I've been hearing a lot of guys talking about how they clean off the combine at the end of each day with a leaf blower. Do you use a backpack model or a hand held?
After years of using the back pack,......and having too many "close calls" as the thing would bump something while turning around and nearly push me off the machine, I bought a hand held. The new hand helds are really advanced and work great. One other issue with the back pack, at least the older stihls, was the gas cap. If you leaned over to get some hidden pile of chaff, the cap would seep gas on you.
The Deere 4 strokes were top shelf. I wonder if they were a vendors product?
Sometimes I bolt a U2 pickup real tooth on the end to pick stuff apart as it's blowing.
We really liked the Deere 4 strokes also, have a look at the Makita 4 stroke, looks like it may have been where Deere was sourcing their's. I am going to order one for this fall.
While you're at it get a second tooth, cut the mount end off and hose clamp it to your 4 foot compressor blow gun. Awesome for clearing the dust and trash off of the seeding and harrowing tractors.
Does a leaf blower do as good a job as an air compressor for cleaning the combine? We always use a compressor and wand daily but it's a slow job. How about cleaning of radiators?
Was thinking about buying a stihl leaf blower (~700m3/h air throughout) for this harvest.
yea we use a stihl hand held works well when it does, we got three , one for each combine and bolt a box to the header so each guy can do his own combine, but after one week at least one will loose power and , one we was finding the air filters was getting blocked and tried cleaning them but found they cost less than $2 and then blows the paint off , also there is a spark guard in the exhaust that we had to take out and burn clean every other week but think this could be avoided if we used premium gas , when blowing a combine you need volume of air not pressure so i bet a wand is slow , but as it goes for blowing out radiators with a leaf blower we had no luck
We have a backpack stihl and really like it. I think it is safer when climbing up and down the ladder to have it strapped on your back. Our backpack one has a lot off power and it has run perfect for 14 years. As mentioned earlier if you do not tighten the gas cap it will leak out. If the cap is tight we have no leaks on ours. We blow out our rad every day and use it to blow out the engine air filter in the morning.
We had an John Deere handheld 2 stroke blower for years. Awesome blower, when it bit the dust we got an Echo handheld (echo made john Deere blowers) the echo (model PB251) is super light, and moves lots of air. I can't remember the exact price but it wasnt expensive. I've seen the blowers that other guys use and they are more then double the weight of the echo.
About 20 years ago I bought an old Atlas Copco 600 cfm compressor with a 6V71 Detroit engine. It was likely less money than a new leaf blower and moves serious air. With a 1/2 " steel sch. 40 pipe about 6' long it will maintain 90 psi all day long at 2/3 engine speed. It will lift that 2' high pile of chaff off the feeder house in about 10 seconds and is really good under the cutter bar to get all the weed seeds that collect there. In the off season I hook it to my sand blast pot to get a good base for painting truck boxes, trailers, grain legs and conveyors etc. that can be made to look and perform like new if you get a new coat of paint on before the steel disappears. In the winter I use it occasionally to break up lumps of chaff or a lump of grain that blocks the unloading port to the underfloor augers. Am I the only one that has that problem??!!
Ive used a leaf blower for the last 3 years on the baler. blowing down the end of each day, it works good but for end of season get a good high pressure air compressor to get the job done properly, also have a spare air filter for the blower as they clog up fast in dusty conditions, you can clean them up for so long but then you need to change them out.
I use a stihl backpack. It works great, I really like a backpack over a handheld. Main reason is climbing latter. You can have both hands on the grab rails. Blower tube is easily maneuverable with one arm and light weight. I blow the combines off ever night when we shut down. It's quick and easy and makes for servicing them in the morning much easier when they are clean.
Without doubt a compressor is best. A leaf blower only moves the loose dust. The thick claggy stuff that builds up in the corners or the back of oily cogs and pullies laughs in the face of a leaf blower. :54:
Also cleans out the awkward corners in the grain tanks extremely well. Uses two batteries to power it and will clean 2 machines on one charge.
Used it to clean a dump of snow off the trampoline this winter and was amazed at the static electricity that was created.
Also cleans out the awkward corners in the grain tanks extremely well. Uses two batteries to power it and will clean 2 machines on one charge.
Used it to clean a dump of snow off the trampoline this winter and was amazed at the static electricity that was created.
I have a husqvarna blower, only one season on it but no troubles so far. Always keep in in the service truck int he field, can blow out air filters with it in a pinch too.
hey mate what does the husky start like? Ive got sthil everything and i'm over the crap starting...
i need a leaf blower, as that can do the w/shop floor as well so used all year and a new whippa snippa...my sthil is stuffed and its probably got 10 hours on it...$279...and the labour at dealership is $90.00 per hour..so i'll pull it apart myself which is recipe for disaster!!
I just found out Milwaukee now makes a hand held blower in there fuel line, this will be my next new tool. and to use to clean the combine in the field.
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