Does combining grain maize play havoc with the combine?

[Pilatus]

I ask the above after picking a maize cob today, and I believe the crop is destined to be combine harvested with a maize header on the combine.
I guess one has to have the concave wide open to get a Maize cob through it.
Also I imagine the grain maize might cause one grief as regards getting it out of the grain tank.
So it would be interesting to hear from anyone that combines grain maize in the uk on an annual basis.

 

[thorpe]

I ask the above after picking a maize cob today, and I believe the crop is destined to be combine harvested with a maize header on the combine.
I guess one has to have the concave wide open to get a Maize cob through it.
Also I imagine the grain maize might cause one grief as regards getting it out of the grain tank.
So it would be interesting to hear from anyone that combines grain maize in the uk on an annual basis.

claas rep said to me once, europe love's uk combines because they hav never had maize through them. i think that say's it all!

 

[Enry]

I ask the above after picking a maize cob today, and I believe the crop is destined to be combine harvested with a maize header on the combine.
I guess one has to have the concave wide open to get a Maize cob through it.
Also I imagine the grain maize might cause one grief as regards getting it out of the grain tank.
So it would be interesting to hear from anyone that combines grain maize in the uk on an annual basis.

Would there not be as much grain maize combined as small grains around the world? A few do moist crimp maize around here - contract0r says the green causes sieves to get gummy, The header picks the cob off so not much volume going through compared to 2t acre of damp straw and I guess it threshes quite easily when ripe?

 

[Pilatus]

Would there not be as much grain maize combined as small grains around the world?

I agree with what you say.
That said I would think that grain maize harvested in most parts of the world would combined at a lower moisture content than in the uk and perhaps Northern Europe.

 

[Oscar]

Well did grain maize for 6 years back in 2007-12 . Used a Lexion straw Walker combine , a 430 and 530. Had to fit blanking plates in concave ( only thin people can do as you have to lie under cab on the pre rotor and stretch in to concave with plates and bolts, oh yes they need removing for following cereal harvest) PS Claas started fitting solid concave around 2010 . Had to raise front of elevator but not too difficult. Oh yes had to change straw chopper blades for thicker ones or else the normal ones would break and could slice through body panels .
Because we used proper stripper maize header with chopper underneath , it's basically 95% only cobs going through combine with odd leaf so header is power hungry but combine internals have an easier time . However , in damp or wet conditions then the insides will get bunged up with crap , mostly the wings from the cobs ( orange flakes on cobs). This affects the grain pan and seives the worse so would be at least a daily job to remove and clean in damp conditions, even heavy dew in mornings cause issues . It could cause you to stop combining . However in dry sunny conditions, you could do a few days before doing a clean down .
Obviously grain elevator and unloading augers can get gummed up and as it's a wetter product , puts more strain on chains and flights , would also not leave maize intank overnight as it could set and always cleared tube ( if possible) as its heavy and hard to get auger to start again if full .
Having said all that , it was fun cutting maize in late Oct/ Nov and really helped in getting a lot of acres through a medium machine . We were doing 750acs cereals but then doing 350- 500 acs of maize after which helped a lot in paying for the machine but then again maize header cost £ 30,000 !

 

[Enry]

I agree with what you say.
That said I would think that grain maize harvested in most parts of the world would combined at a lower moisture content than in the uk and perhaps Northern Europe.

yes - have seen one cuttling maize near here few years ago and it was going well, stuff was around 28% MC they said

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also it's only cutting a small width compared to normal header for a similar grain yield?

 

[Bury the Trash]

Beans are quite harsh really,will shione him up if hes not been used so much not got the cob to deal with tho. and next down would be peas especially if the flat on the deck and youre picking up soil and small stones

 

[thorpe]

Beans are quite harsh really,will shione him up if hes not been used so much not got the cob to deal with tho. and next down would be peas especially if the flat on the deck and youre picking up soil and small stones

i would like to know how you get soil in the vcombine in standing peas, cus you always do?

 

[Bury the Trash]

i would like to know how you get soil in the vcombine in standing peas, cus you always do?

pulled a few up by the roots maybe?
if the seeds breeding people could get a good stem that doesnt crinkle over if you as much as 'look at it in a funny way' ....on a pea vine then we would be cooking on gas

 

[Wisconsonian]

Maize has to be 80+% of the bushels combined around here. I've never heard of any of these issues? Yes, 28% would be rare to combine at, but not unheard of. Maybe much better weather so that dew is much less of an issue here. Standing snow is not uncommon though, has to be near zero F. The manual must give the settings for different crops?

 

[horace]

Taken from the Class app. Settings for maize on a 760 Lexion.

