His “Hobby” Is Reconditioning Used Gleaner Combines

His “Hobby” Is Reconditioning Used Gleaner Combines COMBINES Miscellaneous Brad Hagemann’s passion for Gleaner combines has become a nice sideline business The longtime Gleaner operator prides himself on keeping his three Gleaners in top working order With limited acres to farm he also has the time and knowledge to pick up used combines and get them in shape for others to use “I start at the front and go to the back treating every Gleaner like I’m going to run it myself ” says Hagemann “I just do a few each year ” In fact if it is a Gleaner he has reconditioned and plans to sell he often does run it “If I finish a combine at harvest I’ll run it until it is sold ” he says “Over the years I’ve bought things that were supposed to be field ready and weren’t I want the buyer to be able to jump in it and go ” Hagemann’s low overhead and available off-season time allows him to invest more time in each machine than a dealer could afford As he goes through a machine he checks for common wear points such as accelerator roll lugs He goes over feeder chains carefully noting that they can appear in good shape but still need mechanical work “An area that is top priority is rotor bar and concave wear ” says Hagemann “I set up a combine the way the buyer wants If they have access to new-style rotors I can install them ” Hagemann admits that demand for combines has slowed with low crop prices However his reconditioned combines represent a significant savings over new machines “I have a 2005 R65 that I reconditioned before harvesting nearly 600 acres with it this past fall ” says Hagemann “I then went through it again I have a price of $100 000 on it A new one would run $350 000 to $400 000 ” Older combines have proven popular for Hagemann He has had farmers wanting pre-2000 units They prefer the mechanical controls to the electronic controls that have been added since 2000 Hagemann is considering expanding into header reconditioning as well “Newer draper heads are $80 000 to $100 000 for a bean head ” he notes “I just picked up an older McDon draper head to see how it works I will rebuild it and try it next fall If I like how it works I may start working on them as well ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Brian Hagemann 6489 N Adeline Rd Mount Morris Ill 61054 ph 815 990-5434

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