I'm just getting my 8570's front beater changed to the new 9000's style. Is this a problem stemming from the design of the beater or just a one in a thousand problemIJ Thinking I should get a wear plate made for mine. Neil
We believe it may have something to do with the design of the front beater. As instead of paddles it has a flight like blade on it which concentrates the material flow in the center. If your new beater is like this it may apply, depending on what crops you harvest. We had some terrible wet conditions here this year with a lot of downed corn and feel that may have drawn some soil through with the crop, accelerating the wear.
I don't believe that I would change the front beater to the new style myself. From what I have experienced the capacity of the machine went down from an 8570 to the 8780 primarily due to the front beater design. The wear issue may be the header not feeding the feederhouse all the way accross the opening. This became a problem when Gleaner headers were hung on Massey combines. They simply did not feed the machine the same as the older White_Massey design. The old beater design kicked crop material up and all the way around the front rotor intake auger. This provided full 360 degreee feeding of the rotor. The new beater design doesn't seem to kick material up very far and therefore only seems to feed the bottom of the rotor. The new design seems to run quieter in uneven feeding conditions. However this is negated when material is bunched-up into the bottom of the rotor. These machines like any combine need to be "fed" properly to obtain maximum capacity and quality.
I was just down in louisville at the farm show and was told by a Massey rep that converting an old beater to the new 9000 series style was one of the best things you could do to an older machine. This guy seemed to be a very intelligent individual who knew his stuff when it came to Massey rotaries. He said it quiets the machine down in corn and also helps in tuff soybeans. We went from a 8570 to a 8780 several years ago and could tell a big difference in capacity. We raise corn and soybeans. Our 8780 handled a 30 ft platform better than our 8570 handled a 25. The 8570's beater has 4 full length paddles on it while the 1998 - 2001 8780's beater is more round with 2 fins on opposite sides that went just past center with 2 rows of claws in between the paddles. The 2002 8780's and new 9000 series combines went to using a round beater with curved fins around the beater to direct material to the center and feed the rotor more evenly. With the new design there is always part of the beater engaging the crop while there were gaps in the older designs. We trade machines every year and currently have a 2001 8780XP. The 2002 8780XP that we should get for next year will have the new style beater so we will see for ourselves if the new beater is better. ;-)
I know all of our conditions and crops vary, but the BEST modification I have ever performed was updating my old 8570 with the new chevron beater. The only thing that I didn't like about the machine was it's performance in tough_green stemmed soybeans. The new beater improved the overall machine performance in these conditions SIGNIFICANTlY. The new beater is also priced unbelievably reasonable. So far, I haven't found any drawbacks. I find the feeding to be much more even in soybeans. The wear issue is interesting, and I can see where that may be a possible problem. I'm anxious to look at my machine as soon as the weather warms a bit. Even if the added wear turns out to be a fact, I wouldn't hesitate one bit to do it again. In my area and in my crops (Illinois_ corn and soybeans),it's a no-brainer IMHO.
sorehands: When you check your 8570 for wear under the beater, please post asap. My machine is apart and I'd put a wear plate in if it's going to need it. How long have you had the new beater in your 8570IJ Thanks, Neil
Russ, what did you have to change,do you have part n,and costs. I'm interested in changing my '95 8570 to the new style beater. When I checked into it the dealer told me I needed a new drum, new shaft, and many other parts, since my 8570 had the square beater. Do you know a better way to do thisIJ 3
According to my parts books, you don't need the shaft, but you will need the new style drum. Replace the bearings as long as you're doing it. And Ken the chevron beater is the new one used in the 9690 and 9790 which runs quieter and feeds better than the old paddle design or the claw_vane beater. The drum I don't think represents a big part of the cost, but if dealer figured the shaft in, that's probably where a big part of the cost comes in.
My 8570 also had the square beater. The change-over only involved the new drum. The existing shaft was used. I will have to look, but I don't think any other parts were used. I had it changed last summer, but I can't remember what the cost was. I do remember that I thought it was very reasonable.