Combine for a smaller farm

[A . M. Aitkins]

So I ended up buying a Gleaner A2 for $600, it came with a A330 corn head and and a 10 or 12ft flex head and all the manuals. It runs and operates well, all the the belts except for one were good and most of the bearings were replaced before I got it. I do have an old AC/New Holland dealer about fifteen minutes away and they can still get a lot of the harder to find parts. So I figured if nothing else it would be a good combine to learn on.

 

[rrlund]

So I ended up buying a Gleaner A2 for $600, it came with a A330 corn head and and a 10 or 12ft flex head and all the manuals. It runs and operates well, all the the belts except for one were good and most of the bearings were replaced before I got it. I do have an old AC/New Holland dealer about fifteen minutes away and they can still get a lot of the harder to find parts. So I figured if nothing else it would be a good combine to learn on.

I think you'll like it. They were a pretty simple machine.

 

[flying belgian]

So I ended up buying a Gleaner A2 for $600, it came with a A330 corn head and and a 10 or 12ft flex head and all the manuals. It runs and operates well, all the the belts except for one were good and most of the bearings were replaced before I got it. I do have an old AC/New Holland dealer about fifteen minutes away and they can still get a lot of the harder to find parts. So I figured if nothing else it would be a good combine to learn on.

Neighbor had one. He harvested 50 acres beans and 50 acres corn. He just did not have any problems with that machine. He drove truck from midwest to west coast. So He was home 4 days every 2 weeks. He always got his harvest done in that limited time with that machine.

 

[A . M. Aitkins]

I tried it on some corn last year and it did very well, I'm surprised it was able to keep up with modern corn yields.

 

[rrlund]

I tried it on some corn last year and it did very well, I'm surprised it was able to keep up with modern corn yields.

The guy I bought my K2 from said he shelled 200 bushel corn with it, verified on the scales.

 

[GM Guy]

I vote F2 or M series Gleaner.

I kinda hate axial flows. The processor itself I don't mind one bit but the chassis was definitely designed by the same idiots who built the 915.

 

[A . M. Aitkins]

I vote F2 or M series Gleaner.

I kinda hate axial flows. The processor itself I don't mind one bit but the chassis was definitely designed by the same idiots who built the 915.

Was the 915 poorly designed? I had heard some good things about the 715 & 815.

 

[the tractior vet]

Hello all, I have recently been considering buying a small combine to do my own work. due to the prices of custom harvesting rising substantially in my area. But I wanted to get some opinions on what you guys think would be a good sized combine. We farm roughly 40-45 acres of corn and roughly 40-45 acres of soybeans. I was looking at possibly getting a glener k or f are these good machines or what would you recommend? Thanks

Well i farmed 68 acres of corn , now yea this is back a FEW years . I ran a equipment repair service and jockeyed tractors and equipment . I farmed with what i did not get sold . I bought a clean old massey 300 gas combine for 600 bucks and ran it thru five sales and never had a bid on it . It came with a 10 foot header , no cab , no lights . I was stuck with it . While at another sale my one buddy was buyiing corn heads OLD cornd heads for 5-6 bucks , I thought he lost his mine . When i asked him WHY he said scrap is a 175 bucks a TON there old heads weight a ton and a half i am making MONEY . Donny had a weird way of doing things but he made money . Then it hit me , dummy ya got 68 acres of corn to get off and i said to Donny let me buy one of them cheap heads . So i had to give 7.50 for a model 24 massey two row. It needed some work BUT Donny had a who semi lod of old massey heads to get parts fromso i swapped him iron for iron and made a like new head . Added some lights only to find out that the generator would noit support lights an keep the engine running after dark. So off to a car junk yard and got everything i needed off a Dodge Dart to switch to a 68 Amp Alt i mean everything as the combine had a 225 slant six , everything bolted up like factory so 7.50 and twi days labor on the corn head , 600 on the combine and 40 bucks for the upgrade on the charging system . I put feelers out for custom work and i got a call to go do 75 acres @ 24 bucks and acre can we say CHI CHING , blew thru that in three days and was going to go down and do mine when another local guy asked if i would do his 78 acres , yup sure will , four days on that and was ready to go do mine when the neighbor to the one asked if i would do his 70 yup and moved across the road and three days i had him done , then i went and did mine . I planted no small grain BUT when the oats and wheat came ready small guys started calling and the grain head went back on and off we went and knocked out over 300 acres . And only repairs were a set of drive belts . I found a cab for it for a 150 bucks and a day getting it on . Nothing fancy it was hot in the summer but kept the dust off ya and in fall it was toasty on them chilly nights working till midnight and ya stayed clean . I ran it for 8 years with only a couple bearings and a set of drive belts each year more then likely from all the road travel. . I later upgraded to a 410 massey and four row and ran that for four years when i got out do to my other work and lack of free time . i almost bought a low hour Massey 750 silver cab , well i did buy it and owned it for like three hours and had it sold . Ya ru a small operation and need something that is NOT going to eat you alive on buying and maintaining , So go by th3 K I S S - Keep it simple stupid . NO fancy computers just a good OLD working Small machine and gas powered something easy to FIX and does the job. They are still out there hiding in old barns and sheds Dust covered old jem's that a week of going over them and getting them back to life.

 

[trackrat]

When I was a kid ran a gleaner a for ten years custom cutting for the neighborhood cut 3to4 hundred acres of maize wheat and oats plus our 300 or so of ours 14 ft header started out no cab talked daddy into a cab but no ac hung a thermometer in corner of cab many times saw 135 degrees in the summer I WAS DUMB THEN later bought a g with ac was in high cotton until something broke down then it felt that much hotter, you know I still miss those times didn't know how good I had it. for a small farm buy what you have a good dealer for, for me gleaner f or k simple easy to run easy to work on

 

[the tractior vet]

Hello all, I have recently been considering buying a small combine to do my own work. due to the prices of custom harvesting rising substantially in my area. But I wanted to get some opinions on what you guys think would be a good sized combine. We farm roughly 40-45 acres of corn and roughly 40-45 acres of soybeans. I was looking at possibly getting a glener k or f are these good machines or what would you recommend? Thanks

 

[GM Guy]

Was the 915 poorly designed? I had heard some good things about the 715 & 815.

If you ask an IH guy they were great.
Everything about them is pretty poorly thought out if you ask me.