Picking corn with a smta-d

[4th gen ih lover 4]

Hello everybody, I just bought a 234 picker to good around with and was wondering if anybody ever used an MD, SMD, or an Smta-d to pick with. I never see any pictures of diesels being used and was wondering why that is. Is there a reason why people dont? I was thinking of mounting it on a smta-d so that's why I'm asking.

[MCC 76]

A man I bought a cultivator from said he had a mounted picker on a SMD or 400D for several years, don't remember for sure which one it was.

[mmi 362]

there are 2 camps

1 dont like the diesels and the work needed on them,dont know how to care for them.

2 love the diesel and dont want  otherwise year round work horse ,married to a 2 week usage item, 

if you have EVERYTHING tip top on the gas /over. let them get married

beware it is a major day to mount dis mount for any repairs and make sure the cooling system works and stays super clean...possibly find a tall snout..

[Matt Kirsch 890]

9 hours ago, 4th gen ih lover said:

I never see any pictures of diesels being used and was wondering why that is.

Could also just be law of averages, or whatever it's called. Corn pickers are rare. Diesels of that era are rare. It goes to reason that the combination of the two would compound the rarity. A rare tractor with a rare implement would be sixteen times as rare as either one by itself, or something like that...

Don't nobody check my math! LOL

[4th gen ih lover 4]

9 hours ago, mmi said:

there are 2 camps

1 dont like the diesels and the work needed on them,dont know how to care for them.

2 love the diesel and dont want  otherwise year round work horse ,married to a 2 week usage item, 

if you have EVERYTHING tip top on the gas /over. let them get married

beware it is a major day to mount dis mount for any repairs and make sure the cooling system works and stays super clean...possibly find a tall snout..

The tractor is in great shape. I was just gonna play around and maybe take it to some shows because like matt said it would be a rare combo to show off. I have to go pick the tractor up yet but do the diesels make more torque than a gas? You would think they would being a diesel with the higher compression.

[806frank 15]

I think he said it was a 234 picker on and off in 15 minutes

[VacDaddyt 176]

I think it will do fine in the picker for what you want to do. We had a 400 gas suoped to 450 under a 2mh. The pickers are are heavy and harder to turn with out power steering. Most people got rid of them when combines came out because of sitting in a dust cloud during use and combines you could get more than two rows done. Remember this was in an era when just getting what you had done was real good and most farms were less than 240. We did buy a pull type after we went to a combine as drying costs and the fact we used the cobs for bedding the brood sows made use keep the cribs ten more years. Good luck a 234 can take a lot of tractor to get full capacity especially with a sheller.

[Missouri Mule 1,643]

Bolt it up. Your picker your tractor. Personally I'd like to pick some corn with it. We still pick some ear corn here. I run a new idea pull type picker. Last year we didnt but I think this year I may resurrect that. I like it better for grinding 

[88power 1,577]

i always thought a diesel would be safer with a mounted picker because it less likely set a fire and if your going to use it only once a year gas theses days and carbs dont mix when they sit very long and with the picker being on it it be a pain to clean n adjust but thats just mho, and like Matt said they are rare and around here those diesels got a bad name for every diesel there was 15 gas

[4th gen ih lover 4]

4 minutes ago, 88power said:

i always thought a diesel would be safer with a mounted picker because it less likely set a fire and if your going to use it only once a year gas theses days and carbs dont mix when they sit very long and with the picker being on it it be a pain to clean n adjust but thats just mho, and like Matt said they are rare and around here those diesels got a bad name for every diesel there was 15 gas

It would be used for other things other than the picker. I planned on mounting it to play and taking it off then. I think it would be a neat combo to show in fall when we have our local heritage days.

[from H to 80 739]

Dad had a 2MH that we put on the old 560 gas, i never ran it but can remember helping him put it on the tractor. The wheels had to be set out WIDE and we always had to dig holes to get back under it, because it sank in the dirt floor of the old machine shed. It seemed like a day long project to me, half a day to put it on and another half a day to grease it. I can remember him climbing off of that thing after a day of picking and he would be as black as a coal miner. Even though he smoked i often wonder if eating all of that dust didn't contribute to his early death.

They may be neat to play with or take to a show but i sure wouldn't want to use one for my harvest.

[iowaboy1965 2,359]

As has already been said a 234 is a lot easier to put on and off than earlier models.  Also think it is more a law of averages as gas was way more common in the time period. Make sure you have a fire extinguisher on board. Even being a diesel there is always fire danger with mounted pickers. Playing around you will probably be ok but better safe than sorry.

I have a 2mh i have put on my 400. By myslef its a long back breaking day to put it on. Not as bad coming off but still a job.

I aslo have a 560D i bought a few years ago that still has evidence of picker mounts on back axle.