JD C670i

[Dean]

We are planning to upgrade our current 2008 W-series Deere to late C670i model because we need more capacity. Have you been happy with the C-series configuration? Any problems or known wearpoints to check?

 

[Mad Farmer]

We run a 2011 C670 and are very pleased with it.
Would be a lot more aggressive on the straw, but we bale up behind it no probs.
Output is incredable for a combine of its size with spot rates of 57 tons an hour. we will comfortably do 10 acres an hour.
very simple design with little to go wrong.
is not brilliant in beans as it likes to throw quite a few over the back of the rotors, but we combine peas and linseed with it.
Good value combine

 

[warksfarmer]

Is this the old CTS?

 

[Mr Charisma]

we've run one for 2 seasons , so far we have been very disappointed , if I could afford to I would out it this year but I cant so lets see what this harvest will bring

 

[Ian01]

Bigest problem is they only have sieve area of a 5 walker machine, with no sieve leveling, which means high returns. They also pump all the returns into one side, which means you get high losses on one rotor. I would say a sensible spot rate in wheat is probably nearer 40-45tph in good conditions, unless you aren't worried what you throw on the ground! The small sieves also dont help them in osr to be honest.

 

[Brisel]

Is this the old CTS?

Yes. Normal drum, concave then a rotary separator designed to split the flow into the twin rotors. Similar setup to the older non hybrid rotary Lexions but minus the APS front accelerator drum.

 

[CPP]

Open up the pre cleaner as wide as you can till the tank sample starts to get dirty

 

[dirty harry]

Great combine we had the older 9780i hill master, I would happily chug along at 35/40ton hour in wheat and yes the odd time upto 50ton hour if conditions are perfect later in the season.

Nothing major to look out for really just the obvious and make sure it's been main dealer serviced etc.

Cheers dh

 

[Mr Charisma]

It would be fair to say that we haven't had the best of starts with ours . Tha harvest of 2 years ago she struggled with the flattened crops of OSR which had held so much promise but had been flattened in that Sunday storm we had in June and then moving onto the wheat we just could not get any output in sorting out the crap wheat out ot the mushed up straw . Then this year having just spring barley to cut we thought it would be a breeze , how wrong was I ,horrendous rotor losses in average crops I could quite happily of parked her in a corner of a field and torched the twa£ting thing . I'm told that when we get a normal harvest she will fly but to be honest it's the difficult harvests when you need to be getting the work done .

And it comes to my main point of contention with the John Deere machine ,.their operator training for customers of second hand machines is absolutely lousy and for that reason I will never have another one

 

[Brisel]

It would be fair to say that we haven't had the best of starts with ours . Tha harvest of 2 years ago she struggled with the flattened crops of OSR which had held so much promise but had been flattened in that Sunday storm we had in June and then moving onto the wheat we just could not get any output in sorting out the crap wheat out ot the mushed up straw . Then this year having just spring barley to cut we thought it would be a breeze , how wrong was I ,horrendous rotor losses in average crops I could quite happily of parked her in a corner of a field and torched the twa£ting thing . I'm told that when we get a normal harvest she will fly but to be honest it's the difficult harvests when you need to be getting the work done .

And it comes to my main point of contention with the John Deere machine ,.their operator training for customers of second hand machines is absolutely lousy and for that reason I will never have another one

Sounds like your dealer isn't much good - my JD dealer (Smart AG Services near Dorchester) runs operator courses every year for customers for all machines. They took the wise view that it is best for customers to get the most from their machines so they will buy another JD & won't be ringing up every few days complaining that it isn't any use! Claas have a similar attitude.

 

[Mr Charisma]

Well the training we have had in the past with other brands has been excellent , in the last 6 years of being with Jd combines I've had about 10 mins and that was of little use

 

[Simon Chiles]

The CTS was designed as a rice harvester and as such it should preform very well in wet difficult harvesting conditions. In dry conditions it has less of an advantage.
As @CPP says you need to open up the precleaner (to take as much crop to the grain tank before it gets to the sieves) until the sample starts to become dirty.
As for mashing up straw, it sounds as though you're thrashing it too hard, open it up and drive it faster.
If you bought a secondhand machine I don't see why JD should provide you with operator training, it should be down to the dealer you bought it off. If you bought it privately then you're on your own, but then it would have been cheaper. Surely this is the benefit of this forum.
I'm sure if you ask you're dealer, he'll give you the optimising combine performance leaflet, you can also get it as an app on your phone.

