You'll Like These Deere Combine Modifications

You'll like these Deere combine modifications COMBINES Accessories 12-2-29 "Deere & Company makes good reliable combines but, like any other machine, they can always be improved," says Deere dealer Jim Dayton, of Shoal Lake, Manitoba, who constantly comes up with innovative modifications and attachments for Deere combines. Some of his ideas become commercial products, others he just likes to pass along. "I'm willing to talk to anybody on the phone. If you've got a problem you can't solve with your Deere combine, we might be able to help. If we've got a product that'll solve the problem, we'll tell you about it. If not, we'll help you anyway." Dayton is responsible for the popular Winn-O-Bar attachment for combines that mounts in place of the vibrating shoe and finger bar on most combines (first featured in Vol. 10, No. 3). It consists of 16-in. long fingers that extend out over the front third of the top crop-cleaning sieve, moving up and down and back and forth to feed material through more evenly. The Winn-O-Bar has been sold throughout the U.S. and Canada and foreign countries. Following are some of Dayton's latest new combine modifications. Ground Level Tailings Elevator Chain Adjustment "I've always hated having to climb up in the cab of my 7720 to adjust the tension on the tailings elevator chain and then having to get back down an the pound to see if I got it right. When the Titan II machines came out, they came equipped with a ground level tensioner so I decided to make one to fit older combines," explains Dayton. His chain tensioner clamps around the elevator. Once installed, you simply loosen a locknut on a tensioning rod, make your adjustment and then tighten it back down. Dayton sells an add-on kit for $135 to fit any Deere combine from 1969 to 1984. Anti-Spearing Attachment Dayton says he's had tremendous interest in an attachment that he says keeps straw and stalks from "spearing" in the sieves when combining soybeans, corn, wheat, oats, barley and any other crop. "We tested the attachment successfully last season in Canada, Nebraska and North Carolina. It worked great and in one 500 acre test plot a combine fitted with the attachment didn't have to be cleaned out once. Previously the operator had had to stop the combine several times a day be-cause of severe spearing problems," says Dayton. The anti-spearing device consists of a set of deflectors and a pair of plastic paddles that attach to augers between the straw walkers. Dayton says the kit he plans to produce will be easy to install. "We're going to continue testing this year. We've still got some bugs to work out, particularly in wheat and flax," he says. Straw Chopper Lift Attachment "Anytime we want to take the straw chop-per off our 7720 it takes three men to do the job and then four men to put it back on. Using this lift attachment, I can put the chopper on and off myself and I weigh just 135 lbs.," says Dayton, noting that the chopper lift fits any Deere combine. The attachment consists of a hand-cranked winch that mounts on the side of the rear hood assembly. The cable is threaded through a pipe that runs up the side and over to the top center of the hood. To lower the chopper, you wrap a chain assembly around the chopper, fasten it to a hook in the winch cable, and then drop the chopper to the ground. To remount the chopper, you simply back the combine back over the chopper and use the winch to hoist it up into place. "We remove the chopper whenever we want to bale straw or burn it. This chopper lift lets me make the switch by myself in less time than it used to take me to find unwilling help," Dayton told FARM SHOW. The chopper lift kit sells for $195. Relocate Fuel Filter "The engine oil filter on Deere combines is hard to get at because the fuel filters are directly above it. Not only that, the diesel fuel tends to `sweat' onto the oil filter, causing dirt to accumulate and making it even more difficult to change the oil filter," says Dayton. To solve the problem, he remounted the fuel filter and its mounting bracket on the front corner of t

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.