Combines 9790 engines

[northernfarmer]

More Power: I guess you couldn't figure out what twin screws was complaining about, at first I thought he said the Challenger didn't have enough hp because of the hydro powered rotor. Then it became a grain saving issue, I've never had a problem keeping grain in a Massey rotor combine, but I have never done rice either. Massey dealer told me that most of the 9790s that had power issues ended up having engine failure. We all know that a rotor can always use more hp. Thats all I've heard. Happy New Year......Neil

 

[twinscrew]

NFarmer and MPower, let me try to be a little more clear. Transferring my thoughts to the printed page isn't my strong suit (assuming I even have one). I'm trying to say that, while more power might help a bit, the motor isn't the main problem. I believe that the Agco combine is of a power hungry design. The fluid driven rotor is, I think, the main demon. The way the rotor is configured also doesn't shine in wet crops where a large portion of what goes in the front of the rotor goes out the back of the rotor. It is obviously fine in dry crops. I've heard lots of good reports. In dry crops, I'm thinking that most of what goes in the front is out of the rotor before it gets to the separation part of the rotor_cage. Either by grain or chaff on the cleaning shoe. Rice, on the other hand, is probably 50_50 grain vs MOG. Half of what goes in the front stays for the entire trip and goes out the back. If you look at the agco rotor_cage and compare it to the red afx and green sts, it seems to me that there is more space between the rotor and the cage on the other two vs the agco. You've also got solid rasp bars and knives on the agco that run from one end to the other. Red and green machines have randomly spaced bars that allow more room for crop flow. The deere even expands the cage diameter in the separation area. It appears to me that it would take a greater amount of HP to force material through the agco vs the other two. Kind of like blowing a given amount of liquid through a small straw vs a larger one. Anyway, that's my uneducated view of why the agco machine needs improvements if they want to market it as a rice machine.

 

[northernfarmer]

twinscrew: As I've never been near rice I'll take your word on the Massey's short comings in rice. If what you say is true, what they need is a St. Johns rotor in them, that would increase their ability to seperate the grain from the wet straw while using less hp. Terry had better get busy in rice country. All the Best in 2005. Neil

 

[twinscrew]

I think that you are right about the St Johns rotor. I exchanged e-mails with Terry a while back. His rotor does look like it would work better in my conditions. I forwarded that information to the challenger folks. My lease runs out on the machine after next year's harvest season. So, replacing the rotor on my nickle isn't an option. If the Challenger would perform closer to the Deere, I might consider exercising the buy option at the end of our lease. It will depend on what the engineers do with it while they have it, and how it performs during next year's harvest season.

 

[riceman]

Our 9790 with a 30 foot head in 200 plus bushel rice did great. The hardest part was getting started. If I ever stopped, the rice wouldn't feed in the head right. After it got going, it was end to end at 3 to 4 mph. Our sample was just as clean as stripped rice. The engine never had any troubles. Now in green, damp soybeans it had problems. I feel like its the constant speed rotor thats at fault. It causes the engine to lug before the rotor slows down. Maybe its just my thoughts. But it sure seems like thats the problem. Is there any easy way to disconnect the constant speed controlIJ Just a thought.

 

[twinscrew]

Riceman, we couldn't even come close to your speed numbers even with a 25' straight cut head. I wish I could tell you how it did in 200 bu rice, but we did not have any that high this year. Too much rain and clouds in may and june. Our 1st crop yields were down 10 to 15%. Our challenger cuts good rice (good for us this year was about 180 to 190 bu.) at 1.6 to 1.8 mph. The deere is usually able to run a little faster even with a 30' head. Our rice is probably quite a bit greener that yours due to our fertility program. I'm sure that if we backed off of the late nitrogen application or used sodium chlorate, we could go faster. I'm afraid that would be at the expense of our ratoon crop though. We've been able to get our ratoon yields up pretty high and don't want to do anything that would compromise them.

 

[Riceman]

200 an acre was the norm this year. I neighbor of ours cut 220 on a few fields. I don't think its going to stay that high though. 2004 was just a good year. Bean yields were really high. Our combine did great with a 30 ft. head. But a stripper is just so much faster. So thats why we got a 24 footer. If you get the chance to run a Shelby and Agco side by side, then you will see the Agco is much better. It has more suction, and the roller keeps the rice moving rearwards better than a shaker pan or belt. Its very simple. And the first one was designed in our dealers shop. So they know how to set it well. How much does your ratoon crop yeildIJ Our season is too short for ratooning here. I live about 20 miles west of Memphis. It looks like we might be growing cotton next year instead of soybeans. There will be a red picker in the shed if we do.

 

[twinscrew]

Riceman, we averaged over 90 bu_acre. One field went over 140 bu_acre. Drop me an e-mail if you have the time. I'd like to discuss several things with you. Address is grorite at sbcglobal dot net (Don't want anyone "harvesting" my e mail addy).