IH purchase advice for an 8N owner

Have been looking at 100s, 130s, 140s and Super As for garden work. Am mainly interested in more effective cultivation as I have an acre of sweet corn and green beans. I currently have my 8N wheels spread to 60" centers for 30" rows. Can I spread all of the above machines for 2 row 30" operation and use the mounted cultivators? My only IH experience was using a Cub and a 706 & 806.

The tractor that you mention were primarily intended for single row operation. If you want almost the same tractor setup for two row operation then you'd best look for a C, Super C, 200, 230, or 240. At the end of the day it's not so much what the tractor is capable of but what the equipment that fits the tractor is capable of. Sam

I believe you can get 60 inch spacing. I don't know if the cultivators can be set for 2 rows. When the A,SA, etc were built, most rows were 40", 30"s are probably more common now. I am positive a vegetable cultivator would work, not sure of the row crop cultivator as I have never used one. The vegetable cultivators have bars that the shanks slide on giving infinite adjustment, the tradeoff is that you lose clearance over the crop.

Bruce, I agree with the other responses as the tractors you mention aren't the 2 row cultivator tractor IH produced. You are more limited on the available implemnets. I looked in my 140 owners manual and you can achieve 60" wheel spacing depending on what type of front axle is on the tractor. You could get to 58" spacing with the adjustable wide tread front axle and well over 60" with the heavy duty axle. With the fixed front axle you are limited to just 49". No problem with the rears and 60" spacing. This information is for the 140 only as I don't have access to the manuals for a 100, 130 or Super A models. Unless you want to look for a Farmall C or Super C the 8N probably remains your best choice for a two row cultivator system of the tractors you mentioned. Hope this helps, Hal.

First off in case it isn't already known, the Super A, 100, 130 and 140 are progressively newer models of the same basic design. So these comments apply equally to all of them.

The tread can be set from 40 to 68 inches in 4 inch increments. It was designed mainly for single row cultivation. If you stick with a single row, a 30-inch spacing is very tight. Take a 40 inch track and add the width of a tire and you have to fit a 50-inch tractor (with 9.5 tires) between 2 rows that are 60 inches apart. If you open the rows up to 36, you are in better shape even if you set the track at 44. (I've cultivated a lot of 36-inch corn rows with a Super A set at 44 with 10-24 tires.)

Your other option is to set the tractor at 60 inches and run 2 rows at a time. As has been stated, a tool bar type cultivator can be set up for 2 rows. One problem, given that you can even find that cultivator, is the tool bar limits you to about 12 or 13 inches of crop clearance. You would probably like to cultivate taller corn that. The single row row crop cultivator limits you to the front axle clearance, 21+ inches.

Those are the main options and tradeoffs. You need to decide if they leave you ahead of where you are with your current equipment. I'd probably open the rows up a little and use a Farmall one row at a time.

You can spread the wheels to 5 ft, but I have never seen a 2 row cultivator for those tractors, all I have ever seen is a 1 row cultivator. I have one, a 100, and I used to do a lot of cultivating with a 140. They do a nice job and you can see the row you are cultivating real good. I think that if you want to do 2 rows at a time you need a different tractor.

A Farmall or IH C SC 200 230 will be 2 row compatible tractors. they are handy as a swiss army knife. JimN

Any are better than a 2N, 8N, or 9N.

CT