ih 56 planter

chris yoder · Jan 23, 2009

what do you guys think about an ih 56 planter.
the one i am looking at has good boxes, plates are good, he said everything was working condition and in good shape, it is a 4 row 38" row spacing for $600.00

fixerupper · Jan 23, 2009

$600 might be a little high? I planted with a 58 - 6 row 30", which is the same as the 56, for about 20 years, planting about 600 acres a year. It was a real dependable planter. Had to replace the bevel gears once and the disk openers a few times, but that's normal wear. Downfall is it has runners so it's not going to be planting at a consistent depth. In soft spots it'll run a little deeper and in hard spots it will run shallow and might leave a few seeds on top of the ground.

Replaced my 58 with a Deere 7000 and wondered why I didn't do it years before. How many acres are you planting? The newer style planters do a much better job at depth consistency and plant spacing.

If you're just planting a wildlife food plot or something like that, the 56 will do just fine, but if you are growing a crop for profit, consider finding a good used White Vac. planter or Deere 7000. Jim

Fordfarmer · Jan 23, 2009

I ran a 56 4-row when I started farming... I was very happy to see it leave when I bought a used JD 7000. Besides the inconsistent depth from the runners, mine was a PITA to keep the fertilizer augers working - it would break chains or sprockets or bend the shaft. Hard to keep the markers raising/lowering correctly, too. They bring $100-400 around here.

NY 986 · Jan 23, 2009

Have to agree with the others. How many acres are you doing and is it for plots or actual production agriculture?
Seen White 5100 4 row go for that kind of money at auction that were usable. Replacing wear parts (discs, bearings) made them into nice units.
The 4 row 7000 Deere's I've seen at auction lately have been on the nice side and went over 2000 dollars. You might find a usable project 7000 for under 1000.
Plate planters can be headaches and that is why the farm implement mfgs went away from them.

4 bottom · Jan 23, 2009

Used a 4 row with the big fiberglass boxes for over 20 years. Pulled it with a super H. Cheap to run. Are the jds better yea but it always did a very good job, populations and spacings were satisfactory and fert metering was also good. Easy to maintain and the price was right. Just make sure it has disk openers on the seeds and the hex drive shafts are not worn to bad. ED

Spook · Jan 23, 2009

(quoted from post at 08:47:16 01/23/09) Used a 4 row with the big fiberglass boxes for over 20 years. Pulled it with a super H. Cheap to run. Are the jds better yea but it always did a very good job, populations and spacings were satisfactory and fert metering was also good. Easy to maintain and the price was right. Just make sure it has disk openers on the seeds and the hex drive shafts are not worn to bad. ED

I was told that the disk openers were much better on any planter, runners were just cheaper and simpler to build.

Lou · Jan 23, 2009

I have a model 56 with 3 sets of plates i would sell for $350. everything works except the fertilizer feed.

brian(MN) · Jan 23, 2009

I started farming with one of these, after a few years I went with a used JD 7000 8-30. It worked for me, it has been a long time, but I could have had trouble with the markers raising and lowering, shearing off pins on the fertilizer drive, and I think they have an odd size chain for the drive. If you are planting a food plot or just a few acres it should work for you. I can't remember how many acres I could plant in a day, A fill of fertilizer planted 10 I remember. I was a young buck then and didn't mind all the extra work. I don't miss changing plates. It might not work very good if you have alot of trash and hard ground. It will need soft ground to plant in.
$600 seems high, but then if it has been shedded all the time and not abused it is always worth alot more. I have one of these plus a 6-30 in the grove (parts missing), worth scrap prices I'm sure,
Brian(MN)

Goose · Jan 23, 2009

I had a 56 in 6-30. It wasn't a bad planter except the markers drove me berzerk. The chains that raise them would always stretch so the markers wouldn't lift high enough to flip over to the other side.

john d · Jan 23, 2009

For $600, it should be in extremely good shape and shedded all its life!
I have a 4-row #56 set on 36" that we bought new in about '67 or so. It's been retired to nothing but planting my garden for the last 18 years, but in its day, it was a gem. Simple and easy to work on, never had any trouble with seed placement as long as ground was worked well before planting. We planted 300-400 acres back then, corn, soybeans, and even sunflowers one year. I don't recall that we ever broke anything on it but the little springs that tension the drive chains and one hydraulic hose!

chris yoder · Jan 25, 2009

how hard would it be to fix those and are you close to indiana?

ih 56 planter

chris yoder

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fixerupper

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Fordfarmer

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NY 986

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4 bottom

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Spook

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Lou

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brian(MN)

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Goose

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john d

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chris yoder

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