Combine settings for wheat

Fubar

Member
Struggling to get a good wheat sample with the T X this year. Some of the smaller heads are hard to thresh.
The wheat hadn't really ripened, just died.
What's the best setting to alter if I'm getting both unthreshed grains and damaged grains in the tank? Open concave or close bottom sieves?
 
I'm guessing that the crops are pretty much the same from John O' Groats to Land's End this year and the harvest is going to bring considerable disappointment to some but hopefully none will face it alone; well not as long as TFF is here.

Stay safe, stay well, and please remember that you are all held dear in the hearts and minds of many and the sun never sets on TFF.

Chris (y):)(y)
 

Lincsman

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Struggling to get a good wheat sample with the T X this year. Some of the smaller heads are hard to thresh.
The wheat hadn't really ripened, just died.
What's the best setting to alter if I'm getting both unthreshed grains and damaged grains in the tank? Open concave or close bottom sieves?
Have you the pegged door in the rotor thrasher?
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Had this problem here this year. More heads than usual just died off,
Bottom sieve needs careful attention to close it down enough to keep an acceptable amount of tips out, but not overload the returns. but small grains this year pass more easily through sieve anyway so it will stand closing a bit. My concave one notch off minimum, Drum nearly at max but not quite. And push on to keep the drum full and rub stuff out but mindful that bottom sieve is tight so watch returns doesn’t overload. Had to close my top sieve slightly below recommended to keep short brittle straw from dropping through which has also helped keep tips off bottom sieve. And the longer you can leave it the easier it threshes.
Alright in the end.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
When I used to go contracting up on the wolds on the good land you could open the bottom sieve another 3 nicks and get no tips in the sample. The heads were like bricks and threshed cleanly and easily without breaking up. You could really tramp on.
Down here you have to set the combine like a dresser which slows you down a bit.
Bottom sieve minimum for me is 8 mm. Top sieve normally 12 mm.
 

Simon Chiles

DD Moderator
Had this problem here this year. More heads than usual just died off,
Bottom sieve needs careful attention to close it down enough to keep an acceptable amount of tips out, but not overload the returns. but small grains this year pass more easily through sieve anyway so it will stand closing a bit. My concave one notch off minimum, Drum nearly at max but not quite. And push on to keep the drum full and rub stuff out but mindful that bottom sieve is tight so watch returns doesn’t overload. Had to close my top sieve slightly below recommended to keep short brittle straw from dropping through which has also helped keep tips off bottom sieve. And the longer you can leave it the easier it threshes.
Alright in the end.

I almost did the opposite to you with drum and concave settings but was trying to achieve the same result of keeping it full so just drove faster. I went for wide concave and slow drum to save smashing up the brittle straw and therefore keeping it off the sieves. By keeping the straw off the sieves enabled me to run with a wide top sieve without overloading the returns. I also ran a high fan speed as the bushel weight was high, having put it over a weigh bridge the combine yield meter was running 15% light. Losses were low.
PS. 5 walker combine, 20ft header.
 

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DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
I almost did the opposite to you with drum and concave settings but was trying to achieve the same result of keeping it full so just drove faster. I went for wide concave and slow drum to save smashing up the brittle straw and therefore keeping it off the sieves. By keeping the straw off the sieves enabled me to run with a wide top sieve without overloading the returns. I also ran a high fan speed as the bushel weight was high, having put it over a weigh bridge the combine yield meter was running 15% light. Losses were low.
PS. 5 walker combine, 20ft header.
I really ought to try this wide concave slow drum method and probably will do eventually. I’ve dabbled with it in the past on my other old combine but have found too much grain left in the heads and increased Walker losses.
I suppose the emphasis is thrown onto relying on clean threshing rather than sieving which is a good idea in principle. If my concave was wide and drum slow I’d have to drive at considerable speed to fill it. The amount of grain needing to be handled by the bottom sieve would mean it would have to be quite wide open so would not reslly provide any filtering at all of unthreshed tips. I’d be entirely reliant on decent threshing action.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Certainly went better today in a better field. Opened bottom sieve another notch and pushed on. In second gear mid speed. Looks thin on the bed but has yielded well. Low seed rates have helped with the drought and grain fill.
 

Steevo

Member
Location
Gloucestershire
I really ought to try this wide concave slow drum method and probably will do eventually. I’ve dabbled with it in the past on my other old combine but have found too much grain left in the heads and increased Walker losses.
I suppose the emphasis is thrown onto relying on clean threshing rather than sieving which is a good idea in principle. If my concave was wide and drum slow I’d have to drive at considerable speed to fill it. The amount of grain needing to be handled by the bottom sieve would mean it would have to be quite wide open so would not reslly provide any filtering at all of unthreshed tips. I’d be entirely reliant on decent threshing action.

Just need to be careful you don't block the drum!
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Just need to be careful you don't block the drum!
This is what I don’t understand. At the sort of wide concave settings recommended by certain experts (but no combine manual) i’d have to be doing 10k to fill it and the quantity of grain and straw would overload the other components of the system. I’m not convinced.
 

Steevo

Member
Location
Gloucestershire
This is what I don’t understand. At the sort of wide concave settings recommended by certain experts (but no combine manual) i’d have to be doing 10k to fill it and the quantity of grain and straw would overload the other components of the system. I’m not convinced.

I'm surprised to hear that.

In a decent first wheat with reasonable straw I struggle to get much above 5kph with a wide open drum at full speed without hearing the crop on the drum.

....and plenty on here seem to talk of much higher yields than I usually hit.
 

robbie

Member
BASIS
We've got our concave one notch from fully open, drum 900 top sieve open enough to slide my finger between up to first knuckle and bottom sieve open enough for the tip of my finger to fit between with the frog mouth tight against my nail. It's all very exact and scientific but it works

We have moved the limiter to get us extra fan speed, which is flat out plus a but.

This is the sample.
 

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