[460]

Just brought home 97 CTS, 1577sep. hrs. very well looked after and maintained. But I have some questions?
Will be doing Peas, Lentils and Durum. PF parts says to speed the beater up (which I didn't realize till I got it home has a gearbox) but this one already has a 2 spd beater. So how fast do you guys run them. Also wondering about filler plates in the back end. Will I need them in the above crops if so how many rows? Think in the durum fillers would be a must. Any little bits of feedback welcome.

 

[herbie]

Good looking unit. One of JD's best combines. We do garden peas with our cts. Run at 6 to 8 kms per hour with a 922f head. If your concave has spring loaded inserts at the back of it, take them out and put as much straw as possible through to make straw rub on straw. Keep the cylinder speed down and clearance enough to thresh well without cracking. And lots of blast. Can't help with the lentils or Durum. Never done those crops before. There isn't much a CTS can't handle if you set them up right. Where do you farm?

 

[460]

Thanks, on the info, ya will see how it runs with the sts. I am just south of Moose Jaw, Canada. Got 3 kiwis here visiting/working here at this very moment. I don't think I've been to Pleasant Point.

 

[cf]

Nice looking combine, though it's always struck me as odd to se a CTS with R1 tires and only 2wd. Tom

 

[jaclute]

how to make a narrower windrow and not so chopped up for baling straw

 

[ninety420]

I found fillers in the concave helped to keep chaff off the shoe. The limiting factor for losses were over the shoe so we ussually ended up with two whole tine sections blocked off as well. I would think the beater speed up kit would be worth it as well, keep a spare beater belt in the cab as they get glazed up and will fail with 1 hr left in the feild. Don't try to drop straw as the system they used to go from drop to chop was not one of deeres better efforts. left in the chop posistion though it works well. We would usually do about 12 acres an hour in barley which was a huge advantage over the 9600 which will struggle to do 8 here.

 

[herbie]

Rotor loss in peas is a problem so we don't run fillers. Shoe loss is more of a limiting factor in other crops. Never had beater belt problems but may do as my machine ages(see post: Questions for cts owners) It will be interesting to know how it compares to a STS in various crops.

 

[nig71]

never done any of those crops but have done lots of hard thrashing wheat in a cts11 i don't know what durum is like to thresh as no one grows it around here. in my experience the filler plates are a must for brittle crops like canola that have a high chaff load. the only time i ever put the fillers on the rear rotors is Canola, but i did do it once on a really hot day in wheat when it was overthreshing and sending everyting down on the seives to overload them. the day was plus 40 degrees C certainly well into the century in F. In canola i put in four rows which is basicaly as far as you can reach unless you wind out the rotors.

the beater i run in high speed and will look at fitting the 60% speed up kit with two row belts this year. i would have wound out, unblocked and replaced that belt for times this last year. will look into ps parts beater and cylinder for next year.

great machine in cereals and the one my dad had a few years ago was great in canola but mine is slow in canola and most people here agree but there are exceptions.

In Australia their accillies heel is there cooling system they will not go hard on a hot day and they need to be babied along to stop them from overheating. I run the cab heater when it gets really hot and strip down to my jocks in the cab to keep myself cool.

 

[460]

All the CTS' here ran 2 wheel drive with 30.5's. We have a few left in the area close to me. But its surprising to me how little some of these guys know about there combines. A lot of guys have gone to the STS. But most guys would tell you they would see a 25-30% increase in bearded crops over a 9600. We used to drop a lot of straw for ourselves and neighbors but we're down to 8 cows and shorter durum varieties. I got a real nice straw guide with this combine to hang up over the chaff spreader which the guy said worked well, but I've heard straw quality is even worse than an STS. I got the beater speed up kit from PF for the STS maybe should have got one for the CTS as well.
Is the only way to unplug the beater to screw the rotors out?
Has anyone seen or used the Nykolaishen kits for blanking off the rotors? Or know if they are still available.

 

[nig71]

Lots of people in australia ran the nykolaisshen kits and i looked on the internet a few months ago and i still could find them i think. the blanking plates were very expensive as a jd part at least in australia considering how many of them you need, i just went down the road to a neighbour who ran four of them and he gave me cartons full of them, i think i may go back and offer him a couple of grand for all their spare parts and i reckon it would last a lifetime. they now run sts machines and buy accelerator belts by the pallet.

In "the Book" there was a tool to apply to the beater pulley with a 3/4" socket, don't know if it works but it was about $250. just when you wind the rotors out don't try to shock start the machine as the chopper blades hit the rotor cages. never done it myself but my machine bears the scars from previous owners.

not much experinece with 9600 but my cts11 was doing 35 (1500bu)tonnes an hour in standing barley that was doing 4t/ha (70bu) not bad for a $60000 machine with 3500 hours on it , it would have handled a lot of grain in its years.

 

[460]

How tight do you guys run the concave at the back? This one has about a 1/2 inch clearance at the back inspection hole, am used to running the 8820s with almost 0 clearance up tight.

 

[bud]

Concaves don't seem to be very important in a cts, as the tine separators will thresh a good portion of the crop if the grain and straw are dry. Hardly ever had the concave in my 97 cts closed tighter than 2 on the outside guage.

 

[mauifarmer]

My brother runs a CTS II and a CTS just north of you (Elbow, Sask.) We grow peas, lentils and durum and the combines are great in all three crops. Yes, you can still get the Nykolaishen kits for them as we just had one installed this past winter. Good luck and happy harvesting.

 

[460]

Do you know what the kits are worth, and do you get them directly from Nykolaishen Farm Eqipment? Been meaning to call them but haven't.
Do you run the rotors slower in peas?

 

[mauifarmer]

Sorry for the delay in replying but, yes, I believe you can get the kits directly from Nykolaishen's. I'll check with my brother on the rotor speed for peas and get back to you. Good luck.