During the main harvesting period, every minute counts – the major challenge is to coordinate crop ripeness, meteorology and the use of harvesting machinery. All contractors and farmers know this only too well. It’s wise to carefully prepare harvesting machinery and maintain it during the harvesting period. This is because machinery breakdowns are not only annoying and costly, but also pose certain dangers. Damage caused by a PTO shaft flapping around uncontrollably after a universal joint break or, even worse, a combine harvester fire in the middle of a grain field – often the result of neglected maintenance! The tried-and-tested lubricants and operating supplies in the FARMER LINE contribute to the safety of successful harvesting. They are part of any reliable harvesting machinery.

Careful maintenance is an integral part of the operational process. Which staff member is the main person responsible for looking after and maintaining which machinery? What about the maintenance and lubrication schedules and documentation? Is there a checklist for the small parking service during harvest? Optimum preparation also includes having a grease gun, lubricants, cooler protection and the most commonly used sprays, plus flushing fluids and tools, e.g. for re-tightening chains and belts, either in every item of machinery, or centrally accessible.

IT'S ALWAYS WORTH CHECKING IN ADVANCE

Summer is a busy time for all agricultural machinery workshops. That’s why it’s worthwhile examining the neuralgic points on the machinery in good time before the main harvesting season. Here’s a brief, but not exhaustive, summary of some of the most important points:

Examine any heavily contaminated, hard-to-reach bearings in harvesting machinery for any noises, make sure that they are in proper working order, and replace/lubricate any if necessary

• The lubrication service and level control must operate in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions
• Make sure that the automatic lubrication systems, e.g., for chains on combine harvesters, are functioning correctly, and dosage systems are operating properly
• With regard to hydraulics, examine the level control and condition of hydraulic oil (hours of operation)
• Examine the cooling system (leak tightness, pressure test, cleaning radiator fins, air inlets, etc.)
• Examine the condition, age and tension of V-belts/if necessary, bring along a replacement
• Examine the condition of tyres (age, wear, cracks, etc.), pressure and leak tightness
• Examine the electrical system

Complying with these points can help to eliminate a majority of the most common sources of error. This ensures that machine operators – who are often already under a lot of strain – don’t have to deal with emergency repairs, unprofitable downtimes or worse, such as complete breakdowns.

PARKDIENST WÄHREND DER ERNTE

Während der Haupterntezeit sind die Tage lang und die Nächte noch länger. Oft wird 24/7 gearbeitet und die Maschinisten lösen sich in einem festen Turnus ab. Damit die Erntetechnik diesen Dauereinsatz störungsfrei übersteht, sind je nach Gerät die auf der Checkliste definierten Punkte zu kontrollieren und warten. Typische tägliche (t)/wöchentliche (w) Arbeiten sind:

FREQUENT LUBRICATION

The statement that «friction generates heat» is probably one of the oldest technical insights of all. To prevent or, at least, reduce friction and wear, equipment must be lubricated correctly, sufficiently and regularly. At the same time, the aggregates automatically operate within the correct temperature range. During harvesting, it’s particularly important to re-lubricate the total-loss lubrication points such as PTO shafts and drive shafts. The high-pressure grease GREASE 190 EP is ideal for this purpose. The NLGI 2-viscosity blue lithium grease is extremely resistant to flexing, easy to convey, oxidation-stable and covers a wide temperature range (from -30 °C to +120 °C). It may be used in all plain, ball and roller bearings. Always remove dirt from the lubricating nipples before greasing or lubricating. A grease gun with FETT 190 EP and some spare grease cartridges are standard harvesting equipment. The sprays POWER CLEAN SPRAY and CHAINLUBE PROFESSIONAL are essential for cleaning and lubricating of drive chains. When cleaning heavily soiled and/or contaminated chains, make sure that any cleaning agent that may drip off is collected in a cloth straight away (ignition hazard). Agricultural engineering professionals also recommend marking all lubricants and operating supplies used on the machinery with MOTOREX’s practical and handy product stickers. Together with a supply of the appropriate products at the farm or on site, any unit and/or equipment can be refilled quickly and correctly, whenever necessary.

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