Niels
Member
- Location
- Netherlands/Suffolk
I don't know if any of you guys on here get enthusiastic about beet harvesting but I certainly do. 
. Earlier in the year I had the opportunity to buy an ex-farm Vicon single row beet lifter. It had sit quietly in a shed for 30 years as the owner couldn't find the time to play with it. Since my father in law grows some sugar beet we bought the machine with the idea of trying her out for real.
The machine is of the first production year in 1960. It uses a revolutionary rotating 'shoe lifter' to lift the beet and throw them in a rotating cage. This system was invented by two Dutch farmers (Steketee). They gave Vicon the production rights and build over 2.000 of them during the first year of production! Quite a few ended up in the UK as they proved excellent machines to lift beet on heavy soils. They have a reputation of lifting beet in terrible conditions and still do a reasonable job. A few years later the Super model followed, which had a more simple frame and a chain driven elevator.
This machine was originally a demonstrator and has been fitted with an American built Garner gearbox that gives you four rotor speeds. This was done because certain tractor models, like the Ford 8N Dearborn, would drive to fast at the desired PTO speed. By changing up a gear they could drive slow and still power the rotor at the desired speed.
Some pictures my girlfriend took when we took her for a spin two weeks back. Was all greased and oiled. Put a new PTO shaft on her, hitched it up and off we went. Only the topping knife needed a little adjusting. Not bad for a 54 year old machine that stood still for 30 years and is lifting a 100t/ha crop!
The Ferguson FE 35 is an excellent tractor for the machine. It only requires 20-25 hp and makes no impression to the soil. Bit different than todays machines!
The machine is so very simple. At the front there's a rotor with rubber flails that polish the last stems off, the second row is topped and the shoe lifter takes the beet out and chucks them in the rotating cage.
Since we didn't have an appropriate trailer my father in law bought this 60s Miedema 4,5 tonne trailer that was very popular at the time. His Fiat 1000 in front.
Glad my father in law and I share the same hobby messing about with old stuff.
. Earlier in the year I had the opportunity to buy an ex-farm Vicon single row beet lifter. It had sit quietly in a shed for 30 years as the owner couldn't find the time to play with it. Since my father in law grows some sugar beet we bought the machine with the idea of trying her out for real.The machine is of the first production year in 1960. It uses a revolutionary rotating 'shoe lifter' to lift the beet and throw them in a rotating cage. This system was invented by two Dutch farmers (Steketee). They gave Vicon the production rights and build over 2.000 of them during the first year of production! Quite a few ended up in the UK as they proved excellent machines to lift beet on heavy soils. They have a reputation of lifting beet in terrible conditions and still do a reasonable job. A few years later the Super model followed, which had a more simple frame and a chain driven elevator.
This machine was originally a demonstrator and has been fitted with an American built Garner gearbox that gives you four rotor speeds. This was done because certain tractor models, like the Ford 8N Dearborn, would drive to fast at the desired PTO speed. By changing up a gear they could drive slow and still power the rotor at the desired speed.
Some pictures my girlfriend took when we took her for a spin two weeks back. Was all greased and oiled. Put a new PTO shaft on her, hitched it up and off we went. Only the topping knife needed a little adjusting. Not bad for a 54 year old machine that stood still for 30 years and is lifting a 100t/ha crop!
The Ferguson FE 35 is an excellent tractor for the machine. It only requires 20-25 hp and makes no impression to the soil. Bit different than todays machines!
The machine is so very simple. At the front there's a rotor with rubber flails that polish the last stems off, the second row is topped and the shoe lifter takes the beet out and chucks them in the rotating cage.
Since we didn't have an appropriate trailer my father in law bought this 60s Miedema 4,5 tonne trailer that was very popular at the time. His Fiat 1000 in front.
Glad my father in law and I share the same hobby messing about with old stuff
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