Homemade Cultipacker

[premierindustries]

Thought I would post some pictures of my latest build.

Any comments and advice is appreciated.

We just built two of these for the local John Deere dealer.

Frame width 7'

Total weight 500 lbs.

I-Match compatible.

I wish I had some photos of the build, but all I have is the finished product.

 

[Baby Grand]

Nice looking machine.

 

[foggy1111]

Looks very well built! :thumbsup: I have an old 7' Dunham with an alternating "sprocket" tooth and a 'wavy" tooth, which we pull around by a drawbar with a 4 wheeler. Seems to me like my "wheels" are quite loose on the shaft so that they will follow all the small contours of the land. I imagine I have an inch of "slop" between the axel and the wheel I.D. I'm not sure if you have this kind of gap....or what others do in this area. Mine packs nicely. (but I sure make a racket when going down the road. :laughing

 

[HCJtractor]

That looks really nice. I am getting ready to make one also, using some old 20" crow foot rollers. I also may design it to allow towing in addition to a 3 pt. hitch. I would think towing it may allow it to follow contours better than if it was attached to the hitch. It would be easy to add a tongue. The 3 pt. hitch sure is better for loading on a trailer or transporting down a road or between foodplots. WHat do you guys thing about towing vs. a 3 pt. as far as effectiveness?? Does it matter??

Just curious, what is the dealer going to sell these for?

 

[Agrantina]

Nice.. What size is the shaft? 1 1/2 or larger... Also what type 4 flange bearings did you use and why not pillow block bearings?

I hopefully will be making on soon and was wondering why the difference in "factory" packers with pillow block vs 4 flange bearings...

Last question.. With the 7ft wide do you think it would be good to add a center bearing or is that shaft fine and no sagging?

AndyG

 

[trook]

I've actually been looking for one of these. Where are you located, how much do they sell for?

 

[MMagis]

Are they "homemade" if you put a company name on them and sell them wholesale?

 

[foggy1111]

Nice.. What size is the shaft? 1 1/2 or larger... Also what type 4 flange bearings did you use and why not pillow block bearings?

I hopefully will be making on soon and was wondering why the difference in "factory" packers with pillow block vs 4 flange bearings...

Last question.. With the 7ft wide do you think it would be good to add a center bearing or is that shaft fine and no sagging?

AndyG

My dunham packer is liely from back in the 50's....its over 7' wide and the shaft is still true. The shaft diameter is going to determine its ability here...but if its solid I think it's good to go.

On the bearings....I think the flange bearings are lower cost and easier aligned.

As far as bearings on a cultipacker go.....the "wheels" all turn independantly on the shaft and the shaft turns sometimes on the packer I have. Its free....but the wheels tend to roll on the shaft about as much as the shaft spins IMO. I doubt that the bearing type matters much unless your pulling it ALLOT.

 

[rbcsaver]

Thought I would post some pictures of my latest build.
Any comments and advice is appreciated.
We just built two of these for the local John Deere dealer.
Frame width 7'
Total weight 500 lbs.
I-Match compatible.
I wish I had some photos of the build, but all I have is the finished product.

Looks like very high quality build. Extremely nice welds. How much to have one shipped to PA?
How much to ship the parts and I'll weld and build, as a option?
regards,
Steve

 

[kubotakid USA]

VERY NICE BUILD, :thumbsup: Ive been looking at building one or two, Those dang packer wheels are not cheap, 10.00 bucks plus shiping, Gets pretty pricey, I think those wheels are the smallest they make? Can you share where you got those packer wheels, Thanks Eric

 

[Agrantina]

My dunham packer is liely from back in the 50's....its over 7' wide and the shaft is still true. The shaft diameter is going to determine its ability here...but if its solid I think it's good to go.

On the bearings....I think the flange bearings are lower cost and easier aligned.

As far as bearings on a cultipacker go.....the "wheels" all turn independantly on the shaft and the shaft turns sometimes on the packer I have. Its free....but the wheels tend to roll on the shaft about as much as the shaft spins IMO. I doubt that the bearing type matters much unless your pulling it ALLOT.

The thought I have with pillow block vs flange is that the 2 pillow block bearings are holding all that weight of the wheels and axle when you pick it up with the 3pt.. Going to and from the food plots bouncing around? The flange is basically bolted to metal with a hole thru it.. Might be it doesnt matter and good pillow block bearings will hold the weight?? You see alot of the new ones with pillow block so they cant be all bad- just wondering With pillow blocks I can use square tubing and bolt to-- flange I need plate steel which is costly? I played around last year with a solid roller- see below-- and it worked fine. Do see the need for packer wheels vs solid roller.. I solid this pretty easy.. Now I am looking to build another...

