Q: I have gotten into farming in a small way, but it is farming just the same.
I have been using a Massey Ferguson 851 pull-type combine for a few years now. I like this combine, but I dread going to the field in the fall because I am thoroughly confused about how to set the combine to get a clean sample in the grain tank.
I grow only durum, but I use the operator’s manual as a guide don’t find it helpful.
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We have the cylinder speed, the concave settings and three sets of sieves with five adjustment settings. I am constantly adjusting the sieves, trying to find that magic setting. Can you help me? – D.F., Herbert, Sask.
A: The principle of combine setting strategies is the same for nearly all machines of any size.
The most recent machines rely on computers and electronics to do the adjusting, but the process remains much as it always has been: knock it all out, clean up the sample and reduce your losses.
My experience in setting a combine for durum is that we need to approach it much like any other wheat but think of it as being the size of barley.
The first step is to get everything threshed and not concentrate on other issues with the machine’s performance.
You can usually tell how that is going by the amount of grain coming over the left side of the shoe. It you see a problem there, you will know you need to set the cylinder better.
You might need that Peterson sieve to go in the front of the bottom sieve. It becomes the clean grain sieve.
Open the sieves far enough so that everything you do goes into the hopper.
Now set the threshing area to the best job possible before going any further.
Do you have a narrow spaced concave? If so, remove every other wire so that the distance between the wires is set up like the wide spaced unit.
Use as many blanks as you need to clean up all the white caps in the sample.
Don’t hesitate to use the blanks that go underneath. They are easy to install because the front of the grain pan pulls out like a drawer.
You can take out the hillside kit unless you have hilly land. All it usually does is create piles of garbage that go into the grain tank.
Put in the fan dividers and check the distance grate and rear beater. It should be less than one inch. Durum can bend the grate and throw it off if it plugs.
Set the back of the concave as tight as required if you are experiencing straw walker losses.
Guenter has published his Inside Machines columns in a book,Henry’s Hints.It is available for $30 in a ring-bound edition or $10 for an electronic PDF. To contact Guenter with machinery questions or to orderHenry’s Hints, e-mail him at
Henry Guenter is a former service manager for Massey Ferguson. Contact: insidemachines@producer.com.
