Combines Hugger Question

[Kurt]

Do you mean the inclosed chain in the oil bathIJ I only check mine once a season. If you put the head all the way down you won't lose any oil. The seal is re-use-able, I've had our hugger since 91 and have never changed the seal. I have had the front sproket come lose if I have to do a lot of reversing. I have loctided mine on.

 

[Curt]

Tom,

 

[Silver_Bullet]

I have had a hugger cornhead for several years and would hate to think about how many acres it has been over. After about 1,000 acres or more the snapping rolls do become less aggressive. What we do before the start of each season is run a bead of hardsurfacing on front 6-8" of the snapping roll. You don't have to be too concerned about how the bead looks as the rougher it is the more aggressive it is. It will usually take 1200-1500 acres to wear this down to the original metal on the roll so the original roller should last indefinately. Sorry, AGCO!

 

[Hyper_Harvest_II]

Tom, Sounds like the stripper plates are set a little too wide.Was it just one row bothering or all rowsIJYou can't adjust the stripper plates by the operator's manuel settings.These are far too wide unless your Francis Childs and have 300bu. corn.For the more average 150bu,you should be around 1 1_8" at the front and 1 1_4" at the back.Have seen some cornheads that are getting a lot of acres on them developing an egg shape on the stripper rods.Also keep in mind that the Hugger cornhead have only three blades on each roll.This makes them very aggressive,but also wears them out quicker.We usually find the least expensive blade we can find and then have them chromed.Have not worn a set out and pushing 7500-10,000 acres on them.(Food for thought.)

 

[T__langan]

Be careful, Curt. Your life might be in danger posting tips like that on the net. The "Batavia Commandos" might take you out for cutting into their parts sales! You can usually see them coming though - they wear AGCO orange jumpsuits and drive around in stolen UPS trucks. Hey, they ain't the brightest bulbs in the chandelier!

 

[Curt]

I'll keep an eye out for them. lOl I just wanted to give Tom a few places to check before he just went and bought new knives. I read that stuff right out of an corn head operators manual, but how well that pertains to real life I don't know. You have to use what is best for you. T. langan they don't come wielding parts and take all your money do theyIJ

 

[MN_Dean]

Tom:

 

[Kurt]

Hyper where did you have your knives chromed atIJ Would you mind sharing how much it costIJ Have you ever just hard surfaced them like someone else suggestedIJ Thanks Kurt

 

[Hyper_Harvest_II]

Kurt, Used to have Schwerin ConcavesandChrome do the chroming,but they have since closed.Now I am trying to get hooked up with Northwest Chrome from the same area.So far their chrome has been superior to anybody since they have dealt with the ash from Mt. St. Helen in Washinton state.Also would like to try and have some blades boronized to see if that holds up better.This is still in the experimental stage on cylinder bars and concaves,but sounds very promising.As for the price for chroming,you could usually figure around $15-$16 per blade,then you would have shipping on top of that.I would usually end up with about $28-$30 per blade by the time you bought new blades,chroming,and shipping.Remember,chrome adds 4-5 times the life.

 

[Tom_Russell]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Stripper plates are 1 front and 1 1_8 rear. Snapping rolls on this model are not adjustable. Gather chains are still at factory setting and dont protrude beyond the edge of stripper plates. Black tar like stuff isnt as bad as last year but stripper plates are still covered. The accumulation of leaves in the head was high enough so I could seldom see any of the dividers. Steering between rows was purely guesswork. Now the excess amount of trash is giving us fits. Trash builds up in front of the stalk chopper so we have to back up to clear it. Then I come along with a DMI 527 and plug that too. Dry or wet doesnt seem to make any difference. The keyword for the day is get out and unplug. When everything is measured, yield should be close to 200 for the first time, but it is a lot of extra work for those extra bushels. Tom in MN