3 Important Questions To Ask Yourself Before Buying A Used ...

3 Important Questions To Ask Yourself Before Buying A Used Combine Harvester

Farming and agricultural vehicles are rarely cheap, and buying a combine harvester is always a serious investment, however necessary it might be. Fortunately, savvy farmers can save a lot of money by opting for a used combine harvester, and a dealer of used farm equipment can sell you a harvester ready for the field at a fraction of the cost of a new model straight from the manufacturer.

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However, finding the right combine harvester for your specific needs can be more challenging if you opt for a used model — with so many different classes, build years and brands available, it can be difficult to figure out of a used combine has the features you need. To make sure you don't waste your money on a combine harvester that doesn't meet your needs, ask yourself the following questions before you pick out a used harvester:

What's the weather usually like when I'm harvesting?

Depending on your farm's location and the crops you grow, the weather during your harvest season(s) may be arid and baking hot or wet and windy. You should therefore choose a combine harvester that can deal with whatever weather conditions it is likely to encounter.

If sudden rainstorms are likely to occur while you harvest, you should pick a combine with a grain tank that can be quickly sealed from your driving position to protect your load. If conditions are likely to get extremely wet, you may want to go further and invest in a half or fully-tracked harvester — these formidable machines are more expensive and can be a little more challenging to drive, but they will never get bogged down in a waterlogged field and are often easier to find used than new.

If weather conditions are likely to be very hot, dry and windy, your main concern should be easy access to any and all moving parts — engine covers should be easily removable, and inspection hatches should be large and operate smoothly. During the hottest days, you may need to blow down the working parts of your combine frequently to prevent grain residue from building up in components and catching fire, and easy access will make this much less laborious.

What do I do with my straw and other waste products?

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These days, most standard combine harvesters are fitted with straw spreaders, which scatter the waste straw, seed residue and other materials your harvester picks up over a wide area.

These spreaders suit the needs of most farmers, but if you gather waste straw for baling to feed livestock, spreading your harvester's waste can make baling much more time-consuming. You can always deactivate your straw spreaders to make the straw easier to collect, but you can also save a lot of time and reduce your maintenance workload by choosing an older used model that isn't fitted with straw spreaders at all.

How do I transport harvested crops to storage?

You should also consider how you intend to get your newly harvested crops from the harvester to your storage silos or buildings. If you run a small farm, you may choose to unload your crops directly from the harvester into the silo; this requires a long, flexible unloading auger that can reach the top of a tall silo.

However, most farmers will unload their crops into a separate tractor-trailer, allowing the harvester to resume work without leaving the field. In these cases, you can choose a combine with a shorter (and cheaper) unloading auger. Take care, however, if you plan to fit a new, wider grain head to your used combine; wider grain heads mean tractors cannot pull up as close to your combine, and you may need to fit a new, longer auger to compensate.

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Southern IdahoIt's my understanding that there is two style of strawwalkers, one for corn and one for small grains. If equipped with small grain style can you thrash corn? How do you tell the difference? Did they come with variable speed feeder house? If so was it variable through a wide range or just certain set speeds? Are filler bars necessary for combining dry corn 16% and lower? Engine has around 5k hours, machine overall very well cared for, should I be concerned of those hours on that engine? Time for bearings? Any right angle gearboxes known for failure?

Not a green underwear guy, just found a clean one and asking

IDF

Central NDI have never heard of different straw walkers? If it has variable speed feederhouse it is 'infinitely' adjustable,

South Central NDAs far as my knowledge goes a corn machine has a different concave in it. Thresh points were wider thena small grains. I just put a new concave in mine and there was that option for that corn grate. Everyone I know has a small grain combine here and it works just fine for corn. I also have never put in filler plates and most guys don't.Thought I remember 2 styles of walker bearings.

N.E. South DakotaStrawalkers should be the same in all machines . They make chaffers and Sivs with longer teeth to aid in cleaning up your grain sample and gain capasity. Yes it will have variable speed throte.

Central NDThere is 2 different bearings, early machines were wood blocks, later switched to aluminum bearings, the wood was better imo

ncksSame walkers,cylinder, and concave. You don't need filler plates. Hours on a combine don't always mean a lot. Have a with that many or more hours, good solid machine. Probably the cheapest combine I will ever have. For some reason the sweet spot for a good clean sample is easier to find than the bigger combines I have. Use mine for a learner for the kids.

W.C. MNhow often do you guys grease the aluminum ones? how many shots of grease each??


NE IowaWe pulled our filler plates off the cylinder of our for the first time this year in an effort to get through some real tough bean straw. Worked great. Then went to corn and couldn't tell they were gone, but corn was mostly in the 17-18% range. Have no intention of putting them back in.

hr would certainly be at a level that it wouldn't be a bad idea to freshen up the engine. Sure a lot more convenient to do it on your schedule then right in the middle of harvest.

Straw walker cranks will have either wood bearings (no grease ) or aluminum block bearings (grease every day ).

Make sure you get a manual and understand how to grease the variable speed cylinder drive - that's important to get right.

If possible, it would be good to find a mechanic experienced in JD walker machines and have them look it over.

No filler bars needed.

I need knock outs on concave if corn is 19 or wetter, to get all grain off cob.

Pull every other wire out of concave greatly increase capacity.



Central NDWe greased ours at least once a day, sometimes twiceUntil you see grease appear. In my machine, its 30 to 36 pumps. May feel like you could cancel your gym membership.


Benson, MNEveryday, count the strokes until grease comes out the sides, then give front blocks the same number ( you can't see the front ones, there is just a zerk with a line that goes to the front ones ). A lot of times it was 20+ strokes. We went back to the wood ones.

