6-Row White Planter Converted To 11-Row No-TillModel

2001 - Volume #25, Issue #1, Page #40

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Len Knipstein, Fort Wayne, Ind., converted his White 5100 6-row, 30-in. planter to plant 6 rows of corn in 30-in. rows or 11 rows of soybeans in 15-in. rows.
  "I made the conversion because I wanted one planter that I could use to plant both my corn and beans in no-till conditions. The original planter wasn't built heavy enough for no-till, and it had dry fertilizer boxes instead of liquid," says Knipstein.
  He stripped the planter down and kept only the row units, blower, hitch, and lift assist wheels. He used 5 by 7-in. tubing to build a second toolbar, then bought 5 more used row units equipped with Yetter no-till coulters and mounted them on it. The planter was originally equipped with three 100-gal. liquid fertilizer tanks mounted crosswise on front. He replaced them with a new single 300-gal. tank and also added a liquid fertilizer pump.
  To plant corn he simply locks 5 row units up out of the way.
  "We use it to plant soybeans directly into untouched corn stalks," says Knipstein. "At first corn stalks were a big problem because they would get in the chains and kick them off. I spent 1 1/2 years trying different things to solve the problem. I ended up adding special pulleys and idlers to keep the chains from jumping off.
  "I installed new bearings, gauge wheels and disc openers on all the row units and totally rebuilt everything so that the planter is in ælike new' condition. I spent about $15,000 on the project. White sells a similar twin frame planter that sells for about $46,000 so I saved a lot of money. Another advantage is that my planter is built much heavier. I used  3/16-in. gauge steel to build the add-on toolbar. The extra weight helps the planter stay in the ground. I also like having a single fertilizer tank instead of three individual ones because there's much better access to the row units. Everything is wide open and nice and easy to work on."
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Len Knipstein, 11720 Bass Road, Fort Wayne, Ind. 46818 (ph 219 625-4119; fax 4391).

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6-Row White Planter Converted To 11-Row No-TillModel PLANTERS Planters 25-1-40 Len Knipstein, Fort Wayne, Ind., converted his White 5100 6-row, 30-in. planter to plant 6 rows of corn in 30-in. rows or 11 rows of soybeans in 15-in. rows. "I made the conversion because I wanted one planter that I could use to plant both my corn and beans in no-till conditions. The original planter wasn't built heavy enough for no-till, and it had dry fertilizer boxes instead of liquid," says Knipstein. He stripped the planter down and kept only the row units, blower, hitch, and lift assist wheels. He used 5 by 7-in. tubing to build a second toolbar, then bought 5 more used row units equipped with Yetter no-till coulters and mounted them on it. The planter was originally equipped with three 100-gal. liquid fertilizer tanks mounted crosswise on front. He replaced them with a new single 300-gal. tank and also added a liquid fertilizer pump. To plant corn he simply locks 5 row units up out of the way. "We use it to plant soybeans directly into untouched corn stalks," says Knipstein. "At first corn stalks were a big problem because they would get in the chains and kick them off. I spent 1 1/2 years trying different things to solve the problem. I ended up adding special pulleys and idlers to keep the chains from jumping off. "I installed new bearings, gauge wheels and disc openers on all the row units and totally rebuilt everything so that the planter is in ælike new' condition. I spent about $15,000 on the project. White sells a similar twin frame planter that sells for about $46,000 so I saved a lot of money. Another advantage is that my planter is built much heavier. I used 3/16-in. gauge steel to build the add-on toolbar. The extra weight helps the planter stay in the ground. I also like having a single fertilizer tank instead of three individual ones because there's much better access to the row units. Everything is wide open and nice and easy to work on." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Len Knipstein, 11720 Bass Road, Fort Wayne, Ind. 46818 (ph 219 625-4119; fax 4391).

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