ground driven unit.

Dad got a #490 planter spring of '52. The runner style planting row units were real fussy how well the
ground worked up and effected planting depth. Planting depth adjusted by pscking wheel behind row unit.
Dad planted with wire until late 1950's, but hill dropped till he quit farming in 1972. Planter had only
seed boxes until about 1960 when Dad added Gandy boxes, two boxes on each side of planter, think they
were insecticide and herbicide. Rootworm was a big problem back then.

Neighbor we traded help with and farmed 80 acres with had a 494 planter, Much stronger frame, think it
had the twin small insecticide and herbacide boxes back by the press wheels, no dry fertilizer boxes. The
seed boxes were the large short boxes, held close to a bushel each. Our 490 had small diameter boxes
just over a foot tall, Dad put extensions on them to cover more ground between refills. Just aggravated
the depth control issues.

Plastic or cast iron plates both work. Dad bought a couple bushel of seed off every salesman that came in
the yard, just to get more sweet corn seed. Back then the seed corn bags recommended the plates to use.
We probably had 12-15 sets of plates for corn and beans. Not a lot of work to change plates, 4 row
planter with almost empty boxes might take 10 minutes to empty, change plates and refill. MAKE SURE YOU
ADD POWDERED GRAPHITE TO THE SEED BOXES! Lubricates the planter seed mechanisms. Deere used to sell it
in I think one pound boxes, little plastic scoop in the box, one scoop in each seed box.

I'd look for a planter with double disk openers and more modern seed metering. No way do those runners
like clods, trash from minimum till or no-till completely out of the question.

how do you set the population I see the gears but not sure what they all mean

(quoted from post at 07:06:35 05/14/18) how do you set the population I see the gears but not sure what they all mean

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Do you have the operator's manual? If not, you need to get one. I believe it explains which combinations of sprockets to use to get the population you want. I remember my Dad getting his set up each year. I was too young to help, but I remember him referring to the book a lot.

yea I don’t have any of that just wanted to try it on some sweet corn so it’ll be ready for next year

I saw your old post about the 494 and was wondering how you did with it? I am working on a JD 1240 plateless planter.

My father in law had a circle hitch he put on a 4020 to pull two 694 30" planters. It was a huge outfit for 1970. That circle hitch was clumsy monstrosity.