Which combine?

[henman]

looking at new hollond tx 32 £13000 or class 98sl £10000 both done 2900 hours combing 100 acers fed up waiting for contractors any views on any or any good combines out there.

 

[D14]

looking at new hollond tx 32 £13000 or class 98sl £10000 both done 2900 hours combing 100 acers fed up waiting for contractors any views on any or any good combines out there.

Both good machines. NH probably cheaper to fix but neither will loose much money. Neither have done much work for their age though so I'd be checking them thoroughly to make sure its not really 4900 hours through them because they both must be 30 years old.

 

[mf7480]

We get on well with our old 1680 axial flow, bought for about that money 5 years ago, probably still worth about the same. It’s a very simple combine, there’s not an awful lot to go wrong. What’s nice is it’s relatively high output so you can push on when the weather is against you.

 

[hutchy143211]

We've a tx34 and get on well with it cutting 300 acres a year. Nice simple machines which have good output for size, make a nice sample and not harsh on straw. At 2900 hours I'd just make sure to check they're all okay internally as they'll probably have a bit of wear. Ours in the last few years has had a few things done regarding wearing parts (2700 hours total) including: sieve pan bushings which is a big job, only one gone but cracked one of the sieves so replaced all whilst they were out, straw elevator chain bars in the feed house as they were worn, belts, chains and sockets on the header and had a few bearings go. The big one to watch is the main drum and concave, ours is starting to get worn and that's probably one of the biggest wearing bills there is. Look for wear if the drum/concave/rasper bars are warped/bent/worn in a semicircle more in the middle than the edges as this will be an indication that I'll soon need work doing or it won't thresh properly. Having said this these are all reasonable costs when you look at what it saves in contracting bills/drying costs going when you want and if you expect to have these things on a semiregular basis they're not that bad. Other things to keep an eye on at that age are electrical issues as wires go hard, mice/rats etc as even though they are simple there are still some important things you want working.

 

[fermerboy]

No experiance of the NH, but plenty with old Dominators, the 98 is a good combine, they had all the niggles ironed out by the time they made them.
The Claas Dominator like most of the claas models will chuck out grain in the straw rather than the sieves, thats the restriction on output.
My experience of Claas like that they go through a period of pain in early 3000 hours, our 96 almost broke me mentally, every bloody thing went wrong, but once you get past it they are gold again.
I would say the the Merc engine is preferable to the Perkins on the Dominator, and also a hydro, gearbox on the Claas is a softish spot, plenty of broken ones in yards for spares if you need them.

 

[CPF]

With the class ,you can get all your parts from JMT engineering .And good secondhand parts aswell.

 

[farmerm]

I would have though with a £10K combine you might only be swapping waiting on a contractor for waiting on parts and engineers.... I am fortunate that most years our contractor is available when I need them and if the sh't really hits the fan I have neighbors on light land whos who combines are often being put to bed before we start harvest. With contractors the key is to communication, I keep ours informed about when I hope to be ready and they keep me informed as to how many days combining they have booked in ahead of them. Just need to weather to buck up its ideas now!!

 

[Elliott]

Simple axial flow is they way to go I think.

 

[fermerboy]

I would have though with a £10K combine you might only be swapping waiting on a contractor for waiting on parts and engineers....

Waiting for a contractor would drive me insane, you are lucky if you can get one when you want.

If bought carefully and if looked after well, and kept inside out of the elements, a 10k combine will easily do what the OP is asking of it.
We have a Dominator 96 cutting about 110ac a year, and as I said above it has broke, but its looked after well, I'm handy enough with the spanners if need be and it has done the job for a number of years.
Key is to buy a simple machine, check it over well pre harvest, carry a few spares, don't expect it to cut 1000's of acres.
There will be breakdowns, of course there will, but plenty newer ones breakdown, and far more expensively.

My father in law, and two of my neighbours run Deutz combines, all worth similar money to the OP's budget, all doing 100ac plus, one doing well over 200ac, any time I've been at my in laws one I'm always impressed by how simple it is, which must make maintainance and repairs easy.

 

[bravheart]

We've a tx34 and get on well with it cutting 300 acres a year. Nice simple machines which have good output for size, make a nice sample and not harsh on straw. At 2900 hours I'd just make sure to check they're all okay internally as they'll probably have a bit of wear. Ours in the last few years has had a few things done regarding wearing parts (2700 hours total) including: sieve pan bushings which is a big job, only one gone but cracked one of the sieves so replaced all whilst they were out, straw elevator chain bars in the feed house as they were worn, belts, chains and sockets on the header and had a few bearings go. The big one to watch is the main drum and concave, ours is starting to get worn and that's probably one of the biggest wearing bills there is. Look for wear if the drum/concave/rasper bars are warped/bent/worn in a semicircle more in the middle than the edges as this will be an indication that I'll soon need work doing or it won't thresh properly. Having said this these are all reasonable costs when you look at what it saves in contracting bills/drying costs going when you want and if you expect to have these things on a semiregular basis they're not that bad. Other things to keep an eye on at that age are electrical issues as wires go hard, mice/rats etc as even though they are simple there are still some important things you want working.

Same machine doing similar acres we have replaced a fair bit as above bur there are a few belts still with yellow paint on from new. One thing to watch out for is tin rot or more likely worn through in a couple of places, our emptying auger Wore thin and collapsed and also the tin work round the grain and returns augers low down.

 

[Drillman]

Simple axial flow is they way to go I think.

The great thing about Axail Flow is they are so simple to work on.

 

[spider mike]

Although I'm a new holland man myself. I think I'd be tempted by the class it will be hydrostatic for a start. As far as I'm aware new holland tx32 are manual only. Though the new hollands are fairly bomb proof and simple to fix. Claas always worried me with having the engines cocooned between the cab and grain tank.

 

[David.]

Short drive lines on the old Claas, weight over drive wheels when tank empty.
Downside noisy, hot cab. Inconvenient to work round engine. Blow out with airline/compressor every day essential.