Self-Propelled Sprayer Converted To Sweet Corn Harvester

Self-Propelled Sprayer Converted To Sweet Corn Harvester SPRAYING Miscellaneous 25-2-20 Tom McKee, Ramsey, Ill., converted an old high clearance self-propelled sprayer chassis into a low-cost, efficient sweet corn harvester. The machine's three wheels are spaced to go between the crop's 40-in. rows. Three people ride on the unit, with the middle one driving and the other two snapping off ears as they go down the row and tossing the ears back over their shoulders into a hopper. A hand-cranked conveyor belt is used to unload corn out the back of the hopper. A plastic tarp mounted over a metal frame serves as a roof. "The three workers can harvest up to 200 dozen ears of corn in only 1 1/2 hours," says McKee, who grows fruits and vegetables for sale locally. "Because of the high clearance frame it can go through the field without knocking the stalks down. As a result, we can go through the field more than once in those years when the sweet corn doesn't mature evenly." He started with an old 4-wheeled self-propelled sprayer. He stripped the sprayer down to the wheels and part of the frame and mounted a metal hopper on back. Power is supplied by a 2-cyl., 18 hp Briggs & Stratton gas engine that mounts above a single front drive wheel. The engine uses belts and chains to drive a 3-speed transmission off a Chevy truck. A gear reduction box is used to slow down the speed. A torque converter clutch allows variable speeds. The steering wheel is off an IH F-20 Farmall tractor and is conneþted by a length of chain to a gearbox off the same tractor. The chain turns a shaft that drives the gearbox, and from the gearbox another chain extends to the front wheel. A clutch and throttle mount near to the steering wheel. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Tom McKee, U.S. 51 S., Ramsey, Ill. 62080 (ph 618 423-9376).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.