323 Problem

nh8260

Member
Got a problem with my New Idea 323 1 row picker, I just can't figure it out, when I pick with it I'm losing TONS of corn with it, it is knocking kernels off every single ear, some ears it has ground off over a third of the way up the ear, I've tried everything, moving the rollers out and in, so for in the stalks were clogging, I've speeded up, slowed down, nothing seems to help. I hate to use the thing because of it, the corn I picked Saturday was about 17% moisture but it doesn't matter if its 22%, still does it. I've seen youtube videos of 323's and it looked like the corn was pretty complete, my neighbor has a NI model 7 or 8 and it does great, most of his cobs have all the kernels. What can I do? I wouldn't pick cob corn but some of my customers want it instead of shelled.
 
Just the nature of the beast. When the ear of corn hits the spinning snapping rolls kernels of corn are knocked off. Some corn snaps harder than others thus more shelling. A Deere 300 picker uses a two or three row corn head that solves the problem.
 
you have to run your snap rollers tight and slow down like it a round 20 percent the drier it is the more it shells bought a 2 row will never go back no more plugging
 
I pick with one for our show each year, the dryer the corn, the more it shells off, 18 to 20 moisture seems to work the best, also we keep the rolls full by our found speed
 
As has been mentioned, corn moisture is one issue, variety is another. The weather when you're picking is an issue. In the 5 or 6 seasons I've used this CaseIH 1660 rotary combine I have not seen the corn- the whole plant- as tough as it is this year. So the whole weather year has an effect. Guys still doing beans are grinding through tough, green stems/leaves/pods.
 
Rod, about what speed are you going? Variety doesn't seem to matter, it does it as bad in pioneer as dekalb, I'm thinking my husking bed rollers might be wore thus knocking some off, thought about unhooking it and putting a piece of plywood back there so the ears will just slide to the elevator
 
The speed that worked for us was 4 MPH. Probably both the Pioneer and DeKalb you're trying are "shelling" corns. I doubt the husking rolls are the problem. Any corn shelled there should be gathered by the shelled corn saver. Our challenge was the snapping rolls. When the sharp edges get worn smooth, it doesn't shell as badly. But then you weld up the knobs on the rolls a little bit so it will pick, and not plug, then it's shelling more again! I don't miss it at all.
 
The shelling over the snapping rolls is why i bought my 325 but sold it years ago.That newer style super picker shouldnt shell as much in the row per acre as the#7. I still have my #7 ni. But my 325 ni paid for itself in shelled corn savings in less than 3 years.My #7 would break off stalks easier and more often than the 325.I think a lot of the corn reguardless of whose name is on the bag. I 've heard the older shorter season varieties developed from when most picked corn were made more for picking and kept the shuck tighter so shelled less. On my #7 i would get an ear that rode all the way to the top of the snapping rolls and sit there on the rolls and shell until more corn or stalks knocked it off.On the #7 no matter how i opened or closed the snapping rolls it would shell the same amount each year or close to it. I usually lost about 13-14 BPA[bushels per acre] i think the 325 got it down to 3-6 bpa.I'm still thinking of when i get a crop in next year seeing about making some kind of snapping bars to see if i can change that.
 
That is the reason I like my Oliver 83H picker. They switched to knife rollers and striper plates like a combine corn head. I have very little shelling issues, but in dry conditions, it will put a lot of trash in the wagon!
 
Have ran a 310, and two 325 packers without any shelling issues, when I used the 323 I had the same issue you are having. I don't think the model was the problem but I thought it was worn snapping rolls. Adjusting them in and out did not solve the issue.
 
My father bought a 323 brand new in Ontario in the late 70's - it would butt shell - his idea was to drive slow -2nd gear with a Ford 5000, which was painful -you worked all day to get 3 loads loaded - 1 row at a time - it did not butt shell as bad at that speed
the last year we used it-1992 -pulling it with our new JD 2955 -the variety of Funks corn we grew would pull back into the snapping rolls and jam them causing the slip clutch to let go - and then you were underneath trying to pull the trash out - 1993, I found a JD 300 for sale on consignment at a JD dealer 50 miles from our farm - with a 244 corn head with stripper plates - we traded the 323 and towed it behind our Ford Ranger and towed the 300 back home -that 300 was more then the Ranger should have been pulling ! The 300 eliminated the field losses almost 100% - the only problems were that the auger in the cornhead would gouge kernels out of the picked cobs, and the husking bed didn't do as good of a job, but now we could pick at a good field speed without the losses -I have seen at a Mennonite farm, a NI picker with a 2 row John Deere cornhead fabricated on - looked strange but I bet it worked good!
 

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