Combines Will be harvesting sunflowers for first time NEED ADVICE

[Case]

Slow your rotor down almost as slow as it will go, We never did anything to the grates but have heard of it, we've had good luck without doing it. We kept sieve settings about the same as wheat except we opened the bottom sieve a little more. We started with our fan speed by the book but noticed we had too many fines and empties so we speed the fan up the higher the fan the heavier the seed you will keep. I guess it's a judgment call on fan speed We like to blow all the empties out, and try and keep the heavier seeds. As far as the header we bought a set of lucke brand pans they bolt on your hold downs on your sickle. Sorry don't have their number handy, but the factory is in Minot, North Dakota, they sure seem to work good for us and are a heck of a lot cheaper then a all crop head and alot less maintence. Hope this helps

 

[Roster]

lucke pans are the only way to go- call them at (701) 839-0705.

 

[Big_Al]

I tried the luckey pans they were junk I bought a

 

[wally]

About the sunflower grates: they are not to prevent seed damage, but rather to keep the leaves and trash out of your clean grain system. Most cutters in our area will run a smooth slotted grate in the first position to allow any good seeds to separate out that didn't already drop through the concaves. Then they will install the "sunflower" solid grates in the last two positions to escort the trash and leaves right out the back of the rotor--much cleaner sample, because the chaffer system doesn't have to deal with an additional volume of chopped-up leaves and sunflower "cob" that way. And very little additonal crop loss, because very few quality seeds make it past the concaves anyway. Hope this helps.

 

[SDharvest]

We have used lucke pans on over 10,000 acres now in a custom harvest operation--I wouldn't run anything else----I think that those of you that have problems with them do not install them properly on your heads---we have absolutely NO feeding probblems whatsoever---and with no reel we don't get any 'knocking and striping' of the seed from the heads---also, without the reel you can cut the flowers as short as you need to when some of the crop is down---with the real you might 'knock down' the tall flowers while going to get the others---I wouldn't give my sets of lucke's up for anything!!!