1988 - Volume #12, Issue #2, Page #29
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Combine Warning Lights For Grain Tank, Auger
A new do-it-yourself kit outfits combines with warning lights that tell when the grain tank is full and when the unloading auger is running.Dan FitzSimmons, service manager at Arnold Implement, North Mankato, Minn., first put the kit together for local combine customers Claire and Greg Strobel, Maple-ton, Minn., who told him that at least once a year, after a long day in the field, they'd pull away from a grain truck with the auger still engaged and not realize it till they were half way down the field. The same farmers also told FitzSimmons that they needed a warning system for their combine grain tank because they had trouble seeing it from the cab.
"With help from the Strobels, I designed and installed a warning system on their Case/IH Axial Flow combine. The system worked so well we installed it on some of our other customers' machines and began selling a kit, complete with all parts, wire and directions, for $85," FitzSimmons told FARM SHOW.
The grain tank warning system consists of a pressure-sensitive paddle switch manned in theside of the gain tank. When the tank fills up and activates the switch, a light goes on above the operator's head.
The unloading auger alarm consists of a switch that mounts just below the unloading auger lever. The switch is activated when the lever comes into contact with an arm on the switch, turning on a light. When the auger shuts down, the light goes off.
"Both warning systems were used extensively last season with no problems," says FitzSimmons, noting that thekitis designed only for IH and Case/IH combines. "I'm sure it would fit other combines without much modification but we have no plans to do so at this time."
For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Arnold Implement, 1717 Howard Drive, No. Mankato, Minn. 56001 (ph 507 387-5515).
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