Planters 3ph flex 71 planters any good?

[Ford850]

I've been looking for a decent 2 or 4 row corn planter for a couple years. Seems like either borderline junk or the 3ph flex 71 planters on ebay, with not much between to choose from. What I'd like to know is, do the refurbished flex 70 planters do a decent job? They look like they might pull out of the ground or be difficult to get consistent planting depths on uneven ground. How fine does the planting surface have to be for them to work properly? Any feedback from those who have used them is appreciated.
Thank you.

 

[redlevel]

They are the best thing available right now for the small/weekend farmer/gardner. I have planted hundreds of acres of peanuts and soybeans on not very well prepared ground and gotten a decent stand. Even better stands planting corn, because it is just easier to get a good stand of corn (most of the time). Naturally, the better you have your land prepared, the better job you are going to be able to do planting.

When you buy corn seed, there is usually a section on the bag of seed that tells what particular plates you need for that particular seed. Many seed dealers even have plastic plates (which are fine) that you can buy when you buy your seed. As with most planters, there are basically two ways you determine spacing of plants in the row: one is the number of cells on the plate, and the other is your sprocket arrangement. The 71 planters have something that looks like a bicycle chain and sprockets that are covered on the right side of the planter. You need a manual if you are going to use these planters.

Short answer to your question: the 71's are probably your best option, but they are going to be expensive.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I've been looking for a decent 2 or 4 row corn planter for a couple years. Seems like either borderline junk or the 3ph flex 71 planters on ebay, with not much between to choose from. What I'd like to know is, do the refurbished flex 70 planters do a decent job? They look like they might pull out of the ground or be difficult to get consistent planting depths on uneven ground. How fine does the planting surface have to be for them to work properly? Any feedback from those who have used them is appreciated.
Thank you.

At one point in their history, the #71 was as good of a unit planter as there was to offer. Plateless technology changed that. In their day, many of the major seed corn producers used #71's because of their gentle seed handling, consistant seed placement, and simple, easy to maintain dependability. Those features still remain.

I used #71's in a 4-row configuration for years. Since I quit putting out a corn crop, I made myself a couple 2-row "garden planters". I had best results with the use of "depth bands". They're essentially a depth gauge wheel that attaches to each side of the disc openers. Various diameter depth bands give exact seed depth. It also allows just a bit more down pressure on the row unit WITHOUT burying the seed too deep. I planted at speeds around 6mph with great results. (5mph and up is FAST for corn planting.) Depth bands (and their associated mounting hardware) are still available through Deere. Many parts are also available through Yetter Manufacturing. They actually built the #71 units for Deere. Once Deere dropped the #71 from their product line, Yetter bought sales rights and now sells the YETTER #71 Flex Planter.

In short, you won't find a better plate-type corn planter.

 

[Ford850]

Thanks for your suggestions and details. That's just what I was looking for. I hadn't read anything about the depth bands before either. I will look for a reasonably priced flex 71.

 

[thcri]

There is another company that is building the Flex 71 brand new yet today. I can't think of the name right now but maybe someone here will chime in. One thing nice about the Flex 71 is parts are still available through John Deere or this new company. You can a brand new one for around $1,200.00. These guys on Ebay pull these out of the junk yard and refurbish them. Which is ok as they are durable. But they make good money on them.


murph

 

[SCDolphin]

How many row planter that is new will 1200 dollars get you. It seems that the planter info is really lacking for the hobby farmer

 

[BobinIL]

The 71 planter units are marketed by Yetter 71 Series Planter Unit Economical, Dependable, Adaptable

There are a lot of them on ebay and a 2 row 71 planter is around $700.00 on ebay. I think a 2 row yetter runs almost $2000.00

I have a JD 71 that I made myself with the depth bands on it and it works great. They are very easy to use. I have about $500.00 to $600.00 in mine not including labor, so the $700.00 they are asking is not too far out of line.

I think IH made a model 295 that was a good unit also

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

How many row planter that is new will 1200 dollars get you. It seems that the planter info is really lacking for the hobby farmer

That will get you only one unit without a toolbar. The best value is to get a used one or two row unit on ebay with the toolbar. The guys that sell them on ebay usually do a nice job refurbishing them. I bought one and am very pleased with it. In general one row units go for $400-600 and the two rows go for $800-1000. Shipping is very expensive. It's best to try to find one close enough for pick up.