 

[Farmer Roy]

If you think corn ( maize ) is hard on machinery, you should try rice.
Apparently the husks are very abrasive & really take their toll on any tin ware, elevators, auger flighting etc

 

[sahara]

Well did grain maize for 6 years back in 2007-12 . Used a Lexion straw Walker combine , a 430 and 530. Had to fit blanking plates in concave ( only thin people can do as you have to lie under cab on the pre rotor and stretch in to concave with plates and bolts, oh yes they need removing for following cereal harvest) PS Claas started fitting solid concave around 2010 . Had to raise front of elevator but not too difficult. Oh yes had to change straw chopper blades for thicker ones or else the normal ones would break and could slice through body panels .
Because we used proper stripper maize header with chopper underneath , it's basically 95% only cobs going through combine with odd leaf so header is power hungry but combine internals have an easier time . However , in damp or wet conditions then the insides will get bunged up with crap , mostly the wings from the cobs ( orange flakes on cobs). This affects the grain pan and seives the worse so would be at least a daily job to remove and clean in damp conditions, even heavy dew in mornings cause issues . It could cause you to stop combining . However in dry sunny conditions, you could do a few days before doing a clean down .
Obviously grain elevator and unloading augers can get gummed up and as it's a wetter product , puts more strain on chains and flights , would also not leave maize intank overnight as it could set and always cleared tube ( if possible) as its heavy and hard to get auger to start again if full .
Having said all that , it was fun cutting maize in late Oct/ Nov and really helped in getting a lot of acres through a medium machine . We were doing 750acs cereals but then doing 350- 500 acs of maize after which helped a lot in paying for the machine but then again maize header cost £ 30,000 !

I remember seeing you cutting one year when I was delivering Christmas cards!

 

[Against_the_grain]

Maize has to be 80+% of the bushels combined around here. I've never heard of any of these issues? Yes, 28% would be rare to combine at, but not unheard of.

Some of our Grain Maize came in at 35% this year Majority in mid 20s % which is more normal. Contractor cuts ours as he has a header but seems a shame when we have a very expensive Lexion sitting in the shed, although he has had to make quite a few changes to his machine to optimise it for Grain Maize.

 

[ollie989898]

There are a few people in Somerset and the South West in general who combine maize year after year. No bother. Kinder on a combine than cutting a lot of peas I should think.

 

[Flatlander]

I’ve combined maize/corn here for a few years a while back. Generally moisture was around 25% and then dried. It’s pretty easy on a combine as far as power consumption goes bur wear on hopper augers is noticeably higher. Cylinder and concave are set so Not to break the cob centre that makes the need for the lower sieve optional and often removed. Returns cause a lot of damaged grains in maize. not something that would normally effect uk but if the stalks get very dry or frozen they can wear tires where the rows run. Stalk stompers the push them flat are common as are dual wheels spaced to straddle the rows. Great crop to grow but for me the drying at that time of year was the kicker and I dropped it for more soybeans.

 

[fred.950]

There are a few people in Somerset and the South West in general who combine maize year after year. No bother. Kinder on a combine than cutting a lot of peas I should think.

That’s true, cobs are softer than flints

 

[jg123]

Did it 1 year when I worked for somone else. Header was a lot heavier than the cereal header on a tx65 had to add an extra lift ram, used to put modified sieves in the back with less rows. Header stripped the cobs off so very little crop through combine. Only did it one season so not sure about long term problems but biggest issue short term would have been chance of damage from towing combine out when it got stuck. Its also very cold in a combine cab in December with no heater and you dont need to move your feet all day! Some of the combines advertised in france that have been on maize and sunflowers etc have 5000 plus drum hours so it cant be too bad.

 

[Lowland1]

When I was looking at getting a combine I toyed with the idea of bringing one from South Africa as they seemed cheap and they had maize headers however when I looked into it I decided against as they have very dry winters which allows a single combine to harvest big acreages of maize so they run up big hours but the maize wears the metal very thin. It isn’t unusual to see machines that had averaged 800 hours a year. They harvest dry crops but the wear on them is high. I’ve harvested rice in California with an axial flow and as Roy says that’s hard on a combine because you’re putting a lot of wet stuff through the machine it’s a bit like harvesting a heavy green strawed wheat crop at 30 per cent moisture.

 

[Hampton]

I ask the above after picking a maize cob today, and I believe the crop is destined to be combine harvested with a maize header on the combine.
I guess one has to have the concave wide open to get a Maize cob through it.
Also I imagine the grain maize might cause one grief as regards getting it out of the grain tank.
So it would be interesting to hear from anyone that combines grain maize in the uk on an annual basis.

Yes
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