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Max-Emerge Acre Counter
"When my father and I decided to look for an acre counter for our 12-row Deere Max-Emerge planter, we discovered that the Deere acre counter cost almost $1,000 and that other mechanical counters weren't to our liking. We decided to build our own," says Tom Dillman, Grinnell, Iowa.
"Our acre counter is driven by t
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Max-Emerge Acre Counter CROPS Miscellaneous 8-6-24 "When my father and I decided to look for an acre counter for our 12-row Deere Max-Emerge planter, we discovered that the Deere acre counter cost almost $1,000 and that other mechanical counters weren't to our liking. We decided to build our own," says Tom Dillman, Grinnell, Iowa.
"Our acre counter is driven by the lower shaft of the planter transmission. We think this is the perfect location because this shaft doesn't turn unless the planter is in the ground and planting so we don't have to stop and start the counter each time the planter is raised and lowered.
"We used a simple mechanical rotary counter and two plastic gears bought at a local supply company. I figured out the gear size needed with some relatively simple math. One of the gears was fitted to the small shaft on the counter and the other gear was fitted to a special "spud" we made that fit directly to the planter transmission shaft. The counter is mounted on an adjustable angle bracket with slotted holes that lets you slide the gears into exact mesh.
"Other acre counters clamp to the planter rockshaft. They engage and disengage when the planter is raised and lowered. In many cases the spring tension on the gears can weaken, allowing the gears to ride over each other and give inaccurate results. Since the shaft we mount on is disengaged by the planter itself, our gears always remain in constant mesh with no sliding or slipping.
"Besides helping measure fields, the counter helps adjust the planter. You can tell in the first round if your seed population and insecticide rates are correct. Without a counter, you have to guess how many acres each bag of seed is covering, or wait till you're done with the field and by then it's too late.
"Our counter fits any Deere 7000 or 7100 planter ever made and also fits Kinze planters. It'll fit any planter from 4 to 24 rows with a change of gears. We've been building and selling the counter locally for about $65. We're looking for a manufacturer to handle it."
For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Tom Dillman, Rt. 3, Box 105, Grinnell, Iowa 50112 (ph 515 236-6432).
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