Combines To wash or not to washIJ

I don't like water to touch my combine. In fact I don't even like it when I get caught in a rain shower. I always use air to clean the combine off for its hibernation period.

We always like to blow out the combine and wash and wax it every year before it goes away and haven't had any problems with bearings just make sure to grease after you wash to get the water out thats all.. Since you invest all that money in the combine why not keep it looking like the day you bought it.

I always blow the machine down with air, then use a pressure washer on sheet metal only, staying away from grain tank,engine compartment and all bearings.

we have always washed our machine during the season but not to put away for the winter i just sweep it all down in the last field and then lay down a coat of used diesel engine oil on the knife and the shiny parts of the platform... then before starting the next season i like to run a couple of small square bales of straw through the machine-seems to give us a better start up -Mark in canada.

curiousfarmer, Must be nice not to ever have to cut in a muddy field then. I had to wash a half a ton of mud off my combines just last Monday. K.A.

I'm a no wash guy except for the tin to keep machine looking decent. As for water in the bearings, I'd sooner it ran for a day after a wash than put it away for the year wet.

At the end of season, blow the crap out of the machine, then wash it down. Afterwards give it a good grease and then respray all of the worn areas on the machine. leaves the baby looking like new! Cheers, Rhino.

Yes, that is for sure. Some people have no idea how good they have it. With in 48 hours of taking the combine out you can not even tell what color our machine is. Mud, dust, water, dirt, frost and dew all contribute their fair share. At end of season machine is "Field Stripped", blown off with air, steam cleaned, blowed off again and then waxed before storage. This is a 4 to 5 day project. We have been told we are the fussious SOB's known. (proud of it too!) Perfection is our goal. Excellance will be tolerated.

I've had good luck washing the outside of the machine (including the engine compartment) and taking the air-hose to the inside, then letting the machine run on idle speed for 20 minutes to heat the bearings up enough to evaporate most_all the moisture!

We always blow the heck out of our machine. Then if it isn't muddy, we usually don't wash it except for the main sheet metal and the wheels. If it is muddy, then we wash everything.