Cleaning out Combine Grain Tank

[DrWazzock]

Do you clean it out between crops?
How do you do it?
We tend to hoover it out here but getting the pipe in there and lifting the auger cover is no easy or quick job. All at height and needs the teleporter to attend.
Thought about fitting a blower to blow it to the spout end.
How’s it done on modern combines?

 

[snarling bee]

Never bother.

If I was growing basic seed then it might be different.
Whose going to notice 30kg of another crop in 200t or whatever? Even if that 30kg was in one 29 t lorry load it would be 0.1%. Seed can (and does) have more contamination in it than that.

 

[spin cycle]

'clean out between crops'...not a problem unless seed surely

 

[DrWazzock]

'clean out between crops'...not a problem unless seed surely

Yes I am wondering if we are being a bit OCD. I can understand it for seed or maybe before and after OSR but often the auger doesn’t bring out what’s left under it anyway. It’s certainly one job I could do without until the final clean at end of season. I should think we hoover about half a hundred weight out. This year we have a patchwork of ripe bits and bits that need leaving so will be changing crop more often.

 

[spin cycle]

recommended

 

[carbonfibre farmer]

We Hoover out between each crop....
But grow seed crops and not big areas of them either.
Have one of those big numatic industrial hoovers with a very long hose. Long enough to leave the hoover on the floor and take hose into the tank with plenty of feet to spare.
Done it enough times now it takes no more than 15mins.

 

[Adeptandy]

We Hoover out between each crop....
But grow seed crops and not big areas of them either.
Have one of those big numatic industrial hoovers with a very long hose. Long enough to leave the hoover on the floor and take hose into the tank with plenty of feet to spare.
Done it enough times now it takes no more than 15mins.

Whats the filter system like on the Numatic, need a big vacuum for the sheds and combine but struggling to justify the well known expensive one

 

[carbonfibre farmer]

Whats the filter system like on the Numatic, need a big vacuum for the sheds and combine but struggling to justify the well known expensive one

Not bad actually.

One of my better farm sale purchases....last lot in the barn, everyone went to the outside lots, 50quid

Plus as a bonus my other job were using similar Hoover's and had a big chuck out a few years ago when we moved.....I acquired rather a lot of spare pipe and different ends.

The big brute is in the price range of what I'd buy a tractor for

 

[carbonfibre farmer]

Whats the filter system like on the Numatic, need a big vacuum for the sheds and combine but struggling to justify the well known expensive one

Hzd 750.

 

[B'o'B]

Hoover out as much as possible, then get leaf blower and blow it all down and the Hoover out again. Park on a bank so the unload auger is pointing downhill run it and waggle it about to clear it. Then put first 100-200kg from new variety on the feed heap. Basic and Pre-basic seed crops though.

 

[KennyO]

Dad used to make us do it 20 years ago. Covers off hoover or sweep out tank.
Soon realised it was a waste of time as not growing seed crops. Soon disappears even in a small pile.

 

[DrWazzock]

You’d think in this day and age with the price of these machines that it would be a built in push button system.

 

[stevedave]

We don't bother the seed merchants don't seem to worry about contamination judging by the amount of weeds and volunteers growing in the rows.

 

[carbonfibre farmer]

Oh and this sculpted vessel (ie a bin) that goes round the auger when it's out. Slide the flap up, collect all the corn.

Auger channels underneath, all now hex bolts, so whizz them off quick with battery drill adapter.

Probably the worst bit is the stone trap.

Everything else I use my back pack stihl leaf blower. The "magnum". Hell it's got some go, and with an adapted (bodged) bit of Pto plastic guard as an extension, it doesn't miss much.

Because we do it regularly, it doesn't actually take too long. And I like checking belts/bearings etc as I'm doing all this too.

And who ever goes in the tank, takes the ignition keys with them.

The hoover has a narrow attachment on the end that goes right down into the tank cross auger nicely. Makes it quick as I say. As long to get hoover out and set up as to do the job.

 

[Shutesy]

Do you clean it out between crops?
How do you do it?
We tend to hoover it out here but getting the pipe in there and lifting the auger cover is no easy or quick job. All at height and needs the teleporter to attend.
Thought about fitting a blower to blow it to the spout end.
How’s it done on modern combines?

Unless your doing seed crops, just run it as empty as possible when finishing the previous crop and then carry on into the new crop, there will be only a few kgs left which will look far worse than it is. Your often on here writing about the stresses of your farming enterprise etc, something like hoovering out the combine grain tank between crops isnt needed so don't over complicate your life.
I havent heard of any special feature on any modern combines that allow for cleaning of the tank at the push of a button, some brands perhaps better or easier to clean out than others no doubt.

 

[Drillman]

Maybe better delete this thread before RT management see it and decide to add a combine grain tank cleaning ritual to there list of pointless bumph

 

[Barleymow]

Maybe better delete this thread before RT management see it and decide to add a combine grain tank cleaning ritual to there list of pointless bumph

As long as we record doing it that's all that matters, it works for every thing else