Ford 309 planter

JohnL48

JohnL48

Well-Known Member
Picked up a planter I bought for 200.00. I plan on just getting it working for this season and restoring it over next winter
I already picked up 2 seed hoppers in good shape now it looks like I need a rt side fertilizer disc opener. Just putting this out there in case someone has one

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Hey......that looks familiar......I have one of those! Got mine with a bucket full of plates, original manual, and a spare "seed knocker" for $50! Buddy of mine just wanted it gone! I use mine JUST for planting as the fertilizer box is seized and the cutters where rusted away. Mine does an OK job. Biggest issue is it really likes level ground as the seeding units do not float.....the drive wheels do. Also check to see if yours has a "reverse clutch". IF you have plastic plates this clutch keeps you from shattering them. I also have a blank plastic plate that I can take dimensions of of if you want to get some custom plates made.

Let me know if I can help you with it and how it works. Its a purely mechanical system so it's pretty straight forward.

A tip to save you some headache. If your not sure if you have the right plate (especially for corn, because most corn isn't graded for size and shape anymore) put your plate in and only put a small amount of seed in (like a few handfuls). Lift the planter off the ground and turn the drive wheel by hand. You want one seed to come out at time. You can mark the drive wheel circumference in inches and thus confirm your seed spacing as well. Also make sure or your shoe setting and the proper planting depth.

Something else I have done is add a small section of log chain behind the shoes to help close the furrow.

I leave the seeding units set at 30" apart......plant corn on 30 inch center and beans on 15's by splitting the rows....roughly.

Like I said I have some experience with one of these so let me know if you need anything. I have used mine for corn and soybeans and even ran one hopper of each before as well - looked funny but it worked.
 
Forgot another piece of advice. WATCH YOUR PLANTER! Just because the "seed knockers" are clicking away doesn't mean your getting seed in the ground. Corn in particular loves to cause issues (again because today's seed isn't graded by size and shape anymore) Watch those open furrows to ensure your getting seed out......don't ask how I know, just take my word for it......lets just say I planted my entire 3/4 acre plot and didn't go thru near the amount of seed I normally did.......and the results showed why :mad: Also watch your hopper levels....running out of seed without knowing sucks too! Again, guilty of that as well.:oops:
 
JohnL48 said:
Picked up a planter I bought for 200.00. I plan on just getting it working for this season and restoring it over next winter
I already picked up 2 seed hoppers in good shape now it looks like I need a rt side fertilizer disc opener. Just putting this out there in case someone has one

4b8e4713af1ec510f783b180fddd7558.jpg


Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
The price is right! Wengers farm machinery in Myerstown Pa might have the opener.
 
JohnL48 said:
Thanks for the tips, I found a couple LH openers but as always I need the RH
Click to expand...
I took mine off! Mine where both rusted flat from sitting in the dirt for years from the previous owner. When my fertilizer box worked (it has since seized up and is now non-functional) I just let it drop the fertilizer on the ground. Yes getting it into the soil is best, but it isn't required. Now I just broadcast it....takes an additional trip but whatever.
 
Well the first test passed. The tractor was able to lift it. Everything turned. And yes I agree with the fertilizer hopper, it's coming off for this season. I'll address it when / if I restore it
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Today I took off the fertilizer stuff since I don't have the time or the money to get it all working, also took off all the pieces that were rotted so I can make new ones, again, just trying to get it to work this season.








Still need to find front runners. Everything spins and I did pit the corn in the hopper and it drops several kernels into the hole, so does anyone know what plates I need for corn ?
 
They used to put the plate size on the bag but, they don't do that anymore. Those look like pretty big holed plates. You can usually find all sizes and size sets on EBAY pretty cheap.
 
Buckly said:
They used to put the plate size on the bag but, they don't do that anymore. Those look like pretty big holed plates. You can usually find all sizes and size sets on EBAY pretty cheap.
Click to expand...
Thanks but I'm finding nothing for this planter is cheap :-/
 
per the original owners manual I have:
corn.jpg

a manual or pdf of it off the internet will have these plate numbers & how else to adjust for planting populations base don sprocket settings as well.
 
That plate appears to be a soybean plate based on the cavity size. If you have several plates if you post the numbers on them I can look them up and tell you their intended use.
 
Can the front runners on this be made out of steel ? I believe they are made of cast iron ? Prices on parts for this are nuts. Guess I should have researched that
 
There is a reason why restored ones sell for a couple grand!

If I had to make parts for mine I would be using steel, and yes I think many of the parts on these are originally cast iron.
 
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