JDSeller, are you interested?

Hi JDSeller,

I have read your posts for years, I have really come to respect you for your knowledge regarding farming and JD equipment in general, as well as family and doing the right thing in tough situations. I believe that you are respected highly among this YT community. I have a question for you...

I have just bought myself a JD 7000 6 row 30" planter. It came with 6 JD corn meters, some with broken belts and bad brushes, it also came with 6 JD soybean cups. I'm not interested in using the soybean cups at all, I am looking for new bean meters. I have found used Kinze meters for $80 ea or used JD bean meters for $100 each. The seller of these meters says they are complete and usable, but should be calibrated for accuracy. Which meters would you recommend?

Also, I'd like to have my corn meters repaired and calibrated. They did come with new belts, but will likely need new brushes and who knows what else. Also, once I get my hands on some soybean meters, I'd like to have them looked at and calibrated as well. Are you interested in looking at my meters and doing the repairs and calibrations as needed? I'd be happy to pay you for your troubles as well as the postage to get the meters shipped each way. If your not interested, that is certainly not a problem, but could you point me in the direction of someone who maybe able to do this for me? Or explain to me how it is done, so that I could do it myself?

I'm a small scale farmer, (75 acres of corn and beans total) but I really want to do the best job I can on those 75 acres. Accuracy, timeliness and efficiency are my main focus when doing these crops.

I'd appreciate any help or ideas that you maybe able to offer me. my email is open if you'd like to communicate that way.

Thanks!

I know you want JD to jump in but I will chime in with unless you have clean table top flat ground anti-bounce or down pressure springs are important to even spacing just as properly serviced meters are. If a row unit is jumping due to clumps the seed will bounce in the drop tube distorting the spacing. Also, worn bushings in the parallel arms will allow chucking of the row unit which again will distort the seed drop pattern.

Rather than spend alot on your current corn meters check with Shoup Manufacturing for new Precision Meters. They have several feature or updates that your current meter does not. I know of several planters that are using these and no one is disappointed with them. The right place could rebuild your current meters with the precision parts.Replace all the seed belts if you do redo your old ones. I plan to have new ones before spring for my 7200. Shoup has lots of aftermarket parts that are very good quality. I changed several years ago from the soybean cup to the radial meter and would never go back as the stands are much better. Tom

I agree on the Precision corn setup.

Nothing wrong with rebuilding the JD units, but the Precision is a step up design, several small things. They can put Precision guts in your meter, or just start with all new Precision meters. The Precision have an adjustable brush that makes it easier to deal with different size seed. If your seed tubes are worn, Precision also makes a seed tube that is shaped slightly different to deliver the seed a tad more uniformly. Often times Precision has a 'free tubes' tie in deal when you buy new meters from them, or some off anyhow.

The JD meters if you get them rebuilt, you want to have them set to what kernel size and shape you normally plant. They do minor tweaks for small or large seed.

I got used Kimze bean meters, they are quite simple things, if needed put a new brush in them. You likely can look the bean units over yourself, as they are such simple things.

Paul

I think we have early Kinze bean meters on the 7000, it is like **** going through a goose with the smaller beans.

I would be glad to look at them. To the fellows saying to go to the precsion parts it sounds like he is not wanting tp spend hundreds of dollars per row to update meters.

My MIL funeral is tomorrow so I will not be back home until Sunday. I am using my BIL lap top. So I am limited in my computer time. I will contact you later. email me.

986 is right about the bouncing planter units. Bounce really does reduce yield even if we can't feel it in the cab. I got a good education on it this fall. I have a Precision monitor on my Deere 7200 planter. When we installed the monitor and other Precision parts we installed these little torsion bars in the row units that measure the smoothness of the ride, or how much the units are bouncing. All of this is being recorded on an Ipad as I plant. This fall while I was riding in the grain cart tractor in corn I was looking at the evenness of the stand and noticed a stretch of corn that had some small scrawny stalks mixed with the good stalks. I had the Ipad that was used in the planter tractor along with me so I got into Fieldview on the Ipad and looked at the 'smoothness of ride' that was recorded in that location and found the monitor had recorded a rough ride. The scrawny stalks were from seeds planted too shallow when the units bounced up. If I would have been attentive and was watching the monitor closer while planting I would have slowed down in that area.

I commonly did the last tillage pass with a FC, at a slight angle. Makes it easier to see the row marker, especially with tillage right before planting, rather than tilled, then a day of drying. Read a report last Spring that made sense.....tillage like that makes the planter unit bounce more, compared to having done tillage up and down the field. You"re crossing the little V"s left by the FC shovels.

Thanks for your response JD. I did send you an email, but it can wait while you spend time with family. Meanwhile I may just take a look at Precision Products just as an option. I have done a bit of online research, I see that seed tubes, and closing wheels can effect seed placement and germination quite a bit as well. I will take a close look at them as well as the row unit bushings that someone else mentioned as well.


I look forward to talking with you when the time is right. Take care

Picasso,
I have a Meter Max machine and the Precision parts; have worked on those meters for 15 years. Maybe we are too far apart for you to drive up....I live 100 miles NE of Dubuque. Though you would want to know.
LA in WI

HI LA,

Please email me, I am interested. My email is open below. Thanks