16-Row, 15-In. Corn Head Built For Deere 9600 Combine

If you've ever considered switching to ultra-narrow row corn you'll want to take a close look at this 15-in. row header.

The 16-row, 15-in. header was built by Junior and Richard Rea of Hamilton, Ill., with the help of neighbor John McIlmoil. It mounts on their Deere 9600 combine and was patterned after a header designed by Alpha, Ill., farmer-researcher Marion Calmer (ph 309 334-2609), with just one gathering chain per row.

The Reas used an 8-row Deere 843 header that they already owned and bought two used 4-row headers. They stripped them down to the frames and rebuilt all the row units. Gearboxes had to be milled on the sides to make them narrow enough to work and the framework that the stripper plates and gathering chains run on had to be cut down with a cutting torch. They added 7 in. to each side of the 8-row header. A local welder, Lawrence Cokel, helped them lengthen the cross auger and extend the framework of the original 8-row head. Narrow poly snout covers made by GVL of Litchfield, Minn., were fitted over each row unit.

"We put in new seals and bearings on all the gearboxes, which was very time consuming. However, it was worth it," says Junior. "We used it last fall on about 1,000 acres and it worked great. Our corn yields averaged about 7 bu. per acre more than on 30-in. rows. We use a 16-row Kinze 2600 splitter planter with one extra row unit added on to make it a 15-in., 32-row planter.

"The only limitation was on odd-shaped fields where the corn stalks are far enough away from the gathering chains that they didn't feed in too well. It's very easy to get off the row or not get started on the right row. A 30-in. header has more room to play with.

Rea says total weight of the 16-row header is about 6,340 lbs. which is about 1,500 lbs. more than the weight of a typical 8-row unit. He estimates he has about $1,375 per row invested in machine work and rebuilding the corn head.

The Reas mounted a pair of 3/4-in. dia. steel rods across the top of the header in order to keep it from sagging down on both ends.

"We welded a steel plate on the other side of each row to fill up the space where the gathering chain would normally go. The plates guide the ears into the gathering chains."

Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Junior Rea, Box 207, Hamilton, Ill. 62341 (ph 217 845-3571 or 4951).

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