Close call today

BANDITFARMER

Well-known Member
My soybeans have a week to go before there ready to cut (still soft) and with the combine is ready to go I figured it was time to fix the grain head from my screw up from the last day I cut last year. That 5 o-clock shadow got me good (going north to south) by plugging the corner of the head and not catching till it was to late. Thank god for duck tape, And finished up limping it along.

After putting the head back on and replacing all 6 tine boards on that end of the real and adjusting some of the hold down plates on the cycle bar. I had just come out from under the real ( head all the way up as well as the real) with the tools in hand when I herd that sound of a hydrolic hose blowing. Down the real came fast! 5 seconds sooner it wound have got me good! Kinda sent a chill down my spine to say the least. My Angel was watch out for me for sure. I got lucky! Dad on the other hand was not so lucky as he was sitting on a stool at that end of the head and got covered in hydrolic oil. It really makes you wonder sometimes how lucky you can be while working on equipment. Me and God, Well we be mates! Bandit
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Yes you were blessed. Couple weeks ago I was under the 6 row corn head closing a door on the combine. Didn't take time to lock the head. Got out from under the head and climbed in the cab. Put the machine in gear and went the length of the machine and Bam! the head slammed to the ground. Like you I was lucky it didn't pop the hose while I was under it. I will use the locks from now on.
 
I never trusted the hyd shutoff valve on the Gleaner F2, so I wanted to add a mechanical lock over the cylinder, like my previous Model F had. I wanted a dummy cyl added to the combine to provide a cyl for the lock, and since I"m a lousy overhead welder, I had my son drive the combine to the local welding shop to have my idea installed.

There was no header on, but in that 4 mile drive, the thresher housing fell down near the welding shop, when the steel hyd line burst.
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I had a close one today too, went sat in the house a couple minutes when it was cleared up.

Pulled the wagon to the elevator, turned into the elevator and saw the wagon in my left mirror a lot more than normal. Looked in the mirrors and something was all wrong, I was heading right and the wagon was heading not nearly as far right, the hitch pole I could see in the mirrors, and my rear end of the pickup was kinda tugging and skidding.

Got everything slowed down as I was going real slow for the turn anyhow, and didnt run into the town well pump brick building. Wasn't sure tho for a moment. Came to a stop, hitch fell on the ground and the wagon of corn rolled back 2 feet into a depression in the wide driveway.

Picked up the pieces, nothing much wrecked, took the pole home pressed an ear back mostly straight, found a big enough bolt and was back on the scales in less than half hour.

Parked it until I can make proper repairs tho.

Anyhow, about any other time in my mile on the road to the elevator, or for that matter 1/2 mile across my farm, that could have ended up so very badly..... Really badly.

Paul
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If the combine did not have a cylinder lock on it I make one out of a piece of angle iron. Then clamp it to the cylinder with a couple of Stainless steel hose clamps.
 
The hose that blew out was on the reel lift cylinder not the head lift. In all my years of farming (45) I have never seen one of these hoses blow out on a reel cylinder, I have seen the steel line start leaking from rust under a clamp but lever a hose blowing out.

Sitting hear thinking about it I realize that that head was built in 71 and is 43 years old so that hose has a right to give up the ghost. I think its just one of those things you never think about going bad that can scare the crap out of you when it goes! Bandit
 
I run a log chain from tractor to wagon frame, wrap the chain around the tongue to keep it off the ground. (Cheap Insurance)
 

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