How many loads out of a forage wagon?

[Theswede]

I wonder how many loads you wagon guys have ran through your wagon and how many loads you expect to get out of it before you think it is time to change to a new one? This is of course under the circumstance that it is well serviced and maintained.

 

[ploughman1963]

4000+ on first one and I would expect at least that many again before it got retired to a farmer doing his own silage. James DS has a couple of well used Pottingers that would top that figure I expect

 

[Devon James]

7000 on one of our 2010 Jumbos. Has had quite a few knife holders and needs some more. And the roller at the back of the knife. But thats about it, pick up tines of course. We bought another jumbo this year with 2500 and not in as good condition. Works fantastic but maintenance is everything

 

[Theswede]

It's actually a 2009 Jumbo 8000 with around 2000 loads that I am looking at. Haven't looked at it myself but it is supposed to be in good condition. Is it anything particular to look out for on that model?

When was the knife sharpening system introduced on Pöttinger?

 

[james ds]

4000+ on first one and I would expect at least that many again before it got retired to a farmer doing his own silage. James DS has a couple of well used Pottingers that would top that figure I expect

I have over 3000 on the jumbo 6010 ,and it is still as new , we clean the knife banks completely every 2 weeks with the power hose , this stops the chaff turning to muck and taking the paint off the machine , the Torros I have had their chip replaced so I don't know their load count but after 12 seasons they have to be around 8-10000 loads , I have had to replace the complete pickup reel as it was worn out . A wagon at 2000 load should be very good if it was cleaned properly , if the knife bank was never cleaned it would be near rotten by now. As for the auto sharpener forget about it , a waste of time and too hard on knives.

 

[Theswede]

I have over 3000 on the jumbo 6010 ,and it is still as new , we clean the knife banks completely every 2 weeks with the power hose , this stops the chaff turning to muck and taking the paint off the machine , the Torros I have had their chip replaced so I don't know their load count but after 12 seasons they have to be around 8-10000 loads , I have had to replace the complete pickup reel as it was worn out . A wagon at 2000 load should be very good if it was cleaned properly , if the knife bank was never cleaned it would be near rotten by now. As for the auto sharpener forget about it , a waste of time and too hard on knives.

Ok, sounds like it might be worth to have a look at the Jumbo then. If the knifebank has been poorly cleaned how much parts needs to be replaced to get it into good condition again? And how much could it cost? How is the rotor handling age, no problems with them?

I rarely have any stones at all in my swaths... how many hectares can a set of knives handle before I need to sharpen them?

 

[ploughman1963]

As James says, forget the shapener - nothing but a gimmick. Do yourself a favour and sharpen them daily - we run spare sets so we can change half way through the day.
You could buy a shapener off James if you want - we sharpen all ours with a flap disc on the grinder and if you are careful to not get hot spots that works just as well

 

[Theswede]

As James says, forget the shapener - nothing but a gimmick. Do yourself a favour and sharpen them daily - we run spare sets so we can change half way through the day.
You could buy a shapener off James if you want - we sharpen all ours with a flap disc on the grinder and if you are careful to not get hot spots that works just as well

Ok, that sounds time consuming... 45 x 2 every day. How long does it take to sharpen 90 knives?

 

[ploughman1963]

I was about to say only an hour but that means under a minute a knife which cant be right - but never seems to be an issue - but then I am usually out and about pretty early

 

[james ds]

As James says, forget the shapener - nothing but a gimmick. Do yourself a favour and sharpen them daily - we run spare sets so we can change half way through the day.
You could buy a shapener off James if you want - we sharpen all ours with a flap disc on the grinder and if you are careful to not get hot spots that works just as well

As James says, forget the shapener - nothing but a gimmick. Do yourself a favour and sharpen them daily - we run spare sets so we can change half way through the day.
You could buy a shapener off James if you want - we sharpen all ours with a flap disc on the grinder and if you are careful to not get hot spots that works just as well

I never sharpen daily , we get 2-3 days work between sharpenings , that's the differance between a flap disc and our sharpener , if a flap disc takes off steel it heats the knife , and I'm not talking about blue spots , any heat at all changes the temper of the steel in the knife , this softens the knife meaning it has to be sharpened more often . It's impossible to keep the angle right with a flap disc , this leads to a wide cutting edge so not sharp . I have 4000 acres on one set of orginiol knives in the jumbo and they are still perfect.

 

[sawdust]

As James says, forget the shapener - nothing but a gimmick. Do yourself a favour and sharpen them daily - we run spare sets so we can change half way through the day.
You could buy a shapener off James if you want - we sharpen all ours with a flap disc on the grinder and if you are careful to not get hot spots that works just as well

@davidroberts30