PVC Pipe Holds Beans On Platform, Keeps Rocks Out

PVC Pipe Holds Beans On Platform, Keeps Rocks Out COMBINES Headers 24-3-10 In an effort to keep small rocks out of his Deere 6620 combine, Jim Oakes, Zearing, Iowa, clamped a length of 1 1/2-in. dia. PVC pipe about 8 in. behind the cutterbar. "It does a good job keeping rocks out, but I was even more impressed at how it keeps short-stemmed soybeans from falling forward off the platform," says Oakes. He wrapped 3-in. wide metal clamps at intervals around the pipe and bolted them onto the platform's frame just behind the guards. "I mounted the pipe about five years ago after I switched from planting soybeans to drilling them," says Oakes. "Drilling leaves the ground flat and without any ridges which makes it more likely that rocks will be picked up by the combine. However, I soon noticed that the real value of the pipe is that it keeps short-stemmed soybeans from falling off the platform. The stems fall over the pipe and get trapped by it. At first I used a 2-in. dia. pipe, but it was too rigid and didn't allow the header to flex. I got the pipe from a plumber. My total cost was less than $30." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jim Oakes , 72065 120th St., Zearing, Iowa 50278 (ph 515 487-7684).

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