Wow. What a wind today...pretty much sustained at 35mph. Kept the bugs off.
We got going around 11am...we really need to remember that we are 50 miles away from the field when we are at the camper. Since Marilyn did the servicing while she waited yesterday, there was nothing to be done but check the oil before starting to combine.
Marilyn had noticed that the combine had an odd rumble to it when she started up the rotor, but after having Al try to hear what she was hearing and doing a walk around, it couldn't be pinpointed, so she decided she was losing it and started combining.
Al got the first load into the elevator and Marilyn was waiting for him when he got back...this wheat was running all the way up to 89 bu/ac, so waiting for the truck was normal. When he got back to the field Cliff, the farmer, had shown up to go for a ride in the combine and a trip into the elevator with the trucker...Al can't complain that no one wants to ride with him anymore.
Al was toggling between two elevators, which he would call to see how the lineups looked, then choose the shortest. He got caught going to LaCrosse once as they decided to move the conveyor belt to a new position, which took some doing...hopefully he will have a camera with him tomorrow to take a picture of it dumping into a huge bunker. He was also entertained by a new trucker who really had no idea how the wind was going to turn his tarp into a land sail...fortunately, the elevator guys had a skid steer with a bucket that one of them rode in to help capture the tarp and get it rolled up on the truck. Lesson learned by that chap.
He also had to give the four young men that were dumping the trucks some "instruction" on shoveling out the corners of the truck box with their "leaning posts"...like he wants to haul those 30 bushels back to the field.
Marilyn had just started back into the field as Al and Cliff took a load to the elevator, when her straw chopper alarm went off. After going out to inspect, the chopper belt, which was a two rib belt, had split into two single ribs and jumped off the pulley. When Al got back, we put both ribs back in place and hoped that we would be able to get the last 45 acres done with the patch job. Nope.
Marilyn got about 40 bushels in the hopper, then decided to go out and "powder her nose" and do a circle check while the rotor was idling. She looked at the straw chopper and it was working fine, but as she walked around to get back in the cab, she could hear it slowing down and eventually stopping. The belts had come off again.
Al got back to the field and Marilyn had talked to ProHarvest by this time and they were sending someone out right away with a new straw chopper belt. How's that for service...we LOVE these guys!
Upon further inspection, however, we discovered the locking collar on one of the bearings had not been locked on and was not doing its job, so a new bearing would be needed. When Clayton got out to the combine, he confirmed we needed bearings and called in to get someone else out with the bearings and flanges. We were hopeful that we would get to finish the field yet.
Once we got the bearing off, it became clear that the shaft on the straw chopper had a ridge worn into it and would have to be replaced...too bad the shaft is part of the straw chopper and now the whole chopper had to be changed. So much for finishing tonight.
So now there needs to be a third man to bring out the chopper and help install it...not an easy task, but the guys had the old chopper out and by the time Robert showed up with the new one, they just had to put the new one in, add the bearings and voila...done. A test showed everything was running as it should. Did we mention we love these guys?
We didn't actually get to see the install, since Clayton told us he didn't need us to stay...and the Stanley Cup playoff game was on, so Al didn't need to be told twice that we could leave.
An early night in means an early morning to finish tomorrow...Al wants AIS at 10am.
That's AIS in the combine, not leaving the camper...
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