Re: 9860 vs 2 cts
You do not state which crops you grow or how much straw you have for your yields.
I ran a 9860 non bullet rotor beside a cts2 for 2 seasons. In peas a 9860 will have less cracking and do the work of 2 cts combines if you can get the peas to feed in twice as fast.
In wheat the 9860 was about 2 times the capacity when the straw was tough, about 1.5 times the capacity when you have a big crop and straw that is not totally rotted, and about 3/4 times the capacity of the cts when the straw was well cured and on a hot day. The cts does not have enough power for tough straw when you are using the chopper.
In barley, the cts and 9860 were very similar in capacity if the straw is dry.
In canola the 9860 is between 2 and 3 times the capacity of the cts if the straw is dry and brittle. If the straw is tough, such as when straight cutting canola that has been regloned, the 9860 is about 1.5 times faster than the cts.
I now have a bullet rotor and in dry straw there is no difference in capacity between the bullet and non bullet machines. In tougher straw, the bullet rotor feeds better, but I am not sure if it threshes better, or just puts more unthreshed heads out the back of the machine. My impresion from running both together in the same field is no difference.
So back to your original question. If you only thresh when the straw is dry such as from 11 am to 9.30 pm, then one 9860 will not do as much as 2 cts combines. Unless you stop 2x a day for meals with the cts combines and keep the 9860 rolling non stop.
In tougher straw conditions the 9860 will do the work of 1.5 cts combines day in and day out.
