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Alrighty! Let me have it. Claas 670 or Deere T670?

27K views 48 replies 18 participants last post by  X80  
#1 ·
Been through the John Deere gamut the past 20 years. Currently running 9870, couple 9770, 9660 and still have 9610 banging around... We harvest larges acreage of oats, barley, flax, canola and soybeans with a short harvest window of Sept till Nov 15.

To put it short im at my witts end fixing STS combines. This fall we have went through the usual excessive amounts of excellerator and discharge beater belts. Two fans through radiators, a complete shaker pan meltodown, two cleaning fan explosions and two AC compressors. We dont have near enough hours on these machines to say they are worn but they are acting like junk with a couple thousand seperator hours. Not to mention down time on muggy evenings when dew sets in early.....

The old 9610 on the other hand just keeps plugging away up and down the field. Tough as nails

So im really interested in going back to conventional machine and pretty much narrowed it down to 670's.... I have a John Deere dealer locally but dont like some options Deere is lacking for T670. Claas dealer 5-1/2 hours away but have the options I want....

Let me know your track record for both Deere and Claas 670 machines
 
#6 ·
Alot seem to complain about T670 throwing lots of grain over...some guys in the UK have them and have the same issue, and the NH equivalent and claas is much better capacity wise...when you look at the designs there all similar and can't work out why the deere is throwing grain, is it sieve or walker loss no one has ever said?.

I'd go ride in both because if that claas 670 is as good as they say it's going to alot more profitable and have alot less hours on it per year if it's travelling 30-40% quicker than the deere...I'm a deere walker fan so would love to have a play with a T670.

Don't quote me but I think deere is working with a few owners in Uk to see why the grain loss is occurring and they can't keep up with similar machines..

Also fuel use in claas might be less?...

Hard to beat 9000 series for reliability if you look after them..!..

Ant..
 
#7 ·
I do have a great New Holland dealer locally.... The unfortunate thing is there are ZERO New Holland combines in this area. I actually have never stood beside a New Holland machine...

I would just love to get a CX8.8, a Deere T670 and a Claas 670 in the same field and let'm have for the day.
 
#8 ·
We run a Claas 670 and love it this is our 4th harvest with it. Our dealers here Sask can make a parts box with all the belts, filters, sensors and anything else you may need. Not sure if your dealer does that or not but maybe ask seeing as your five hours away. Claas combines seem very well built in 14 years we have never had a major breakdown on the 4 combines we've had. We do keep belts and a few other things on hand if we do break something.
 
#9 ·
I would just love to get a CX8.8, a Deere T670 and a Claas 670 in the same field and let'm have for the day.[/QUOTE]

Push hard to make this happen. Put the offer out to all 3 and make a field day out of it. If you have that many combines, the dealers should be willing to bring some machines out with guys to set them up. If it does happen, report back on your findings. I'm hoping the cx wins:6::6:
 
#15 ·
Claas 670 or Deerd T670

I would just love to get a CX8.8, a Deere T670 and a Claas 670 in the same field and let'm have for the day.
Push hard to make this happen. Put the offer out to all 3 and make a field day out of it. If you have that many combines, the dealers should be willing to bring some machines out with guys to set them up. If it does happen, report back on your findings. I'm hoping the cx wins:6::6:[/QUOTE]

Deere probably won't show!
 
#11 · (Edited)
Go whole hog and have the Gleaner people bring out an S88 too! Or MF 95x0 or whatever. Not a Agco user myself, but hearing more and more people saying the S series do a beautiful job and are very fuel efficent.

Of course the REAL problem is you traded off that 7720...;)

I'd say the Claas--hands down winner, but like many....5.5 hours??? OUCH.
 
#12 ·
From what i can pick up in the UK the CX8.8 is beating Deere hands down..and Deere guys are going to them begrudgingly or keeping there CTS's.

What perplexes me is if you look at the cut away for the NH JD and Claas ...there pretty darn similar so not sure where the Deere is falling down? Do the walkers run to quick or slow...The NH cylinder is larger diameter but machine is narrower...all three would be a good field day!

I wouldn't mind a drive of this girl...

MF DELTA

Ant...
 
#14 · (Edited)
We are in an area of extreme humidity.... Dew sets in early in the evening and leaves late in the morning. Just seems the STS rotor has a heck of a time getting any productivity through those hours and the fuel use in our conditions is 30-40% higher per acre than our old conventionals. Drive around my area at 8 pm and you can point out the rotary machines from 3 miles away... Just creeping along trying to hold grain in and not plug damned excellerator beaters

The only place I can really say the rotary machines pay back in this area is in dry oats and barley. In tough wheat, flax and canola theres no benefit from my perspective. Soybeans are a toss up... Of course this is just comparing to our old 9610.... I'm certain these new hybrids are far more productive than it
 
#16 ·
That makes sense I guess. We get damp here to as august turns into september and the sts usually is barking like a dog right at sunset and we just park it as losses go up and productivity way down.