AndyG

 

[premierindustries]

Wow, there sure are a lot of responses to this post and I love the interest.

Here is some more information on this build.

Packer wheels are shimmed and secured with split locking collars on both of the bearing ends. ( to keep wheels snug and secure from sliding on the axle )

On this particular model pictured I used 2 bolt flange bearing over pillow block bearings for the simple fact I feel they are better supported for side load.
( when the shaft is pulled sideways from the bearing )

I also think the flange bearing is better protected from rocks by being enclosed it the frame. ( this also captivates the axle and keeps it from sliding out of the framework if the setscrews would ever loosen up )

The packer wheels are also placed behind the main tube to give it a " better " pulling action. ( this also keeps the roller from tipping over when unhooked )

We also use use a solid 1 3/4" grade 1045 cold rolled axle.

I was raised on a dairy farm and I know first hand about all the potential problems when it comes to machinery.

So my theory is this, build all potential problems " out " of the machine so they can be avoided all together.

If anyone is interested in purchasing one, I would be more than happy to help make it possible.

I can ship common carrier to anywhere in the continental USA.

We also have other widths available.

Please let me know if anyone has any other questions.
Regards.

Tom

 

[premierindustries]

Side view.

 

[Grayson Klassen]

Okay gotta hang my newbie out what is a cultipacker for?

Plow and disk I understand cultipacker notsomuch:confused2:

 

[Rio_Grande]

compact the surface and break up any clods. It will make the top of the soilds around here like powder and works the air out. Good looking build. I rehab about 5-6 of these a year and conver them to 3 point or flip style to be used with a hitch. the biggest issue we have found in rehabing a unit that was never ment to be picked up is middle support. I started making a 3/8 plate with a somewhat loose fitting brass bushing in it. The rods are never a consistant size end to end because as mentioned before the rollers roll on the shaft sometimes nad sometimes the shaft rolls.

Good looking cultipacker. I hvae never concidered making one from scratch. What do you get for them?

 

[High Compression]

Very nice build. Would look good in Orange too.:thumbsup:

 

[premierindustries]

I believe the John Deere dealer was selling them for $1,700 - $1,800.

Of course they put there mark up on it for selling them.

Depending on " location " , I could possibly have them delivered to your door fully assembled for $1,700 to $1,900.

I am located in northern Wisconsin.

Like most of you have mentioned already, the packing wheels are what makes the cost. :smiley_aafz:

Tom

 

[foggy1111]

I can see where the flange bearings are well-suited for this purpose...for the reasons stated above. Also, you see allot of discs with these bearings and they have lots of the same requirements. :thumbsup:

FWIW.....I can remember back into the 50's when these bearings were pretty new....and folks questioned the durability back then for a snow plow application we had. They are pretty tough! SSDD

 

[flusher]

Nice. That's the way I'd build a 3pt cultipacker.
For your next project, build a towed cultipacker with hydraulically raised/lowered wheels/tires for transporting. IMHO, towed cultipackers are superior to the 3pt type. I'd be interested to see what you come up with.

 

[sweettractors]

Wow, there sure are a lot of responses to this post and I love the interest.

Here is some more information on this build.

Packer wheels are shimmed and secured with split locking collars on both of the bearing ends. ( to keep wheels snug and secure from sliding on the axle )

On this particular model pictured I used 2 bolt flange bearing over pillow block bearings for the simple fact I feel they are better supported for side load.
( when the shaft is pulled sideways from the bearing )

I also think the flange bearing is better protected from rocks by being enclosed it the frame. ( this also captivates the axle and keeps it from sliding out of the framework if the setscrews would ever loosen up )

The packer wheels are also placed behind the main tube to give it a " better " pulling action. ( this also keeps the roller from tipping over when unhooked )

We also use use a solid 1 3/4" grade 1045 cold rolled axle.

I was raised on a dairy farm and I know first hand about all the potential problems when it comes to machinery.

So my theory is this, build all potential problems " out " of the machine so they can be avoided all together.

If anyone is interested in purchasing one, I would be more than happy to help make it possible.

I can ship common carrier to anywhere in the continental USA.

We also have other widths available.

Please let me know if anyone has any other questions.
Regards.

Tom

What country cast your rollers? Ken Sweet