Axail Flow combine pro's con's/user experiences.

[Drillman]

I will freely admit I know very little about Combine Harvesters but have always liked the idea of an Axail flow as I understand them to be simple and low maintence. From what I've seen locally output looks good as well but................

What are they like to live with and operate? are they reliable? what goes wrong and why?

And why do they have a reputation as straw destroyers? What happens inside them to do this? Having looked inside one today they just seem to have a normal drum and concave but mounted longways on?

 

[beltbreaker]

The new 140 range are based on a 40+ year old design the 240 range are based on the NH chassis but have a CVT driven rotor which can be reversed.

Got a 22 year old one here, bed, feed and sell straw, yes can be slightly bashed up and if the spreader rotors aren't on the back then it will impale the straw into the ground making it harder to pick up. I personally prefer the axial flow straw as I chop all bedding straw anyway and you can get more in a bale IMO. The rotor is 108 inches long rotating at 450-1000 rpm forcing the straw out the back over the beater/chopper. It's best kept full ie engine working hard to minimise losses through the rotor. The rotor leaves a clean sample and is particularly gentle on the grain.

Early machines had impellers at the front (elephant ears) which worked like a chopper more modern ones (post 96)have a screw type affair to take the crop back, aftermarket "AFX" kits are available from the states. The rotor design has been updated constantly.

What goes wrong (old style machines) PTO splines from engine to hydrostat wears after 2-2.5k hrs, wooden blocks on bed augers below rotor wear every 1000-1500hrs, Final drive axle bolts are best checked regularly and replaced periodically if using a large header or tank extension. Fuel tank is not big enough (8-10hrs). Sieve bushes can fail leading to grain pan splitting and sieves cracking up, My clean grain elevator is not quick enough. Rot in poorly sealed grain tank (behind unloading auger turret) if it's been outside for any time. It's a light combine in comparison to the light green German ones and pretty good in the wet it also has a chassis which makes it better for towing out. Newer ones the Yanks say there is not the metal in them so augers wear quicker and elevators need renewing it's possible they are just putting more grain through them.

Cheers BB

 

[Drillman]

Right been and had a play with a neighbours Axail Flow this afternoon.

I want one

 

[Lincsman]

Do they still use the chopper running slower to get the straw out?

 

[Drillman]

Do they still use the chopper running slower to get the straw out?

This one did.

 

[carbonfibre farmer]

@bovrill and @tw15 run axial flows (I think/hope I'm right!)

 

[tw15]

2 x 1680 's here what sort of year axialflow are you thinking about?

 

[Lincsman]

This one did.

And they wonder why it chops the straw up, when I had one on demo it was OK but power could drop away with no warning, and thought a conveyor would have helped the straw issue.

 

[Drillman]

2 x 1680 's here what sort of year axialflow are you thinking about?

Not sure it's only at the idea stage at the moment, would guess at something like a 2188

Which I understand is a 1680 under the skin

 

[Tractor Boy]

We've had Axial flow since 1993. Only two machines in that time, a 1660 til 2005 and currently a 2388. I really like them. There are many positives and only a few negatives as far as I'm concerned.
Main issues with the current 2388 are:
The chopper and spreader struggles to spread the 25ft width of the header.
You may as well pack up combining a heavy wheat crop at 9pm, because as soon as the sun goes down your forward speed drops to a crawl.
And finally the biggest bug bear, changing the concave grids for crops such as peas and beans is an absolute b*****d of a job, especially on your own. I know this as its fresh in my mind after having to do it today ready for out Spring beans!!!

 

[tw15]

You can get a nice 2388 for around 25-30k try to buy direct from farmer then you know from speaking to him and state of farm how it has been looked after . If there is anything you need to know feel free to ask.

 

[Drillman]

How many hours will they do reliably if well cared for? before winter maintence starts getting expensive relative to the machine value?

 

[tw15]

4000-5000 HOURS
Try to do bits each year spend a bit so you don't have a expensive big bill year.
This year was a cheap year , re did all feathering fingers and holders and balls in one header doing the other header next year along with complete shaker shoe bushes. A few filters and oil changes next year is a bit bigger spend but roughly works out around £3k in total on average to run both combines.

 

[Vernon]

Would have thought it would be cheap combining with older ones fetching not much money. Similar to the old TF42 we run as our second machine. All the rotaries bash the straw a bit, but with a bit of experimenting with settings, and importantly filling them up (crop against crop threshing is much kinder on straw) they can do a good job. We find if the tf bashes the straw then our 68plus will do the same, just it gets hidden by the bigger header leaving a bigger swath.
Vernon

 

[Drillman]

4000-5000 HOURS
Try to do bits each year spend a bit so you don't have a expensive big bill year.
This year was a cheap year , re did all feathering fingers and holders and balls in one header doing the other header next year along with complete shaker shoe bushes. A few filters and oil changes next year is a bit bigger spend but roughly works out around £3k in total on average to run both combines.

over how many acres?

 

[tw15]

850 - 900 acres has been up to 1450 acres a year not bad really for a couple of £ 12k combines .

 

[Flat 10]

Worked on a farm where used 4 year old 2188 for 7 years to cut 750acres plus. In that time only a couple of bearings and a new grain elevator chain. Oh and obviously a couple of rotor belts. Great combine!

 

[tw15]

Haven't had to replace a rotor belt for the last 5 -6 years did replace header belt on one this year and a hydraulic pump drive belt on the trunking on the other.

 

[bovrill]

Got a 1680, one of the last ones.
Having been a baling contractor since 1990, I have a strong dislike of them. Round bales are just awful behind them.
But this one came up at the right time at the right money about 3 miles away when my old New Holland gave up. Still doesn't mean I like it though!
As above, it just dies with any dew/moisture on the crop, and green straw is a much bigger struggle than with a straw walker machine. Having to pass the straw through a slow chopper rotor is what does for the straw. You can set the rotor up how you like, if the straw is dry that chopper is going to mash it up.
I needed the rubber bushes at the drive end of the rotor a couple of weeks ago, but you can't buy just the bushes any more, and had to order the whole cast coupling. 8 days later it arrived from a dealers in France! (Most of that time was spent buggering about with wrong part numbers and wrong parts turning up).
Last Tuesday the knife snapped, with a day and a half cutting left to do. First a lack of courier, then a lack of knife when I offered to drive up country and get it myself, then the courier lost it, then one arrived yesterday, after it rained, and it's too long (not now I've gone at it with the angle grinder!)

All in all, I'm thoroughly fed up with it, I've got someone wants to export it, and I'll get a nice NH straw walker machine, and get all the parts off the shelf from APH.

 

[Badshot]

Has anyone hooked a powerflow off a fergie onto an axial flow? I believe they fit.