Wednesday, June 7, 2023
First, we are rejoicing that we got some rain this morning! PTL! Yes, it’s only .22″ (6mm), but it is accompanied by cooler and cloudy conditions. This should allow the small rainfall to soak into the soil, rather than be baked right out by bright and hot sunshine.
We are preparing for wheat harvest. John and Brandon worked over the S780 combine yesterday and today. Upon inspection, we found 3 belts on the left side of the machine that were cracked and split. So, we replaced those expensive belts. Plus, we found the flails on the chopper to be quite worn, so we decided to replace those, too. The chopper should now work like new when we go cut wheat!
There are 3 long double-rib belts that run the chopper and the discharge beater that we replaced on Tuesday.
Brandon installs a pair of flails on the chopper. If you look closely you can see the worn ones on his left, and the replacements on his right. Quite an improvement.
As part of the prep, we must change out 3 of the concave sections in the CIH 8250 combine. One wrinkle with that machine… we have a brand-new MacDon header to use on it. There are many new features on that MacDon, and it will require some learning. Brandon has read through the Sears-catalog-thick owner’s manual. And we have a commitment from the dealer to be here on the first day to help Brandon get started with it.
To switch over to wheat with the JD S780, a couple inserts must be clamped into place under the first two sections of the concave…plus 20 little ‘covers’ must be installed on parts of the separator grates– 12 on the left and 8 on the right. Those on the left side are easy to snap on, but those on the right side? Ugh! Only Brandon can squeeze in behind the tailings and clean grain elevators to install those.
On the left of the picture you can see the inserts latched into place under the front of the concave. At right, you see the grate covers snapped into place on the separator. These covers on this side of the separator are easy to install, the same ones on the right side are more difficult to access.
The guys also hung the RD40F header on the 780 to install the special bolts and brackets that hold the cutterbar in a rigid position for wheat. Also, they test the header controls to make sure those are in working order. Sometimes the sensors need adjustment or calibration to control the header height properly.
The header is hung on the combine in order to install the lock-up pars on the cutterbar.
Now all those modifications have been made and the combines are ready!
The last step is to fill the fuel tank. 400 gallons!
We will give the trucks a once-over next week. Wheat harvest is not far off.
Again… we are so grateful for today’s rain!
