Combines Fine Cut Chopper

[ehoff]

I agree that the knives fly-off. Are you aware that you aren't supposed to run fine-cut on high. The bolts are also a bear to get off as the heads wear and you can't keep a wrench on them. I only run the fine cut on high in wheat the first 2 days of harvest to pulverize straw when wheat at 18%. Makes d_c alot easier to plant. Then go to slow. Still a big improvement over regular chopper. Gleaner needs to figure-out a drive sprocket combination for the fine-cut that is somewhere between the speed of slow and fast.

 

[gleanermanitoba]

The fine cut is a weak spot as you say, better than original for chop but much more wear. We ended up putting in an extra piece of heavier guage shhet metal in the disharge shute on the outside, flat piece but with the natural bend in the factory side sheet it leaves a gap for much of it and this has solved some appearance issues with hamers coming loose. They need to make rotor 14" longer and put in the direct dischage unloader system so rotor goes underneath it and make the discharge the 14" larger so more area for straw to exit and less wear on a chopper. this would not make machine any wider. Beter yet find a way to move it with an impeller idea to a centeral located chopper to help with spread as well. Just my opinion.

 

[NowGleaner7]

My understanding is that they are looking hard for a fix! Hopefully before corn season.

 

[NDDan]

I understand that there are some new blades in testing. They do chop the straw but require more maintainance. I have a guy that continuously runs stones threw and it was very hard to keep up with damaged blades. I slowed down his chopper with the old pulley and things went much better. Still I'd recommend loctite with bearings and securing hardware. I don't believe it is so much the bearings failing but more like the hardware coming loose when blades have been damaged. Once the hardware is loose from the vibration your headed for more trouble. The guys with no stones and or small amount of corn have no problems other than more frequent blade maintainance.

 

[NDDan]

The hammer bushings were redesigned a couple years ago to portect the heads of bolt and nut from wear and that should help ehoff. '03 and newer machines have the double outside wall to portect the appearance of discharge area should stones ect. come out of chopper on an angle. New outside panels are punched for inner liner. I'm with you on wider larger and inovative ideas to bring the natural flow up another knotch but I find we don't use the whole width of chopper the way it is. This is part of the reason we extend helical to move more straw toward bearing. This plus full length rasp bars in every other location or discharge paddles that allow more straw to move over are showing promissing results. I think something Gleaner needs to look at very seriously is to drop floor under chopper so the thickness of a corn cob will fit inbetween blade and floor. Right now the blades just clear floor so the blades have little choice but to be bent back and likely banging against drum most of the time in corn. I think they could have a lever to flip for corn position witch would drop floor away and then flip the other way to bring floor up close for other crops. We are running some Rodono choppers also. This will be first full year with some of them running at the fast fine cut speed. We'll see how it goes. Them choppers have smaller tube and heavier blades as well as 20 blades instead of 12. The smaller tube will allow for more flow. The longer thicker hammer should stay out with centrifical force better than lighter blade and it will have to swing back much further before bottoming against tube thus less likely to break at pivot point. Bolt heads are not portected on these choppers but I doubt there will be enough flow up higher on these smaller tubes so heads will likely not wear. Again we'll see how it goes.

 

[GlEANERMANITOBA]

I was not aware of the 03 update on outer pannel, ours is 02. We have the extended helical and all rub bars to end of discharge. I can get 2 years if realy lucky on a set, but they are totally worn out (1 year per side). We were fortunate to get some of the first prototype choppers way back now, (I guess we met the right guys at the factory on the tours for the grand opening @ Hesston) so we have had many sets due to updates etc and they are way better than the originals. Just would like a better and more consistant chop and spread, seems strange chopped to fine to bale but not enough to make some of us happy.

 

[gleanermanitoba]

Keep us posted on the Rodono's this fall, we almost went with them over the agco ones, but thoght that the agco would have more bang for the buck due to prototype with posibilitys of upgrades etc, and have not heard anyone with a Rodono, but there design has some real merit as you stated.

 

[NowGleaner7]

Dan, If you had the choice between the new fine cut (08 model) and the old standard, which would you choose. I am hoping by this fall they would have the problem solved! Thanks

 

[NDDan]

If I was replacing a beater with a chopper I would go with the fine cut chopper kit. I'm about ready to install one in a machine now. If this machine was going to a customer that has has a tendency of eating rocks I would go with old standard or I would slow down the chopper to the speed of old standard. Problem is these pulleys are spendy. Corn isn't a big enough issue for our area so we will get by fine with fine cut on slow speed. Either way if replacing beater with chopper you might as well start with one of the kits for the you can't buy pieces individually and then install Rodono without spending a bunch extra. Rodono won't fit as direct replacement for fine cut because it won't match up with stationary knifes. I hear Rodono is looking into this. You can leave stationary knifes retracted or install floor from the old standard chopper if you want option of inserting stationary knifes with Rodono. I will say I got a look in the machine that I slowed fine cut down to normal speed and they look very good compared to what I was used to seeing. He either cut way back on the stones he was eating or slowing it down help significantly.