Ive always wondered if we should trudge on at 2mph or quit. We quit 99% of the time. Not sure if that makes us quitter but gosh doing 8 acres per hour cant be to economical with a class 8 machine.
 
#18 ·
I'll echo Don's post, we went to the hybrid lexions at the same time we had the JD 9600's around and we'd put them to bed before the lexion's every time. When it got that tough the Lexion's were still getting the grain, the walker's were just putting it on the ground.

We run in lots of tough conditions and wouldn't even consider a walker machine.
 
#19 ·
We just switched from a CR to a CX and am kinda missing the rotary. Don't get me wrong, they both do a good job in their own way, but find the walker machine starts putting grain over them if you try pushing it a little, the rotary never seemed to increase loses when it was worked harder. The conventional is alot better on fuel but the rotary did a better job of thrashing. We never found the rotary too bad when it got tough, it did slow it down but wasn't terrible, and we have taken off alot of tough and damp grain. I wouldn't be afraid to go with a rotary because people say they suck when it's tough, they aren't that bad.
 
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#20 ·
We run a 760 lexion and a 9600 John deere, the other day we were doing tough green canola straw and during the day the lexion was doing around 5mph and the deere was doing 2.2, at night the lex was doing 4.5 and the 9600 was at 1.3, the lexion really doesn't know it's tough out compared to any other combine I've ever been around, in really wet green 60bu wheat straw it'll do 18 acres per hour all day putting all the straw thru, our sts would have sounded like Berlin in 1945 with about as much carniage in those conditions, with way less grain loss.
 
#23 ·
What if everyone opened their horizons?


Long gone, that's what the Versatile RT 490 is in North America anyway.

I actually no longer care what Deere may or may not build.
They are currently so far behind Claas in so many ways they think their ahead, we're 3 to 5 years from the "spy" pictures unit seeing the light of day plus a few years to "farmer" perfect it, and in the meantime I wonder what Claas is doing?
Or anyone else for that matter.
Hmm...
 
#24 ·
I was meaning can other companies have a crack now with that patent...i don't think may hung there hopes on the RT..plus counter rotating concave...

would be nice if they go electric drive to only run clean grain and return systems at the speed they need instead of fixed...would give longer life..bubble up auger etc..

Shoe augers..i could hack it if they ran in wood bearings...much easy to pull one of them off versus metal bearing..and yes p*ss them off altogether.

Deere's HULK looks far from cheap and reliable...it will be advanced but will cost a bomb...some guys running two may be able to go to one but when it breaks blood pressure tablets will be in big demand!!

The walker capacity now surely is appealing to custom cutters since 9 times out of 10 in USA they provide there own fuel...you would have to be thinking...and weight for haulage...

Ant...
 
#41 ·
This is what frustrates me no end. Every company still has and sells small simple machines overseas...but not in the US. Which means that small/medium farmers have NO CHOICE but to either maintain old combines or purchase mostly worn out complex used big machines and try to keep them running just a bit longer. And then they wonder why farms are all "corporate" sized. Is it just because of the US legal rules? Isn't the EU just as stringent of emissions and stuff? Or do none of us small guys ever buy new?

I did notice that Lexion had a 730 with a 20' flexhead at the FPS---nice size, but probably priced up there with the others.

What I would like is a basic machine like the old 7720. The improvements I would want are quieter cab with less dust and the Hydro handle controls like a modern combine. Thats it. I am perfectly happy to get out to adjust the sieves or fan. I don't need auto anything except AHHC. What I don't want are the split sieve like the 9000s. I can dream....
 
#42 ·
Thats the key right there.... "GET OUT to adjust sieves or fan". My young operators think they are heero's driving around in automation, but I can't hardly get them out of the cab to see whats going on around them..... I have one/two operators who is beginning to understand how a combine harvester functions, rest are clueless. I basically have to set up every machine and monitor daily from my cell phone by what I see as samples coming home and guys chatter on two way radio.... It is what it is..
 
#43 ·
if you look at the new W660 (AKA9600) and T670 - they have the same sieves? virtually the same as what was in the 9600..except for a blank sheet at start of pre-cleaner..

Thats plain lazy by Deere....for the amount of money they want they should have the new S style in 2016 S series in there...I'd say this is where the T670 is running into issues at a guess...

Claas 670 sieve area compared to Deere? ...also Deere have the system backwards compared to Claas - pre thresher at front will reduce sieve load...having it post main drum is less effective..plus they have an extra roller in there...

If old mate is keeping up with the rotary's in the 670 ...i don't think 9600 sieves are going to keep up with that material....

Ant...