Combine Made Taller For Ridged Row Crops

Combine made taller for ridged row crops COMBINES Miscellaneous 10-4-7 Ridge-till specialist Dale Kleinschmidt, of Petersburg, Ill., made two major changes on his Deere 6620 combine to make it more efficient at harvesting ridged corn and soybeans: 1. He made the combine 2 in. taller up front by equipping it with single 18.4 by 42 in. Kirchner wheels, and 3 in. taller at the rear by extending the plates on the axle A-frame. 2. He replaced his other-style Deere row-crop soybean head with a Deere 220 grain table. "I can cut lower with the platform header and there's less chance of picking up dirt clods," he points out. "Also, my 6620 combine can handle 8 rows of 30 in. beans with this platform head but isn't large enough for an 8-row Deere bean head." The idea behind the modifications: To raise the entire machine a few inches so the header operates at a more normal angle to cut ridged soybeans lower down. Raising the combine also makes for more efficient harvesting of ridged corn, says Kleinschmidt. Cost of raising the rear end of his 6620 was about $200. Kleinschmidt had the work done by Meteer Machine and Mfg., of Athens, Ill., but notes that "it isn't that big a job if you want to tackle it yourself. The alteration could be easily reversed, if desired, at trading time but I think the combine would be worth more with it left intact." Kleinschmidt also narrowed up the spacing between the rear wheels of his 6620 ù from 66 to about 61.5 in. ù by drilling out the welds, repositioning the wheels to take out part of the "dish," and then rewelding them. "I would have gone to 60 in. spacing but the tie rods interfered," he notes. "This alteration makes my 6620 more maneuverable when harvesting 30 in. ridged rows. I harvest corn with a 6 row head, beans with the 8 row platform head, and use the same 8 row planter to plant both crops on 30 in. ridges." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dale Kleinschmidt, Rt. 3, Petersburg, Ill. 66675 (ph 217 632-7027).

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