IH cyclo 400 planter???

[Tim in West Pa]

Anybody know any thing about these planters?
There is a used one for sale locally. Are they Good, Bad, Ugly? Are parts available? Can you set them up for narrow rows? What should you look for? I am only doing about 20 acres, so I don't a fancy machine, just one that I don't have to work on.
thanks
T.

 

[Anonymous-0]

These have been cussed and discussed many times. I raised 190 bu/corn on timber soil with a 6 row a few years ago, so they can work. Main concern is seed depth control. They didn't offer opening disk gauge wheels until late production. Aftermarket kits were offered and I found enough parts at a scrap yard to add them. I was luckly, they are likely tough to find. If your field is pefectly level, you don't need the gauge wheels, but perfectly level means that you could flood irrigate. Parts are readily available, if not at your dealer than at a scrap yard. Never did get the population monitor to work and spent quite a bit of money and effort. This is the straw that broke the camel's back. I wanted a monitor and also the potential to have the seed dealer calibrate the insecticide boxes for the refuge acres. They don't have the ability to calibrate the old boxes. Pretty simple to work on, except for the monitor. But all makes/models can have monitor problems. But if it doesn't work then don't spend a lot of money or time on it. You could modify them to plant narrower than 30 inches, but it might be a lot of work if the transport wheels need to be moved. A three point version would be my choice if you want to go closer than 30 inches. Some have complained about seed placing which isn't going to be as good as a vintage finger planter or the newer planters. There are a few relatively easy tricks to get it better and unless you are dropping a lot of doubles/triples and having many skips, I wouldn't be too concerned. Statistics show that the lauded "even spacing" doesn't have much effect if any on yield. Just looks better and the farmer can brag at the coffee shop. Just don't speed when planting, or the spacing could be poor enough to effect yield. However unless it is in great condition and cheap, I would upgrade to the newer model 800 which are also fairly cheap. If it is a 4 row or smaller, someone may want it for food plots and the price may be unreasonable. Look for something else if this occurs. Other models such as a JD finger planter would be fine but it depends on what you are willing to spend and it could be some work to rebuild the finger units. A White 5100 is also an option.

 

[Tim in West Pa]

Thanks James,
Here in Western Pa, there"s not much that flat compared to other parts of the country like the mid west. It"s a 4 row, I will have to take a hard look at it. My brother has a white 5100 and it does a nice job. However, his is a 6 row and hard to transport the 15 miles from his place to mine. I"ll have to take a hard look at this unit.

 

[Erik Ks farmer]

With an older planter I'd go with a 1240/1250 or 494 Deere. There are far less weaknesses and they are easier to work on with better parts avaliability.

 

[MPK]

I had one and I would say it was a good simple machine needing very little maintenance. The worst thing was the seed placement and the depth control. That was not good. I put the acra-plant openers on mine which made it much better. I used mine for 20 yrs on my 400 acre farm.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I've planted with one, but I won't call it a planter. It clumped the seeds, with big gaps. It counted the field accurately, just didn't deliver the seed to the ground accurately. That may have been a function of a loose drum drive train that allowed the wheels on top to make the drum move in steps. Later drums had ridges to hold up the wheels between the holes. Or some have glued car door gasket or door impact plastic between the holes to cure that. I'm also suspicious that the plastic pipes get rough inside and impede the smooth flow of the seed. In some modern air planters the seeds actually wear through the pipes planting wheat over a few thousand acres a year.

The plastic pipes have to be swabbed out, else but nests will cause the seed to plug up. That includes the equalizing pipe between the drum and the seed tank.

The horizontal seam on the seed tank will leak and need additional bolts. Low pressure in the seed tank from that leak will stop seed from going to the drum.

There are two ways of driving the fan, a belt drive and a hydraulic drive, both from the PTO, usually 540 rpm. There might also be a 1000 RPM pump option. If the belts wear, you won't get quite enough pressure.

There are fixed width and adjustable width versions, which primarily shows up in the wheel mountings on the wheel frame. If its adjustable there will be more tabs on the round tube than are used.

I like my JD 7000 much better, and I get a better crop from it (and other things I've changed) though now that I've rented out the farm, it will be on the market in a couple years. Its 4 row 30", converted from 4 row wide.

I converted a 4 row wide Cyclo 400 to a side dresser and I stole some parts from my 6 row narrow so it won't plant anymore. I keep them as raw material if I need some sturdy angle iron since the local junk yard no longer sells angle iron pieces.

Gerald J.

 

[John A.]

Tim, We wore one out up on the High Plains of Texas and Okla Panhandle. did a good job when a few things were done.......
1 Do not over speed when planting!!!!!!!!
2 Have both tires the same size & kind!!, air pressure is the same, period we ran 35 lbs
3 when storing planter in off season remove the little brush that is inside the drum and store with monitor in a cabinet or plan on getting a new on every year or play with the old one trying to figure out why you are getting so many doubles., do not let the seed drum set tight with the seal against the seat.
4 Keep all bushings greased
5 We had acri-opener shoes,,, replace on a regular basis they will wear out and cause problems, If your planter has double disc openers replace every 2 or 3 yrs for after they wear a good bit they give fits too also the sealed bearings.
5 Be sure to wipe out the eyes for the monitor @ each row-unit with the supplied test tube cleaner brush that comes with the planter monitor.
6 OBTW, did I mention,,,, DO NOT OVER SPEED THE PLANTER WHILE PLANTING!!!!! If memory serves me about 4.5mph is about right NO Faster , Check the book!!!! Hope this helps!
Later,
John A.

 

[IHMANKY]

We've got one, six rows, had it 8 years and never had any real problem with it. Ours has Yetter units on it, and everything that was said in the earlier posts is correct as far as things to keep maintained. We go one step further and pull whatever seed drum we use last off to keep the seal from being squeezed all winter.

 

[smallbale]

I would not go for it in that time frame. get you a 7000 series deere or IH 800 SEREIES planter. that is a nice unit I really liked. I had 7000 sereies deere unit and went to IH 800 inut liked it whole lot better and way simpler to change seed types etc. Both units will do nice job if setup correctly.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I place the outside washer on the inside of the drum and reinstall it. This prevents the drum seal from contacting the firewall. I had a cyclo for more than 15 years and never had problems with the tubes being plugged and occasionally they have been unused for three years. Must have different insects in other areas. Because I've got a lot more planter than required for the relatively small acres, my planting speed is around 4 mph. Still can get done in one day. Would probably need to reconsider if I "clawed back" some of the leased-out acres. My main complaint is with the rubber bands used to seal the unused drum holes. The twelve row requires 2 per drum $20+/each and although they were initially new, all broke within three months after planting. Although it is a pain I now take them off, coat them with Armor-All and put them in a plastic bag. Electrical tape was being used on three of the four unused rows when I bought it, so the original owner was apparently getting tired of buying the expensive rubber bands.

 

[Allan in NE]

James,

Did you also take the little rubber drop wheels off the unused rows and space in on both ends of the axle?

If not, they'll cut those bands in short order.

Allan

 

[Anonymous-0]

Yes, Allan I did. Maybe the bands I'm getting from the dealer have been in stock too long and similar to old tires, get hard and crack. If these last ones don't last, I'll put them on and wrap electrical tape around them. Might look a little shabby, but it will work.