Gleaner K help

I tried out my Gleaner K for the first time today, it was the first time I've used a combine so I was sure I would have some questions. The guy I got this from picked 2 acres with it last fall and it did good, nothing was changed since he picked with it but when I went through some my corn today it wasn't shelling off all the kernels, some cobs it did, most it didn't. I have the cylinder and fan speed set at 5, i tried to increase the cylinder speed but the lever won't move for some reason. i have no clue how many concave bars are in it, I've not opened it up to see, i still don't understand all the concave system

may need to close your concave more . adjustment is on both sides of throat .cobs could be smaller or corn dryer than last years crop.

I know the cobs are smaller, moisture is about 19. what exactly am I looking for to adjust, bolt? lever? Which way do I turn it? Sorry, I'm a rookie at all of this.

Yup. 7 nuts to move all together.

Paul

You haven"t opened the concave to see how many bars are in it, and what type........ok, since no one else has warned you about opening the concave door, I"ll tell you the most important thing about doing that. DO NOT LAY UNDER THE COMBINE WITH THE OPERATING LEVER BETWEEN YOUR KNEES! Well, unless you want to change choirs!

Lay underneath with the lever alongside you and give it a pull, to pop the door. Same advice for closing the door.

Fan speed in corn? Generally run wide open...small grains you run it slower cuz the kernels are lighter.

Start with settings found in the operator manual regarding cyl speed, concave clearance, chaffer/sieve. Remember that Speed Makes Feed- run the cyl as slow as possible that gets the kernels off the cob, decrease concave clearance if necessary.

not being smart but an operators manual is a must for someone not familiar with a combine, the one you have is fairly simple design but not knowing what and how to adjust any machine makes for a lot of trouble,there is a lot of good advice on this site given from experience operators, hope you good luck getting familiar with yours and getting the bugs out of it

I have an ops manual but I've never been around a combine until earlier this year, I've read the manual several times but some things I'm still learning.

Does anyone know how I can free up the cylinder speed adjustment? It would turn back in the spring but has froze up since then

I haven't run a K, but several F series...... I assume they are about the same......

Did you pull the little knob outward before cranking the hand wheel?

I assume it has the bicycle chain going down to the belt pulley. Is the chain on the sprockets, did it get caught on the wood tensioner on the shielding on that side?

Random thoughts....

Paul

You do know that the machine must be running and the thresher in gear in order to adjust the sheave in don't you? you can spin it out any time but to come in, the pulley must be turning! (You are pinching the belt)

Also note that the settings for corn are better described in the corn head's operating manual.
Keith

no I didn't paul, I just tried to turn it, and with everything turning, i'll try to pull it out and see if that makes a difference.

You know where the cylinder drum is, that the rasp bars are on. Under the cab in the throat or the machine.

There is a fairly big bolt sticking up vertical, on each side, on the throat under the cab, with 2 nuts clamping it to a metal plate.

You adjust those bolts - threaded rods really - up to open the clearance, down to close it.

There is a little pointer on each side, tells you how far open or closed you are. Make both sides the same!

There is a bolt on the side of the throat you need to loosen just a tad, one each side, so the cylinder can move up or down.

Also you will need to readjust the chain on the left side tightener when you move the cylinder. Tighten back up again when done.

If the right side is newer it will be belt drive and good, if older there might be chain to adjust on that side as well? I forget on that detail.

Smaller or wetter corn you. End the opening adjusted smaller. Drier or bigger cobs you need it wider. Need to fiddle with this a lot from field to field. You want whole cobs coming out the back, if they are breaking up inside the combine open it up. You want all the corn shelled off the cob, if not close it down.

If you can't get it right, then you need to start messing with the speed of the cylinder as well, they kinda work together.

Paul

Hey paul, the chain was on the sprockets, the handle on a K does not pull out, the lower sprocket was froze up, I got it to move and was able to speed up the cylinder. I had some larger ear corn and when I put it through the combine it shelled it better but split some of the cobs down the middle longwise. The previous owner put the large 20" pulley on the right side and with the cylinder cranked all the way I'm only putting out 590 RPM's, I didn't get a chance to try any corn after I cranked the speed up. I was afraid with the split cobs if I lowered the cylinder anymore it might crush the cobs.