Combines Gordon Bars in tough conditionsIJIJ

Dumfarmer, I can't answer your questions, but do appreciate your asking them. I have been thinking of installing these bars as well but feel the same as you do and am a little hesitant. Just want more info before spending that much on a set of bars. I don't think you are over doing it as the more info one can get the better. Thanks for bringing up the subject. We only raise wheat, corn and sorghum.

I sure wish I could be of some help to you, but my only experience so far is in grass. Shorly ago there was a thread that mentioned taking out the straight bars on the standard rotor when the going gets tough. I believe this is because they tend to retard the flow of the material which could help cause some of the roping effect. The gorden bars for the specialty rotor would be closer to the main spiral bars on the standard rotor, but more of them. The rasp teeth not only help move the material, but also seperate and agitate the straw matter so the grain or seed can get out. I think there are some crops and conditions where the gorden bars may not work. Have you talked to Marvin about them yetIJ He's not a high pressure salesman. If you ask a few questions, he'll give another answer for you to compare with.

If you are not sure if the bars are a good investment put a wanted add on e-bay or in a local farm magazine. If you don't get many responses then you know people love them

Then the question I would now post would be, does the rumble and trouble in tough conditions originate in the rotor cage and caused by the bars, or is it coming from the elephant ears and cone areaIJ Wheat certainly doesn't thrash out as well when it gets tough, but is it because the elephant ears are not feeding it in as smoothly as the middle of the dayIJ

I'd say both, but the majority comes from the ears and cone. That little resivoir on the drivers side of the cone causes a lot of noise when it gets tough. If you dont run any sort of sharpened knife up by the kidney, when it gets tough feel for heat around the bearing. If you feel any heat there, you know material is getting jammed between the kidney and the impeller wear blades. It may even be rapping around the bearing. Theres a small anti-rap knife on the cast impeller spider that will wear down and not do its job if too much material is let jam between the kidney and the impeller. Its very important if you run much tough straw to keep a good square edge on the kidney and sharpened knives adjusted up close to the kidney. As I'm sure you allready know, if the stuff makes past the impellers and ropes up in the concave area, it will thump and rumble. There are a lot of variables depending on your crops and climate. I cut the tips off my impellers. That quieted the machine down a lot and I can go earlier in the morning and later at night than I could before. But thats just my machine in my local climate and crops.

We got our bars for this season as I said before, we cut canola with it and it ran well, it mayby was a little more rumble when cutting late at night. It coped with green stems ok and we didn't have and feeding problems or roping, we also cut some damp barley in England and it ran ok. I hope this is of some help, we got ourbars in two lots and after using them wish we had got them in one lot. They also cut rotor loss!

We got our bars for this season as I said before, we cut canola with it and it ran well, it mayby was a little more rumble when cutting late at night. It coped with green stems ok and we didn't have and feeding problems or roping, we also cut some damp barley in England and it ran ok. I hope this is of some help, we got ourbars in two lots and after using them wish we had got them in one lot. They also cut rotor loss!

I agree the rumble is from the impellers. This year we installed a specialty rotor with 12 Gorden in the front and a Stewart steel auger front to make it feed like an AFX rotor. It is almost impossible to make this setup thump and rumble,infact you have to have your mind on your job and an eye on the rotor rpm when it gets very damp and tough. If you do not, the rotor will pull heavier and heavier untill it finally locks up without any warning rumble.

That means it needs more propane.

Funny you should mention that. Brother was grumbling about the damp harvest weather,so we filled the propane tank on the Red Rooster propane booster for the first time since installing the 466 engine(5-6 yearsIJIJ) It's great to flip that switch and feel a 50 hp bump,and have the diesel smoke go away,with the diesel rattle gone so it sounds like a gas motor.