 

[jh.]

For the rotor losses in spring barley , I find the only option is to sometimes close the concave in tight and squeeze more through the drum giving the rotors less to do. They need high loading in the drum but you cant always go fast enough in average crops with a wider concave. Its a balancing act if the straws important though and really needs a decent guy on grain cart to check bouts regularly

 

[CPP]

Are you running the boost bar in front of the concave and also have you removed the filler plates in the concave

 

[Mr Charisma]

The CTS was designed as a rice harvester and as such it should preform very well in wet difficult harvesting conditions. In dry conditions it has less of an advantage.
As @CPP says you need to open up the precleaner (to take as much crop to the grain tank before it gets to the sieves) until the sample starts to become dirty.
As for mashing up straw, it sounds as though you're thrashing it too hard, open it up and drive it faster.
If you bought a secondhand machine I don't see why JD should provide you with operator training, it should be down to the dealer you bought it off. If you bought it privately then you're on your own, but then it would have been cheaper. Surely this is the benefit of this forum.
I'm sure if you ask you're dealer, he'll give you the optimising combine performance leaflet, you can also get it as an app on your phone.

Simon , the machine was bought 3 years old through local dealer , paid plenty for it because i wanted good back up , and in on the deal I told them I wanted to be on the last of the C series operator courses , yes no problem at all they told me , but it seemed it was a problem , because Jd told them they wouldn't take 'peasants' who had bought second hand machines . to be honest I expected a lot more from Deere and the experience of 2 years harvest has left a bitter taste in the mouth .

Yes , booster bar has been fitted and concave inserts have been taken out , machine has been run with open concave different closed concave and with every drum speed variation and forward speed known to man , wish I had my old machine back last harvest , I'm sure she would of romped through the spring barley

 

[marshallfarm]

Great combine. On our second one, put about 1800 acres though it per year, Bought one of the last c670i hill master before they stopped making them. Had the 9780i cts before that. Good capacity, under 3.5m wide for easy transport. We chop all of our straw and it has plenty of power. As said above it does chuck a few beans out the back., but the key to the machine is to get the pre cleaner sieve open and in fit wheat in the middle of the day you can nearly have the concave wide open too. Highly reccomend

 

[JDJ]

I had 3 season's in a CTS and 2 in a T670. I think the T is a better machine, here in Denmark it will perform better than the C in 9 out of 10 days.
Lower fuel consumption, smaller losses, better straw quality.
The only situation where the C is performing better is when the sun is shining in dry wheat between 3 and 6 in the afternoon. And here in Denmark we don't have many days like that in an average year.
The daylight service is almost the same as most of the service points on the T only need to be locked after before and after the season.
I would go for a 09-11 T.

Jacob.

 

[jh.]

I would have thought the exact opposite to the t series. In the best conditions I would have thought the t would perform better as the cts takes more power to drive than walkers

A few years ago in a really poor bit of spring barley i remember we had to run the concave at 6mm as the field was too rough to go faster forward and keep drum full

As said they dont like beans although there is a bean kit available for the rotors . I find osr a bad crop for them too. The rotors seem to over thrash and drop everything on the sieves in two rows. We have to fit the rotor filler plates quite a bit , just to even the stuff on the sieves out a bit

 

[marshallfarm]

CTS are better in damp straw conditions than the t series.

 

[Honest john]

After reading this thread you wouldn't know what to do.

I have had little wrong with mine.
Seals on one rotor drive box.
Hyd oil leak into reverser box on trunking, on going.
Bearing on unloader drive next to belt.
Half turbo on engine. JD payed.

Slow rotor speed in beans & peas & rape.
Good combines for the money.