Old planter hiding in the briars???

[HCJtractor]

I bought the two seed hoppers on EBay. They look shorter than mine but otherwise, I guess they will work. I will see when they arrive. At least I can have some spares.

The only problem restoring this as a 4 row is that it will be about 9' wide which may be a little wide for transporting it down some of my roads. When the time comes to reassemble this, I need some final advice on spacing.

I just disasssembled the hoppers and removed the cut off cap and knocker assembly and all looks good. Will probably replace the springs. I now have the hoppers ready for my first attempt at electrolytic rust removal.

The interior of the hoppers is stained a purplish beet red color. What seeds would cause this? THe plates in it are listed as corn plates. I wonder what the old farmer (now deceased) planted with this.

 

[RJJR]

I bought the two seed hoppers on EBay.

The interior of the hoppers is stained a purplish beet red color. What seeds would cause this? THe plates in it are listed as corn plates. I wonder what the old farmer (now deceased) planted with this.

I think it's the insecticide that was on the corn.

 

[HCJtractor]

I started breaking down the planter units last night. Way harder than I expected! It took 2 hours to disassemble only one. Thought I would post some nasty pictures. I plan to do the others, clean and degrease everything, and send to the sandblaster.

Two questions. In the one picture showing the pivot bolt in my hand, do you think there is a bearing or a bushing pressed into the circular gear? You may not be able to see it but it does not spin like a bearing (unless it is seized up) so I am thinking it must be a pressed in bushing.

Secondly, know any sources for the disc openners? They have the bearing assembly attached with rivets, so I either use the worn ones, replace the whole assembly if I can find them, or drill out the rivets and replace just the discs themselves (if they are available, but those should be generic).

 

[F250DSLPWR]

I am excited about your project. I am looking forward to seeing it completed. Those look like pressed in sealed bearings in the wheel. Search on Agri Supply for the coulters and disc openers. They have all types including some with bearing mounted.

 

[Briar Hill Brittanys]

I started breaking down the planter units last night. Way harder than I expected! It took 2 hours to disassemble only one. Thought I would post some nasty pictures. I plan to do the others, clean and degrease everything, and send to the sandblaster.

Two questions. In the one picture showing the pivot bolt in my hand, do you think there is a bearing or a bushing pressed into the circular gear? You may not be able to see it but it does not spin like a bearing (unless it is seized up) so I am thinking it must be a pressed in bushing.

Secondly, know any sources for the disc openners? They have the bearing assembly attached with rivets, so I either use the worn ones, replace the whole assembly if I can find them, or drill out the rivets and replace just the discs themselves (if they are available, but those should be generic).

First question, I KNOW there is a bearing. Look closely at your picture and you can see it. It just so happens I have an extra, and knew where it was. If I remember correctly, it's the same one as the disc openers uses, some small difference from original. Worked fine, planted good and smooth. You're welcome to it if you'd like, email me. Be careful getting the old one out, that pinion gear is cast. PB Blaster is your friend (or Kroil etc). The picture is the bearing and box with stock number if that helps.

You can replace the bearings in the openers by drilling out the rivets. I'm not sure if these guys Allis Planter Parts will have what you need. I know you can get openers for a JD 70/71 Flexi planter from John Deere. Might be sacreligious to put those on an A/C planter. They get top dollar from JD, too. The new ones from JD are 12", I'm not sure what the size is for an A/C. Heres a link that might help. It's a pdf for A/C planter parts. http://schmidtinc.com/partsacplanter.pdf . There's an 800 to call and check. They sometimes have used parts. HTH Mark

 

[HCJtractor]

Thanks!! That is great info. I will try to press that out tonight. I still have to attack the other units, and I expect them to look the same.

The bearings in the coulters and the openers still were packed with grease, so they may be salvagable. Would you replace them anyway, or just repack them. I have not cleaned them yet but at a quick glance, they seem to turn fairly easily.

 

[Briar Hill Brittanys]

If it was mine,and the bearings were smooth and free, I'd reuse them. One thing I didn't replace on my units were the disc openers. Figured I could adjust for wear by shortening the top link on the 3 point. They worked great. I tried to get them to work as smoothly as possible. The bearings on the disc openers were shot and wouldn't turn. Since I was already at the bearing supply house, bought enough to replace the seed pinion gear, too.

I don't recollect how much planting you intend to do, those smaller seed cans you got from ebay will still hold a pile of seed. Looked like they had the JD plate adaptor with them, too. I was able to pound out dents and used a wire cup brush to brush the old finish off the ones I refurbbed. The inside of them had that same purple color stain. It's what the seed is treated with. Just left that "patina" on. Online Store - tractordecal.com has the replacement decals if you want to dress 'em up right. HTH Mark

 

[BrianR]

I started breaking down the planter units last night. Way harder than I expected! It took 2 hours to disassemble only one. Thought I would post some nasty pictures. I plan to do the others, clean and degrease everything, and send to the sandblaster.

Two questions. In the one picture showing the pivot bolt in my hand, do you think there is a bearing or a bushing pressed into the circular gear? You may not be able to see it but it does not spin like a bearing (unless it is seized up) so I am thinking it must be a pressed in bushing.

Secondly, know any sources for the disc openners? They have the bearing assembly attached with rivets, so I either use the worn ones, replace the whole assembly if I can find them, or drill out the rivets and replace just the discs themselves (if they are available, but those should be generic).

Grind or drill the rivets, replace the bearings and then use 1/4 x 20 bolts with loc-tite to reassemble. You will have to grind the heads about half way down in height if your disc openers are close on the inside at the hub. I did this on my Flex 71 JD planter.

I believe that those should be either 11" or 13" openers and places like Agri-supply should have them. I saw them recently when I was building my no-till coulter, just don't remember which site it was at the moment. Yetter and Acra-plant have openers for most planters:

AcraPlant - Specialists in No-Till and Min-Till Equipment

or

Seed Disc Blades and Assemblies : CFC Distributors, Agricultural parts and equipment

and

Agri Supply®

 

[HCJtractor]

I think I see the openers at Valu-Bilt so I think I am going to order those. Got lots of work to do before I need those! I also found the bearings and seals for the coulters and also the coulters. The old ones are probably still functional, but I think since I got this for free, I can spend a few hundred bucks on all new bearings, coulters, and disc openers. I am also going to replace most of the fasteners or re-tap the unusual ones and also the crank depth adjustment shaft.

Thank you guys for your interest!

 

[HCJtractor]

Here is an update. Thanks to all for the advice. I finished breaking down the other two units, and am leaving one intact to use to help me reassemble everything! Some day, I may restore that one. So I am still planning a three row and will worry about the spacing later. The breakdown was a bear, due to so many fused cotter pins that had to be driven out, and simply a complex design. I am going to use a wire brush on a grinder to clean the smaller parts, but most likely hire a blaster to clean the big stuff. The three best hoppers were cooked overnight in a electrolytic tank. Man that works great. One needs minor patching but they look pretty good, but pitted. I will post some pix later. Found and bought all new bearings for the coulters and pinion. My main pinion gears were badly worn, but I think I found these new online and am awaiting arrival. I also orders new coulters and new disc opener assemblies. THe AC paint is ordered in orange and cream as are the decals. So hopefully I am set to get all restored. I found original manuals that are not perfect in information but adequate. I will use mostly new fasteners from Tractor Supply. So stay tuned for the progress report. Hopefully I will get this working by spring planting time.