To the OP the combine is a great machine, at + engine hours the water pump has probably already been replaced, that was the weak spot. Most were changed out in the - hour range. When it fails, it doesn't leak externally, it leaks internally into the oil.

Hazelton, KansasWillis,

I couldn't find a small grain Walker on Deere's parts lookup, but I may have missed it. They still show two types for the , so they may have never built a small grain Walker for a 95-. Dunno...

Small grain walkers have rectangular holes punched in the bottom. Corn walkers have louvers. It's easy to tell the difference. If a small grain Walker is used in corn, cobs can sometimes plug the rectangular holes. If a corn Walker is used in wheat, the penalty is lower capacity (or higher Walker loss ).

I thought they built a 95- small grain Walker at one time, but the parts site doesn't show one.

Regards.

MDS



Faunsdale, ALAt those hours I still would be more worried about the condition of the various drives wear points in the grain handling systems than the engine.

There are some common repairs that a combine with those hours will probably need. The grain tank loading auger gearbox if it hasn't been replaced lately. The upper seal eventually wears out and lets debris into the box causing bearing failure.
Unloading auger charge housing
Grain tank under cross augers
Vertical unloading auger
Horizontal unloading auger, especially the splined socket where it plugs onto the 90 degree gearbox
the gearbox itself
Make sure the plastic tube running into the straw walker drive gearbox has been replaced with a rubber hose or removed entirely and the box filled with corn head grease.
Some folks go through reverser/header drive gearboxes fairly rapidly. That is one place where synthetic gear lube and or a yearly change interval may be a good idea

Of course cylinder bars, concave and feederhouse floor and chain will have been changed probably several times, so you may hit those right or wrong. U6

Lots of aftermarket stuff available for those machines.


sw corner ia.save yourself a ton of grease, time and aggravation by dumping those worthless aluminum walker blocks for oil impregnated wooden ones. you will most likely never need to service them again.tillfarm
Posted 2/8/ 10:52 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: whatever you do

north-east south dakota+idaho dry farmer
Posted 2/8/ 11:07 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: Thanks guys

Southern IdahoLots of good info

Still more complicated than what I’m used too

IDFHT67
Posted 2/8/ 11:40 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Questions on a JD combine

VirginiaCheck the drive coupling between the hydro and the tranny. Replace it before it begins taking the splines off the hydro and tranny shafts.crowbar
Posted 2/8/ 12:11 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Questions on a JD combine

Hazelton, Kansas,

OK, thanks. I thought they made both, but I missed it earlier, for some reason.

MDS.

bmlauer
Posted 2/8/ 12:23 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Questions on a JD combine

SC KansasHave the water pump replaced if it hasn't been done for awhile. We just had new wooden blocks put in our combine, Deere dealers are going away from the aluminum blocks.99MAX
Posted 2/8/ 15:28 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Questions on a JD combine


Stearns County, Minnesotaidaho dry farmer - 2/8/ 07:06 It's my understanding that there is two style of strawwalkers, one for corn and one for small grains. If equipped with small grain style can you thrash corn? How do you tell the difference? Did they come with variable speed feeder house? If so was it variable through a wide range or just certain set speeds? Are filler bars necessary for combining dry corn 16% and lower? Engine has around 5k hours, machine overall very well cared for, should I be concerned of those hours on that engine? Time for bearings? Any right angle gearboxes known for failure? Not a green underwear guy, just found a clean one and asking IDF

There were two types of straw walkers.  #8 below will show the 2 different numbers.  The lip type walker was made for corn and soybeans.  The rectangular hole walker was made for small grain.  If you run a combine without filler plates, you will have some whole ears and partly whole ears fall into the center of the cylinder and come back out of the back of the cylinder, unshelled.  These ears of corn will go over the top of the walker and end up going through the straw chopper, and will be broken up, but show up as small pieces of cob with corn on them. 

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keyPART NO.PART NAMEQTY SERIAL NO.REMARKS1AHSeal2X X OUTSIDE WALKERS (SUB FOR AH )2HStripARX X BETWEEN WALKERS (SUB FOR H )3HRiser1X X ONE PER WALKER EXCEPT R. H. OUTSIDE WALKER (GRAIN )414MFlange Nut3X X M65HSeal1X X OUTSIDE WALKERS ONLY6HSeal1X X OUTSIDE WALKERS ONLY7HSeal1X X OUTSIDE WALKERS ONLY8AHStrawwalker4X X LIP TYPE (SUB FOR AH OR AH )AHStrawwalker4X X RECTANGULAR GRID (SUB FOR AH )903MBoltARX X M6 X 12keyPART NO.PART NAMEQTY SERIAL NO.REMARKSMBolt1X X M8 X MFlange NutARX X M812HBracket2X X LOSS MONITOR13HDeflector1X X USE WITH CORN CHOPPER TO DEFLECT COBS14MNut2X X (SUB FOR H ) RETAINS M8 BOLT S BEFORE INSTALLING EXTENSION PAN14MLock Nut2X X M8 TO ATTACH EXTENSION PAN OR COB DEFLECTOR15HWasher2-X XHReinforcement-X X16HPan1X X17HFlap4X X FOR SUNFLOWERSkeyPART NO.PART NAMEQTY SERIAL NO.REMARKSMBolt2X X M8 X MBoltARX X M6 X HRivet2X XHWasherARX X 11/32" X 3/4" X 0.120"22HRiserARX X CENTER, LIP TYPEHRiserARX X CENTER, RECTANGULAR GRIDMScrew1X X M8 X 16 TO ATTACH CENTER RISER..BHComplete Goods/Ship. Bundle1X X CENTER RISERS, INCL KEYS 11, 22, 23..BHComplete Goods/Ship. Bundle1X X WALKER FLAPS, INCL KEYS 10, 17Survivor
Posted 2/8/ 18:12 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Questions on a JD combine