Combines Dakota have you got the 470 s yetIJ

[dakota]

We haven't got any combines yet. If landpower is switching a bunch of concaves on Mega's, why would they import the lexions with the metal press onesIJ The R-series has wire concaves in North America, as far as I was told by Claas. Why would they ship them with metal press to AustraliaIJ

 

[GreenThumb]

Only the 460R,470R and 475R have wire concaves. 450,460,465(walkers),480R,485R have pressed steel concaves.

 

[claasman]

Dakota, landpower only have the rights to import the Mega and Medion combines, cat have the rights to the lexions.

 

[dakota]

CAT is out of the agmarket. So it ought to be somebody else who sells lexions in Australia. I understand that they might still be yellow, since Claas kept that right for a couple more years. I have just learned, that there is big problem with the concave hydraulics making the concave to go out of lign. Have you noticed anythingIJ

 

[claasman]

Dakota, As told to me by the local cat dealer, CAT Australia is the importer, and the Victorian Cat Dealer (William Adams) is the distributor for the eastern side of Australia. Claas Germany seem to be holding Cat Australia to the lexion sales agrement that was signed a few years ago, as i said in the post yesterday, there is word about that when this arrangement is up for renewal landpower will get it, i think it has a few years to run yet. Cat Australia is in court with one of there state dealers over the fact that cat wants to sell the state franchise to another state dealer and give the current owners nil. The local cat dealer has recently sold 3 480's and the owner has used one for small seed crops and it is pushing seed out the back, i dont think the other 2 will be any better when they start using them, they traded 2388's on the 480's. I have been told that the cat dealers have tried a fix on the 480's where they cut a peice out the returns floor to make it shorter so the returns fall on the start of the sieves, dont know the out come of this. Have not seen any thing about the concave hydraulics, what is happeningIJ are the rams creepingIJ our Mega 204 has the old system where you have to move the lever along the holes to get setting, we checked the alingment at the start of harvest and after 15 hours of use and at the fininsh of harvest still the same measurement all the way through.

 

[dakota]

Our concaves were adjusted three times last year by dealer_Claas technicians. The first time was the initial setup. But the other two times we were explained that the concaves were off and even "crooked" compared to the cylinder. Just this week I happen to bump into some other lexion operators who told me the same thing. One person suspicioned the hydraulic to be part of the problem. The two cylinders don't remain even to each other. How do you adjust the concave on your combineIJ Do you leave a 8mm minimum in the front like the book says for the lexionsIJ Can you get tough threshing wheat (white caps) done like thisIJ Do you take the filler plates out of the cylinderIJ

 

[claasman]

Dakota, With the Mega you adjust the concave with the concave position lever in the 3rd hole from the top and measure at the 3rd bar at the front of the concave we set this gap at 12mm. the rear point of measurement for the concave is at the 3rd last bar on the concave with the lever in the 3rd hole from the top, we set this gap at 9mm. The setting for the preconcave is still with the lever in the 3rd hole from the top and take the mesurment at the 4th bar we set this to 15mm. We made up some gauges out of square rod one at 12mm in dia, one at 9mm and one at 15mm. We run the concave for wheat at the 3rd hole on lever setting and this gives us a gap of 15mm at the preconcave and 12mm at the concave. For oats we run it at the 4 hole with gaps of 17mm on preconcave and 14mm on concave. The mega settings for corn are the same on the main concave, however the measurement point for the preconcave is at the 3rd bar from the front not the 4th as with small grain, and it should be 14mm. With our old combine a mega 203 we did not take the filler plates out, however with the 204 we have taken them out, when we removed them there was a large amount of dust build up on the back of the plates and when we ran the machine there was very little machine vibration conpaired to when the plates were in. We dont do corn so we wont put them back in. Is there any way that you can tell the concave setting gap whilst you are stipping with the lexionIJ Do you think the gap is increasing whilst striping and allowing some grain still unthresed and straw to be carried through to the rotorsIJ What regulates the breakout on the concaveIJ is it linked to a sensour in the feederhouseIJ could this be faultyIJ, and be causing the hydrolic system to release pressure on the concave ramsIJ claasman

 

[dakota]

The lexion always shows the concave setting in mm on the screen, but that still doesn't tell you, when it goes out of lign. The breakout of the concave (I guess you mean, when the concaves gives because of too much pressure on it) is supposibly done by measuring the hydraulic pressure. I don't think that the sensor and hydraulic stuff makes it loose grain. Because you always adjust it until eveything is threshed out right. Especially when you have four machines doing the same thing. It will never happen, that four concaves go out of lign the same way. But all four machines have done the same kind of grain loss at the same time. Can you change the concave setting at the Mega on the goIJ I just can't picture this "whole adjusting", you're always talking about.

 

[claasman]

Dakota, The hole adjustment is when you set the concave lever in the cab to the 3rd hole from the top of the bracket that holds the concave lever in the set position, you then adjust the draw bars up or down to the required settings. If the hydrolic pressure is not staying at the required pressure then won't the lower pressure allow the concave to open and then unthresed heads move upto the rotors and some be unable to be seperated before it gets out of the rotorsIJ Was told by a Cat service tech that the first 470's that came to Australia had a problem with the concave cylinders not holding pressure there was an update down to the ones over here.

 

[dakota]

About every week I hear more trouble about the lexion. Claas doesn't admit anything, doesn't do anything and their machines have no resale value here. I think we're better of quit messing with them. After they have tried so many times in this market as Claas, as Massey and Ford branded, it might only be a matter of time before they pack up again and leave.