Can you help me out?

Dave H (MI)

Well-known Member
I thought by now I would be posting pics of me combining my first corn with the CIH 1660! N'yet! Two questions:

1) Ran thru the field and hand picked a bunch of ears and shelled it with the hand sheller. 34% moisture after several pretty nice days. I am confused. What kind of weather is it going to take to dry it down some. Elevator wants a hefty fee for drying. Frankly it is so moist to the touch I think I might have trouble with it in the combine.

2) I have GOT to get this combine off my driveway but there is no electricity out to the farm yet as the site is only just being prepped for the barn. Combine has a heater installed in the side of the block. If I take it out to the farm and it gets real cold I can run the heater on generator. Any guess on how long I would have to run the heater to get her up to temp? Ballpark? Practical?

Thanks! Learning more than I anticipated...LOL!
 
Dave The bigger block heaters are 1500 watts. Many are smaller. Here is how I started my combine many times when I used to do custom work and the fields where away from any buildings. I had a 4000 watt generator. I would plug the block heater in and then hook up my battery charger on the batteries at 10 amp setting. I would then grease and check over the combine. I would feel the block a short distance away from the block heater with my hand when it felt warm I would start the combine. It always worked. Usually took about 45 minutes to an hour.
 
So it has a welsh plug heater? It should go in a couple of hours if it is a decent sized heater. Plug it in now and see how long it takes for the opposite side of the block to get warmish. That will give you an idea. I'm guessing a couple of hours. Heating the block that way is far faster and more efficient than a tank heater or hose heater. It likely won't be much above 1000 - 1200 watts. You can run that with a very small generator. The biggest headache will be getting the generator started in the cold.

I've never had the drive to plant corn. Hasn't been done in my family that I know of. They say that freeze drying is a myth but if it is cold and windy the humidity is low. That has to help. I think that many folks just plan on a drying bill with corn. Another reason I don't need to bother.
 
Dave. As the others said an hour or so on the generator should be plenty. Unless the temps get down around zero then you may need longer.

As for the corn, it all seems to be drying slow in Michigan this year. I ran some off for a neighbor two weeks ago and it was around 35%. He sold it to a dairy farm for high moisture corn...saved the drying charge. I finished up Friday at 22%. That was 90 day corn planted the second week in May. Some folks in this area didn't get corn planted until early in June due to all the rain this spring. IMHO that may have something to do with the slow dry down. Looks like 7 to ten days of mild, dry weather ahead. Hopefully that will help some.
 
Dave,
A friend of mine runs an elevator here in NE WI. The corn has been coming in wet here too, maybe 28 to 35 percent. At 35%, the deduction will be over $1.50 with drying and shrinkage. My friend said a few farmers actually got less than $2.00 a bushel after paying for drying and other deductions. Also, the test weight of corn around here has been very low, like around 47 lbs. instead of 56. Still lots of corn to be combined as folks also are waiting for it to dry more. Others have said it doesn't really dry down very fast in cold weather, so they are just biting the bullet and getting it off before the snow comes. Al (From across the pond)
 
I knew some contractors who had equipment at remote sites. They made up some hoses with quick disconnects so that they could park by the equipment with their pickup trucks, connect the hoses and circulate the coolant through the cold engine.

They said that they sat in the pickup for 1/2 hour and drank coffee and then were able to start the cold engine even in some pretty cold ambient temperatures. No generator involved. Of course, you would need the same coolant in all engines.
 
I would think it would need to be very cold before you have any worries. Yesterday it was 12F here and I started my old Ford loader,with 8000hrs , with out being plug in , and no either. 45 minutes to one hour on a block heater, should be enough even when below 0F.
 
Dave,
I think JDSeller was right on the mark! An hour to warm up the engine AND the battery is going to get you close. Many people forget about the battery. Getting a full charge in it and getting it warm, increases the amps the battery can produce. That helps spin the engine much faster.
Good luck!
Keith
 
That's a comfort to me. I forgot about the batteries! I can plug the charger into the same genny. Thanks!
 
I dunno what kind of heater that is. Looks to me like the freeze plug type, definitely not a rad hose heater. It is right in the block and has an orange extension cord hard wired onto it and coiled up on the side of the combine. No worries about my generator. It is a Honda that powers the house during outages. Heavy but just portable enough that I can load it in the pickup and take it with me when I need electrical out there. Early next year there will be power in the barn but until then...
 
I'm hoping. Looking at 4 cents per point/bushel to dry her down over 15%. Really not eager to give away 76 cents per bushel with the price as low as it already. Not going to be long before I throw in the towel though. I just want to see if the friggin combine works!
 
Good advise, about an hour, trickle up the battery at the same time.

Some of my diesels will start at 5 degrees with no heat; others won't go at 40 degrees if they have sat 4-5 days. Depends on the engine, the oil, the battery, and the starter and wires.....