 

[thcri]

That will get you only one unit without a toolbar. .

The price I was quoted included the tool bar.


murph

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Thanks for your suggestions and details. That's just what I was looking for. I hadn't read anything about the depth bands before either. I will look for a reasonably priced flex 71.

Here's a picture of mine. Note DEPTH BANDS on side of each disc opener. They're the pieces with the Deere part# label still on them. They were the trick to planting a consistant depth at moderate speeds. That requires more down pressure among other things. Depth bands maintained constant depth in varying conditions. Back in the day. (25 years ago?) the cost was around $25 per row for hardware to mount bands, $20 or so for the scrapers, and average of $40 per row for the gauge wheels. Best money ever spent on this planter.

 

[Ford850]

That's a beauty of a planter. I've seen aome now for less than those on ebay, but they aren't as nice as yours!

 

[Farmwithjunk]

That's a beauty of a planter. I've seen aome now for less than those on ebay, but they aren't as nice as yours!

Thank ya! As I mentioned, we made up a pair of these planters when I dismantled the 4-row. A cousin of mine helped with the hitch and painting part, as I was mid stream in the middle of moving at the time. Plan was to keep one and he'd buy the other. Never worked out that way. He got in "money troubles" and couldn't pay. My son ended up with #2. If I was to change anything, the 3-point top link "mast" would have been about 3 or 4" taller. Sort of an odd geometry to the hitch as it is.

I planted 1/3rd of my sweet corn last saturday. It took longer to hitch and unhitch the planter than it did to plant 1/4-acre. No one will ever convince me that there's another type of planter that's more "user friendly" as well as easy for a "first timer" to understand how they work. Minimal moving parts.

 

[charlz]

What is the big limiter on how many row planter you get? Horsepower? Since something like corn is best planted in blocks versus long single rows it would seem better to plant as many rows per pass as you can. A single row planter would seem to create a lot of compaction as you would have to make a lot of passes.

Charles

 

[Farmwithjunk]

What is the big limiter on how many row planter you get? Horsepower? Since something like corn is best planted in blocks versus long single rows it would seem better to plant as many rows per pass as you can. A single row planter would seem to create a lot of compaction as you would have to make a lot of passes.

Charles

Let's see... There's cost, hydraulic capacity, need, field big enough, ect.

Deere, among others sells planter units that can be mounted on any toolbar. There are quite a few toolbars available wide enough to handle as many as 48 rows. (biggest I've seen. In a picture. May be bigger) A planter that big needs multiple hydraulic hook-ups, electrical power supplied by the tractor, and a tractor with enough guts to drag something that big. Not to mention, a field big enough to turn it around.

Most likely, with the needs of a typical TBN'er, 2, 4, maybe even 6 row would be all they'd ever need. (maybe more) There are a few guys here still involved in production agriculture, but most are planting food plots or big gardens.

With a row unit like a #71 Deere, and a smaller tractor, you need to concern yourself with lift capacity and over-all weight carrying stability. Almost any tractor would still handle 4 rows, but by the time you work up to 6 rows, you have a wider and heavier planter that'll whip some tractors. Horsepower generally isn't too much of an issue with 2 or 4 row planters. By 8 to 12 rows,you'll likely be using a drawn planter as opposed to mounted. Hydraulic demends usually exceed what a lower hp tractor would have to offer before running out of horsepower. Also, as the planter gets wider, it gets heavier. It takes traction AND power to move weight. Even with 4wd, bigger planters usually take a heavier tractor to pull in all conditions.

 

[charlz]

Let's see... There's cost, hydraulic capacity, need, field big enough, ect.

Deere, among others sells planter units that can be mounted on any toolbar. There are quite a few toolbars available wide enough to handle as many as 48 rows. (biggest I've seen. In a picture. May be bigger) A planter that big needs multiple hydraulic hook-ups, electrical power supplied by the tractor, and a tractor with enough guts to drag something that big. Not to mention, a field big enough to turn it around.

Most likely, with the needs of a typical TBN'er, 2, 4, maybe even 6 row would be all they'd ever need. (maybe more) There are a few guys here still involved in production agriculture, but most are planting food plots or big gardens.

