2014 lineup | New engines produce less noise and release fewer emissions
COLUMBUS, Ohio — John Deere’s machinery lineup for 2014 includes long awaited pieces, such as combine tracks, as well as improvements to engine emissions, transmissions, cab comfort and machinery management.
New machines are starting to reach Tier 4 final emissions compliance as they get the first blue-capped tanks for diesel exhaust fluid starting in the new year.
More than 1,200 Deere dealer staff and owners were in Columbus, Ohio, recently for the launch of next year’s green and yellow.
No roar pierced the quiet countryside when 20 new Deere sprayers fired up all at once to demonstrate how easy it is to set up and operate one of the new mid-sized sprayers.
The nearly 20, seven series tractors on the other side of the field didn’t make much noise, either.
Part of the change that is happening to farm machinery is how quiet it is becoming. Sound deadening technologies, such as laminated glass, are also making the cab experience much more serene than it was a few years ago.
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Josh Castillo of Deere in Waterloo, Iowa, said the engines are producing less noise and more power and using less fuel and fluid.
“There is a lot of innovative engineering going into these machines,” he said after a training session for media attending the company’s launch.
“There always was, but I think there is a bit of snowball effect going on. They’re getting much more interesting and productive, it seems, every year now.”
Deere has been making refinements to the combustion systems for many years to lower the nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions that its diesel engines produce.
Initial steps to freshen the air on the outbound side of the engines included cooled exhaust gas recirculation with variable geometry turbo charging and filtration. Those steps made Deere engines green enough to meet the Tier 4 interim certification. The company announced a couple of years ago that its strategy to reach Tier 4 final standards would involve adding diesel exhaust fluid to a catalyst in the exhaust stream.
Tractor marketing manager Jarrod McGinnis said the company expects that the Nebraska tests will show that its machines use the least total fluid, diesel and diesel exhaust fluid per hour per acre.
“We’ll wait and see what Nebraska says,” he said.
The company released its 7R tractors at the Ohio event and showed off one new 8R.
The company said the new Tier 4 final 6.8 or 9 litre 7Rs, with horsepower between 210 and 290, will be more fluid efficient than their predecessors. The 9 litre 8Rs with 245 to 370 h.p. will be similar.
All six of the eight series machines, both with tires and tracks, will get 10 more horsepower under their bonnets. The biggest 8370s will hit 405 h.p. when power management is activated. Tires got bigger at the top end, with an optional Group 49.
The big track and tire nine series machines for 2014 will likely not meet the emissions standard for another season.
The industry’s first power shift transmissions were on the 1963 Deere 4020s. Fifty years later, the company has introduced an electronically shifted version of the transmission, the e23, with 23 forward and 11 reverse gears.
The transmission will be available on the 7Rs in 2014 and the 8Rs in 2015. It offers the operator the ability to select three modes of operation: auto, manual and a custom created selection. The latter allows the operator to maximize fuel efficiency or power, or a combination of both. The new transmission’s gears are equally spaced, and there are enough of them that it will operate nearly as smoothly as an infinitely variable transmission (IVT) with the simplicity of the traditional power shift. The IVT is currently the only transmission option for the 345 h.p. and higher 8Rs.
The new e23 has a computer controlled efficiency system that will ensure that the right gear is being used to optimize the unit for either the power take-off or drawbar use.
New laminated glass in the Command View 3 cab cuts down on sound coming from the seven and eight series tractors, but a new cooling package is also reducing noise. The cooling package has been changed to make servicing easier and less necessary.
The seat is more active than before, reducing vibration and bounce, and now allows a full 40 degrees of side to side movement so that driving forward while looking back is easier on the shoulders and neck.
The Command Centre terminal interface has been improved, with touch screen icons and buttons reminiscent of smartphones.
The company’s two mid-sized sprayers, the 800 and 1,000 U.S. gallon units, receive more power from the 6.8 and 9 litre Tier 4 final power plants.
The new R4030 replaces the 800 gallon 4730 and will sport 280 h.p. under the hood. The R4038 receives the 305 h.p. nine litre and replaces the 4830.
The machines get an option that was previously reserved for the big machine in the lineup: a New Leader brand dry box with two hoppers that can perform variable rate spreading up to 105 feet.
The two mid-sized Deeres get the 120 foot spray boom for the first time. They still have 90 and 100 foot boom options.
Brea Harms of Deere said the Solution Command System, “with its push button, automated loading and the front fill, are two options we feel with be really popular with farmers. Those booms also get three directional breakaways more boom sections for more efficient shut offs.”
The sprayers have the option of direct injection systems for up to 135 U.S. gallons of chemical on board. Autotrac, Boomtrac Pro, section control, a mobile weather station and full JD Link telematics are all choices for the new sprayers.
“These were designed from the ground up. New machines,” said Harms.
The pair also got the new cabs that appear on the seven and eight series tractors.
Prices for the new sprayers start at about $320,000 and $355,000, before the options are added.
The new W235 swather, also Tier 4 final, has the 235 6.8 litre engine. It gets a makeover when it comes to utility and operator comfort with the addition of the big cab found on the Deere S series combines.
The revised cooling in the new T4 final engines includes a top feeding air induction, improving dust avoidance and maintenance. Autotrac has been added for the first time, so the operator can stay straight and reduce fatigue.
Combines get 36 inch wide factory ATI tracks, which cost about $50,000 for the set if tires aren’t ordered.
The chaffer gets a new dual adjustment for improved quality of the sample, while an eight wing feed accelerator will improve crop feeding into the variable stream rotor in tough conditions.
A refined version of the automatic combine adjustment for switching between crop settings has been added. To ensure operator comfort, a new heated and cooled leather seat is available.
Not every machine gets bigger over time. A new S series machine, the 650, is a Class 5 machine.
The S660 and S670 machines are getting a few more horsepower for 2014.
The data that the new machines can gather in their Greenstar 3 2630 terminals can now be moved wirelessly. No USB fob is required.
A subscription to JD Link Ultimate with remote display access and MyJohnDeere.com’s data sharing and farm management tools will allow instant, remote access to the combine’s data.