If it is below 20 be sure you got the fuel treated, before it gets that cold. Diesel fuel will gel up, the wax settles out and fills up the filter in cold weather. Stops the fuel flow. There are fuel treatments to add, or blend in some #1 diesel to lower the gel point. Best to do this before it gets cold, so the fuel in the filter and lines are treated, not just the tank......

Paul
 
I am hoping that as we get close to Christmas that it will be a normal year with not a ton of snow until after the holidays. If the temps drop like they normally do the air should be drier and maybe I can get a few points lower on the moisture. It is a small field, planted as a test to see how I like growing corn (not so much at the moment) and I won't have to take a mortgage even if I lose the whole field. I am planning on planting a bit more corn in 2015. It would be nice to get the bugs out of the combine sooner rather than later.
 
That's a clever idear! Not gonna do it, but clever none the less! In a couple months I will have electric out there so no need to do the hose thing. One problem is that some of the corn is standing where the barn will be because the !&@#! township made me move the barn back 25 feet. Not feeling that I want to lose even one acre of corn with the various deduction at the elevator. Now I am looking at postponing my contractor yet again. In my memoirs I will not be listing 2014 as a good year.
 
I think you could be right. This unit has a strong engine. So far it has not even hinted at needing help starting. Stay warm!
 
Thanks Keith! I will need the luck. It would sure be nice to break even on this corn. Profit..yeah, no. Doubt it. Just want to get out there and see all my hard work...weeks of hard work...on the combine and (rebuilt from scratch) corn head pay off. So based on all the good advice here I am driving the combine out to the field as soon as a good day presents itself. I'll leave it out there until the barn is up and it can go inside again.
 
Good advice. I have been running the IH 1586 out there without trouble but it has only been around 30 degrees here. After having my left ear half amputated by a falling tree last week I have come up with a new plan...a REALLY long and heavy chain pulled from outside the woodlot by a 9 ton tractor. Pulls them out by the roots. But back to subject, I am having a truck bring me some fuel for both machines next week as both are down to 1/4 tank. I will talk to them about the fuel. I had a lot of trouble with my little Ford diesel a couple winters back. Really cold and the fuel was not moving. Replaced it and that was all it took.
 
Dave, remember when you do get to the field and start making those fine adjustments to start a log book. You may not see these conditions in the near future and it is good to reflect back on your notes to help future set up of the machine. I doubt if you see much moisture change with the corn but you can always hope. I made a decision to take a more aggressive approach on early planting to prevent dealing with high moisture corn. I realize that conditions do not always cooperate though.
 
A little different take on your moisture,IF the corn was frosted before it was mature,then it isn't going to dry very fast at all.March-April possible.Late 90s we got hit with a early Sept.frost and there was a lot of corn taken off 40-45% in Dec.Jan.,so good luck with whatever happens.
 
Winterizing is one reason I generally put Power Service (fuel treatment) in my diesel fuel. Any new fuel you get at this time of year should be winter diesel, but PS can help stave off gelling if you are dragging a partial tank of summer fuel over into winter.
 
That is a good idea! Especially considering that I can't remember what I had for breakfast and I have the same dang thing every day!

I am learning about corn. I really like growing it and always have. I have grown so many different kinds of corn over the years...you would be amazed. Dent, flint, Indian, pop, sweet....you name it. All in a 50 x 50 plot. This is a LITTLE different story. If I had known it was not gonna dry, I would have tried something else this year. I figure I will take the opportunity to learn more about the combine. Not thinking this is gonna be as easy as running dryer corn. Let's just say if you hear on the weather about a strange blue cloud over Michigan, it will just be me...cursing up a storm. :)
 
I thank you for the well wishes! We had late frost here and a warm fall. I am frankly shocked that the corn is not dry. I am quite sure it did not get a frost before it was mature. I recall going out there and calling the wife and telling her it was dry and rattling like old bones in the wind. Brought some home and it was a good bit dryer than the stuff I shelled yesterday. Maybe it picked up some wet from all the rain and snow since?
 
It will be OK. Hate to admit it but, yes, I am dragging home a 5 gallon can every time I go out and it is good fresh diesel. Normally with the tractor I drive it to the gas station but this monster....

I just want another 20 gallons in it before I drive it out to the fields. Once there I will have a truck come and fill the 1520, 1586 and combine all in one shot. Saves me $75 delivery fee. Yes, it is end of year and the crop is still in the field. $75 is starting to sound like big money.
 
No shame in it. I've never taken my tractor on the road or to the pump - 5-6 gallon can (or perhaps more than one as you scale up) works fine and no delivery fees, but you can still pick it up. Price of diesel these days that delivery fee itself is nigh onto 20 gallons.

Occasionally I even get as far as the place that sells off-road diesel, but generally the gas cost to make a special trip there exceeds just paying road tax on the diesel that's not out of my way.

