small time combining in SW PA

Thought I'd share...wished I could have gotten to the oats about two weeks ago before the winds and rain and weeds really came on but still put enough in the grain rooms to get the sheep through winter. And all the seed was seed that I combined last year so all I've got in it this year is my time and fuel.

Can't believe it's already August. Had a lot of fun with my neighbor and fiance. She drove the makeshift "grain cart" for me. Got to see everyone and everything safe and sound and put away at the end of the day. Can't ask for much more.

I can run the tractors all over our hills but running this old combine on these hills is like learning to ride a bike all over again. I sure will be happy when the hilly ground is reclaimed as hay and pasture and I can keep my crops on the "flat" land. Well, just thought I'd share what keeps me excited to go home to the farm on the weekends (and nights when my day job isn't taking up all my time).

Thanks,
Jameson

neighbor back home (Delaware) had an old 101 IH. Rode on it a few times in beans. Seemed like that little bin took forever to fill up. Dad helped him overhaul the motor. A few years later he caught the motor on fire. Bought a 303 but he never used it as he was getting old and by the time dad fixed all the rusted out holes he had hired a custom outfit.

How was the yield from using grain as seed from last year, any difference ? I would assume you could not repeat this like wheat or the yield decreases.

It looks like the weeds came up after the oats tanned up, oats seems to choke things out, but towards the end the darned weeds like to come up and ruin the straw. We spray and that still can happen. Buyers of straw won't take it unless its clean, so those darn weeds cost money LOL !

I plant feed or non certified seed oats in food plots by broadcasting and discing, works well as forage.

Guy I helped doing oats used to have a pull behind JD and a 420 JD, you don't see many old combines around here working, but one late afternoon, en route delivering a load of hay, I spotted the same model pull behind combine doing about the same thing you are in the photos, it had the bagger set up on it, he was working off his pick up truck like you, and probably for the same reason. I had wished the guy I worked for saw his combine working that day, he was laid up due to illness though, good to see those getting some use, perfect for a small operation I would think.

(quoted from post at 13:40:16 08/01/11) Thought I'd share...wished I could have gotten to the oats about two weeks ago before the winds and rain and weeds really came on but still put enough in the grain rooms to get the sheep through winter. And all the seed was seed that I combined last year so all I've got in it this year is my time and fuel.

Can't believe it's already August. Had a lot of fun with my neighbor and fiance. She drove the makeshift "grain cart" for me. Got to see everyone and everything safe and sound and put away at the end of the day. Can't ask for much more.

I can run the tractors all over our hills but running this old combine on these hills is like learning to ride a bike all over again. I sure will be happy when the hilly ground is reclaimed as hay and pasture and I can keep my crops on the "flat" land. Well, just thought I'd share what keeps me excited to go home to the farm on the weekends (and nights when my day job isn't taking up all my time).

Thanks,
Jameson

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ad a lot of enjoyment of accomplishment with my 101, but finally the weeds & heat beat me up.

It's so refreshing to see the old, simple machines running. When you want the separator to go you simply pull a simple lever. They do the same job as a new one only without the computer and electrical glitches!!! You don't lose a day or two trying to figure out why that solenoid won't actuate!!! I'll put another couple of !! in there just to state my feelings! I'll betcha if you look at hours operating compared to hours being worked on through the lifetime of the combine the old ones will beat the new ones hands down. Jim

(quoted from post at 12:14:22 08/01/11) It's so refreshing to see the old, simple machines running. When you want the separator to go you simply pull a simple lever. They do the same job as a new one only without the computer and electrical glitches!!! You don't lose a day or two trying to figure out why that solenoid won't actuate!!! I'll put another couple of !! in there just to state my feelings! I'll betcha if you look at hours operating compared to hours being worked on through the lifetime of the combine the old ones will beat the new ones hands down. Jim

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Did you ever see the operators manual for a NEW combine? It is bigger than a new york phone book, and has special place designed for it so it can go along to the field with you. The older machines, like that 101, had just a simple owners manual, not much different than that for an H Farmall, and you really didn't need to take it along with you to the field. Just refer to it at home, make the adjustments needed, and then leave the manual in the house where it si safe.