With a row unit like a #71 Deere, and a smaller tractor, you need to concern yourself with lift capacity and over-all weight carrying stability. Almost any tractor would still handle 4 rows, but by the time you work up to 6 rows, you have a wider and heavier planter that'll whip some tractors. Horsepower generally isn't too much of an issue with 2 or 4 row planters. By 8 to 12 rows,you'll likely be using a drawn planter as opposed to mounted. Hydraulic demends usually exceed what a lower hp tractor would have to offer before running out of horsepower. Also, as the planter gets wider, it gets heavier. It takes traction AND power to move weight. Even with 4wd, bigger planters usually take a heavier tractor to pull in all conditions.

Thanks! I have a b7100 gear and I was scratching my head at using a one row planter for corn, my garden would be packed down like a driveway by the time I was done! So it sounds like I can definitely use a 2 row and maybe a 4 row.

Now I just need to find one

Charles

 

[BobinIL]

What is the big limiter on how many row planter you get? Horsepower? Since something like corn is best planted in blocks versus long single rows it would seem better to plant as many rows per pass as you can. A single row planter would seem to create a lot of compaction as you would have to make a lot of passes.

Charles

If you need more than a 2 row planter and have a big enough tractor 40+ hp then you should look for an older 7000 series pull type planter in 4 or 6 row. You will need hydraulic outlets and probably 10 to 12 HP per row to pull it.

 

[BobinIL]

Thanks! I have a b7100 gear and I was scratching my head at using a one row planter for corn, my garden would be packed down like a driveway by the time I was done! So it sounds like I can definitely use a 2 row and maybe a 4 row.

Now I just need to find one

Charles

I just looked up the b7100, I am not up on the Kubota numbers. You will need to take into consideration row spacing. Most hobby farmers use one row planters with their CUT's because they can not use 2 rows without either planting in 20" rows or planting right in the track left by the tractor. Not good with the compaction. I am using a 2 row with my JD 790 and I can only get 26" row spacing and stay inside the rear tire tracks. A lot of guys like the one row because they can just use the tire tracks left by the last pass as a guide to drive on. In my case I will drive right next to my existing tire track and that will give 26" to 28" spacing on my guess row.

 

[bigdeer2000]

i have also been looking at planters for the past couple of seasons. liked the flex 71 for all the reasons mentioned but i found a john deere max-emerge 2 row unit that i ended up buying. it was a refurb unit. i bought it over the 71 for 2 reasons. 1 that it was plateless. i have planted my corn and sunflowers allready with no changes needed. 2 no till coulters make it a true no till planter. it had all new bearings new drive shaft and new openers. it was 1000.00 without coulters and 1300.00 with coulters. picked up at dealer in dyersburg tn

 

[charlz]

I just looked up the b7100, I am not up on the Kubota numbers. You will need to take into consideration row spacing. Most hobby farmers use one row planters with their CUT's because they can not use 2 rows without either planting in 20" rows or planting right in the track left by the tractor. Not good with the compaction. I am using a 2 row with my JD 790 and I can only get 26" row spacing and stay inside the rear tire tracks. A lot of guys like the one row because they can just use the tire tracks left by the last pass as a guide to drive on. In my case I will drive right next to my existing tire track and that will give 26" to 28" spacing on my guess row.

IANAF (I Am Not A Farmer) but most people around here seem to plant corn at 15" spacing. I did some measuring one day and it seemed that I could work with 15" row spacing. This area is primarily flood irrigation so what I am looking at is some type toolbar with the type of cultivator sweeps that hill/furrow. Then of course I need something to plant the seed in the hills with which is why I am curious about the planters. At 15" spacing a single row planter seems less than ideal. Of course I also have no idea what I am talking about I am hoping to pick up an old cultivator that looks like it will do what I want at an auction. I was one once but my wife called about 20 mins before they started on the implements and needed me to bring her lunch, it had gage wheels and everything. Once I get that attachment I can mess around and see what is possible.

Thanks for the info!

Charles

 

[BobinIL]

In the old days here in the midwest corn was planted in 36", 38" or 40" inch rows. Then about 1980, everyone started switching to 30" rows. That is still the most common row spacing but there are many farmers around here going to 20" rows I would think that 15" rows would make it hard to keep a corn head on track.