I guess the bigger boys move to a transfer tank in the truck with a pump on it, but that's out of my league.

Incidentally, where I grew up pretty much never saw a picker, sheller or combine - corn was all cut for silage, green (the kernels would be mature first, but the plant was green, and the whole plant goes in the silage chopper and then into the bunker (or bag, these days)) - but then, if you didn't have cows, you didn't grow corn, either.
 
The daughter wanted to raise cattle. Still wants to raise cattle. I told her it would be too much work...we needed to plant CORN. Sure sounded like a good idea at the time and I am sure it will get easier once I get a rhythm going. This year? All I do is work on the dang corn and corn equipment! Heck, I'm just kidding around. This whole year has been like a roller coaster ride. Lots of ups and downs, not always enjoying it in the middle, probably want to get back on when it's over.
 
five gallons at a time I would think hard about a transfer tank for the back of the pickup I think northern has them for like 600 bucks. that's only 8 fuel delivery charges.
 
Cheapo way is one/two 55 gal drums and a hand pump with filter......not too much to get started.
 
last year at this time my dad had twenty acres that was 28% moisture . The elevator shut down their dryer so we picked enough to fill the wagons .It was cold enough that the corn froze and didnt spoil and we ground it for the cattle . we picked it in the spring it dried to 13%.it stood well except on the north and west side and where some dumb a## snomobiler drove through it. On his farm the only shed that the combine fits in has no electricty and i just plug the combine and tractor in my generator.
 
Actually, I had a post up on TT Monday that I lost track of because it was my daughters B-day. Currently I can go thru 3-400 gallons of diesel a year. I was thinking of putting a 500 gallon tank with a Gas Boy pump on it outside the barn. I can get diesel delivered for free over 200 gallons. I also drop all the highway taxes. Price quoted per gallon was a lot lower than what I pay at the pump. I haul too much stuff in the PU to have a tank in there. Just exploring ideas.
 
Interesting. So your corn continued to dry over the winter? Everything tells me it would do that. I have to ask myself if I want to roll the dice on that. A lot (more) can go wrong. Been a hot topic around here last two days.
 
Around here a 500 gal with Gasboy pump usually runs about $500. We have about 40 cents road tax so yeah, farm diesel is a lot less. When I downsized, I sold my 1000 gal gas tank w/ Gasboy pump, to my renter, for $1000. Bought a 300 gal w/ Gasboy for 4-500, including a lot of gas in it.
 
Corn on the stalk in the field will -slowly- dry down to 15% in the cold. Slowly.

Like as if it were in a crib on the ear......

The issues are snow damage, wind damage, weak stalks, all making it fall over by spring. Some corn is real strong, some likes to canabalize the stalk to produce more grain but very weak....

And, deer and other critters earring the corn, knocking it down.

And, a wet spring could mess up harvest then too, plus makes next spring planting late so that crop is messed up too.

Or it can work well and you get a good crop harvested next spring and planted again on time, better than slogging it out now......

A real coin flip, isn't it?

Paul
 
Our two neighborhood dairy farmers, used their CIH in high moisture corn (got it off cob better than a modern JD. Frozen corn works better.)
They then stuffed it in LLLLong garbage bags.
They had to pull some trucks out, but got done. Frozen ground some days. Didn't have to pay high drying fee. I'm not sure how our ethanol plant can handle high moisture
I think they made the right choice, for a season that was out of the ordainary.

Charles Krammin SW MI
 
kinda sort of! Still feel that in the long run the odds are in my favor. Hate to say it, but I think most gamblers feel that way! LOL
 
here in s.e. minnesota the humidity goes down in the winter and last year the wind blew harder than usual. this field lays north and south and i picked off the head lands to feed the cattle . that way the wind can blow between the rows to help dry the ears. last year wasnt the first time dad had to leave corn out over winter .there was a halloween blizzard in 91 that dumped 12 inches of snow and a week later we got another 8 inches . that field also laid to the north and had the head lands off it also stood well. Dads farm is about half mile from any woods and lays next to two main roads so not many deer in the area . When i combined this spring i was careful not to fill the tank full. i tried going two rounds to get a dump but the ground was to soft i only went one round to a dump. combining in the spring can be tricky sometimes.
 
I just got back from walking thru it. A lot of corn down already. We get some good winds thru the area but mostly all the wildlife is what seems to be taking it down. Honestly, I am at a point where I just want to see the combine work. Need to put this year to bed, take a few weeks off, then start all over again.
 
I would be after the guy that sold you 100 day seed corn to plant in June!?! You can buy 85 day corn that would have made some difference in a late season like you had.
 
Live and learn! and learn and learn and learn! I should have taken it back. Bought it in early may but one setback after another with weather, work or equipment...mostly weather...and it was June afore I knew it.
 

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