Jamo58,

Thank you for those pictures.

"A Country Boy Can Survive."

Tom in TN

someone told me that some guy had a new combine and could not get the motor started. he had mechanic come out and could not find the problem so he phoned head office and the guy told him so the farmer make his payment and he would turn the machine on.yep, just like that gps you cant hide either.

thanks for sharing. Love seeing the older smaller stuff still showing that its useful.

I highly doubt that the hours of repairs vs hours of work would favor the old ones... On a bushel throughput basis it certainly would not. Some of these machines today will do more in an hour than the old one pictured will do in a week. That's no slight to the old IH... but the capacity of the class 9 Lexion at 50,000 BPH would bury the old one.... probably for more like a month.

Rod

Well believe it or not, the GPS technology has been around for awhile for a combine to report functions to the factory automatically. Over the road trucks have had it for some time now. The last new combine technology I've been involved with was five years ago and a lot has changed since then.

A Lexion combine I was driving in Oklahoma shucked the hydro when I was moving to another field on HWY 183. We pulled it to the next town. The service tech came and plugged his laptop into it and showed us all the times the hydro had been overheated including the date and time of day. Turned out to be the overheating was done a year before in southwest Oklahoma when the young operator got it stuck several times and wouldn't give up trying to get himself out.

The computer on these machines senses the impulses from the alternator and if it quits charging every function on the separator part of the machine quits. All you can do is drive it down the road. If the tank's full and a rain is coming, that's tough! Gotta put a $1000.00 alternator on it first. Alternators on new machines are so loaded down they just don't last that long in the heat.

If the generator quits on an old 101 or 303 you keep running till the engine sputters and quits, which could be the rest of the day. There's no need to worry about the air conditioning dragging down the battery.Jim

Nice to see. I always enjoy running the older equipment. Looks like you had alot of fun!

I liked the umbrella...my kind of farming...got as pink and white one that my daughter uses on the Ford 2000 when raking hay...

John

You guys with those big new self propelled combines need to take a look at doing it the old way. Still good to see you using the old machine.

Should correct that typo... should have been 5000 BPH...

Rod

The yield off what I planted from last year's grain was right on par with certified purchased seed oats. I didn't know before hand what would happen though so I planted one of my fields with purchased seed and right next to it I planted my seed that I poured straight from the bin (into a bag) into my drill. (I plant with an old JD VB EE Drill, steel wheels and all) Didn't clean it since I don't have a seed cleaner but it still came up without any noticable problems and the yield was about the same as my certified seed.

We'll see if the yield decreases next year because I am going to replant some of my second generation seed to see what it does. I like to learn by doing.

Two weeks ago the oats all looked great, not much weeds and they were probably ripe enough to combine but I had other committments. Then the storms came, and the winds,lodged some of the crop and the rains brought the weeds up into what remained standing after the windstorms. Still, I was really happy with what I got. For me, the 101 does a great job and is just the right size for my operation. (And it's pretty neat to think that some other farmer sat on that machine 50 years ago when it was cutting edge technology and was just as amazed by it as I am today)

-Jameson

I like your cab, I forgot to wear my standard issue pants and long sleeves this year and was paying the price with itchy arms and legs all day.

Did you ever combine corn with your 101?
I have an original 101 head for mine but I picked it up separately and it's pretty beat up. It's just waiting for me to get around to fixing it up.

What is that housing that I'm seeing up behind your cab? I dont have anything there on mine...is that part of the cab assembly?

That's interesting, I've always wondered what happens when planting the previous years harvest.
Makes a fun hobby, all work included, I enjoy seeing the deer make use of it as forage, will be planting in 2 weeks or so to give em some lush green forage prior to winter, I usually plant in September, but would like those oats to get a little more established. Whitetail institute now offers Oats, allegedly a more cold tolerant variety.

2 years ago we did 70 acres of oats, same thing happened in some fields, once those weeds get sun, hard to stop em, though most of the fields were clean, some picture perfect, I took lots of photos.