Uni Harvester Rock Picker
“It’s much more convenient to use than pull-type rock pickers because it’s so maneuverable and gives me a great view in front,” says Larry Recker, Oelwein, Iowa, who mounted the reel and teeth assembly off an Abco rock-picking unit on front of a New Idea 709 Uni Harvester.
The 3 1/2-ft. wide, hydraulic-powered rock picker mounts in place of the Uni Harvester’s husking bed and corn head. Recker built a 1/4-in. thick steel frame to support the rock picker as well as a 12-ft. long, 3-ft. wide slatted conveyor that mounts on one side of the combine.
The picker flips rocks onto a wide steel pan. Once the pan is full Recker raises it and dumps the rocks into a big steel box positioned over the front end of the conveyor. Once the box is full he raises it and drops the rocks onto the conveyor.
“Every time I dump rocks out of the box, I move the conveyor just far enough back to make room for the next dump,” says Recker. “I can dump rocks into the box 3 or 4 times before I have to empty the conveyor. I usually unload rocks from the conveyor into a loader bucket and then use the bucket to load them onto a wagon for disposal. The conveyor came off an old wagon that I pulled years ago behind a seed corn picker.”
The Uni Harvester’s hydrostatic drive system works well to operate the rock picker and conveyor, says Recker. “I use foot-operated pedals to control the hydrostatic drive and the throttle, which leaves both my hands free to operate the hydraulic valves that control the rock picker. I use 2 hydraulic cylinders to raise and lower the rock picker, and 2 cylinders to dump the pan. The conveyor is driven by a hydraulic motor.
“I built it in the mid 1990’s and use it each spring on every acre of our ground,” says Recker. “I already had the Uni Harvester, which I had used for many years to pick seed corn.
“The rock picker can handle rocks as big as 2 ft. in diameter. If I have to dig a bigger rock out of the ground, I can bolt a heavy duty spear onto the picker and use it to push the rock out of the ground. Then I remove the spear and use the rock picker to pick it up off the ground.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Larry Recker, 1211 3rd St. N.E., Oelwein, Iowa 50662 (ph 319 283-0535).
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Uni Harvester Rock Picker COMBINES Conversions “It’s much more convenient to use than pull-type rock pickers because it’s so maneuverable and gives me a great view in front ” says Larry Recker Oelwein Iowa who mounted the reel and teeth assembly off an Abco rock-picking unit on front of a New Idea 709 Uni Harvester The 3 1/2-ft wide hydraulic-powered rock picker mounts in place of the Uni Harvester’s husking bed and corn head Recker built a 1/4-in thick steel frame to support the rock picker as well as a 12-ft long 3-ft wide slatted conveyor that mounts on one side of the combine The picker flips rocks onto a wide steel pan Once the pan is full Recker raises it and dumps the rocks into a big steel box positioned over the front end of the conveyor Once the box is full he raises it and drops the rocks onto the conveyor “Every time I dump rocks out of the box I move the conveyor just far enough back to make room for the next dump ” says Recker “I can dump rocks into the box 3 or 4 times before I have to empty the conveyor I usually unload rocks from the conveyor into a loader bucket and then use the bucket to load them onto a wagon for disposal The conveyor came off an old wagon that I pulled years ago behind a seed corn picker ” The Uni Harvester’s hydrostatic drive system works well to operate the rock picker and conveyor says Recker “I use foot-operated pedals to control the hydrostatic drive and the throttle which leaves both my hands free to operate the hydraulic valves that control the rock picker I use 2 hydraulic cylinders to raise and lower the rock picker and 2 cylinders to dump the pan The conveyor is driven by a hydraulic motor “I built it in the mid 1990’s and use it each spring on every acre of our ground ” says Recker “I already had the Uni Harvester which I had used for many years to pick seed corn “The rock picker can handle rocks as big as 2 ft in diameter If I have to dig a bigger rock out of the ground I can bolt a heavy duty spear onto the picker and use it to push the rock out of the ground Then I remove the spear and use the rock picker to pick it up off the ground ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Larry Recker 1211 3rd St N E Oelwein Iowa 50662 ph 319 283-0535
