Belarus combines

martinr · 01-07-2012, 04:47 PM

Didn't quite know where to put this post. Could the mods put up a new forum section for 'other' combines?

I just wondered if anyone could tell me what the deal was with Belarus combines in the US and Canada. When did they start/stop importing them? Were many sold? Were they reliable and did they perform well? I have a brochrue for the DON 1500. Were any other models offered?

benny · 01-07-2012, 05:20 PM

I remember my neighbors having one out for a demo 20 some years ago, it was a self propelled unit. They had several problems during the demo and it was a crudely built machine by NA standards. Needless to say they never bought it. Comparably it was very cheap however.

Bruce Avison · 01-07-2012, 05:36 PM

I've been watching a Belarus DON 1500 on kijiji, 1993, looks like new, they want $2000. Sure hate to see that paint go to scrap because the tires on it are worth more than that - which is what I'd like to buy it for. I've never heard anything good from them, and parts must be a bugger to get a hold of.

Bruce

martinr · 01-07-2012, 05:37 PM

Do you know roughly what years they were offered in North America?

whatswrong · 01-07-2012, 05:44 PM

I'm not 100% sure but have a feeling they are still common in Europe .

martinr · 01-07-2012, 05:57 PM

A version of the 1500 is still produced by Rostselmash in Russia. It's not sold in western Europe, though - only Russia and the former Eastern bloc countries.

martinr · 01-07-2012, 06:47 PM

One other question - the brochure I have shows a cutaway drawing of the DON 1500 combine with what looks like some kind of straw 'press' on the rear. Has anyone seen one like this or were these left off the machine sold in NA?

albertabuck · 01-07-2012, 11:15 PM

All the Belarus combines are built by Rostselmash.

The SK 5 was the first one and it was first brought over in the late seventies but never did really catch on at all and ended up with a bad rap after Pami tested it.

The Don 1500 came in the Eighties and while not a lot were sold, there was enough that you would occasionally see one here or there and while it was a vast improvement over the earlier one, it still had its peculiarities and faded away about the same time as the 4WD Kirovets tractors.

While both were crude and rudimentary, they both had good capacity in wet and tough conditions. They were built for harvesting, not for comfort.

As for parts availability couldn't say for sure about the combines, there hasn't been any real issues with parts for the older tractors. least I haven't had any yet.

SK 5 Pami report
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/eng7932/$FILE/28.pdf

Don 1500 Pami report
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/eng7932/$FILE/576.pdf

mostlygreen · 01-11-2012, 10:20 AM

There was a dealer not too far from me that had one for demonstration purposes. As Albertabuck mentioned, they were definitely crudely built, but they had some unique features. The cylinder was massive for its time, I believe around 30" with 10 bars, I believe the wrap was around 130 degrees and decent sized bearings throughout. It was an upper-body workout just to steer the thing and you had to leave the separator engaged in order for the unloading auger to work. The corn-head had stalk choppers as standard equipment, and the machine "played" with a 6-row narrow corn-head in 140 bushel corn. It was also "briefly" marketed as a Belarus 8400.

Here's a link with a little more information about it:

DON1500E

01-07-2012, 04:47 PM	#1 (permalink)
martinr Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 133	Belarus combines Didn't quite know where to put this post. Could the mods put up a new forum section for 'other' combines? I just wondered if anyone could tell me what the deal was with Belarus combines in the US and Canada. When did they start/stop importing them? Were many sold? Were they reliable and did they perform well? I have a brochrue for the DON 1500. Were any other models offered?

01-07-2012, 05:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
Bruce Avison Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,893	I've been watching a Belarus DON 1500 on kijiji, 1993, looks like new, they want $2000. Sure hate to see that paint go to scrap because the tires on it are worth more than that - which is what I'd like to buy it for. I've never heard anything good from them, and parts must be a bugger to get a hold of. Bruce __________________ And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise, and said "I need a caretaker." So God made a farmer.

01-07-2012, 11:15 PM	#8 (permalink)
albertabuck Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Boyle, Alberta Posts: 572	All the Belarus combines are built by Rostselmash. The SK 5 was the first one and it was first brought over in the late seventies but never did really catch on at all and ended up with a bad rap after Pami tested it. The Don 1500 came in the Eighties and while not a lot were sold, there was enough that you would occasionally see one here or there and while it was a vast improvement over the earlier one, it still had its peculiarities and faded away about the same time as the 4WD Kirovets tractors. While both were crude and rudimentary, they both had good capacity in wet and tough conditions. They were built for harvesting, not for comfort. As for parts availability couldn't say for sure about the combines, there hasn't been any real issues with parts for the older tractors. least I haven't had any yet. SK 5 Pami report http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/eng7932/$FILE/28.pdf Don 1500 Pami report http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/eng7932/$FILE/576.pdf __________________ I like to earn my respect, I don't try to buy it with bullshit.

01-07-2012, 05:20 PM	#2 (permalink)
benny Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 1,209	I remember my neighbors having one out for a demo 20 some years ago, it was a self propelled unit. They had several problems during the demo and it was a crudely built machine by NA standards. Needless to say they never bought it. Comparably it was very cheap however.

01-07-2012, 05:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
martinr Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 133	Do you know roughly what years they were offered in North America?

01-07-2012, 05:44 PM	#5 (permalink)
whatswrong Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 277	I'm not 100% sure but have a feeling they are still common in Europe .

01-07-2012, 05:57 PM	#6 (permalink)
martinr Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 133	A version of the 1500 is still produced by Rostselmash in Russia. It's not sold in western Europe, though - only Russia and the former Eastern bloc countries.

01-07-2012, 06:47 PM	#7 (permalink)
martinr Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 133	One other question - the brochure I have shows a cutaway drawing of the DON 1500 combine with what looks like some kind of straw 'press' on the rear. Has anyone seen one like this or were these left off the machine sold in NA?

01-11-2012, 10:20 AM	#9 (permalink)
mostlygreen Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Southwest Middlesex, Ontario Posts: 72	There was a dealer not too far from me that had one for demonstration purposes. As Albertabuck mentioned, they were definitely crudely built, but they had some unique features. The cylinder was massive for its time, I believe around 30" with 10 bars, I believe the wrap was around 130 degrees and decent sized bearings throughout. It was an upper-body workout just to steer the thing and you had to leave the separator engaged in order for the unloading auger to work. The corn-head had stalk choppers as standard equipment, and the machine "played" with a 6-row narrow corn-head in 140 bushel corn. It was also "briefly" marketed as a Belarus 8400. Here's a link with a little more information about it: DON1500E

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