Proper maintenance and repair of farm equipment is an essential factor that ensures proper functionality and durability. A cotton picker specifically needs such care after the hard work it performs. Proper servicing and cleaning of a cotton picker each morning or night will decrease fire risk, improve productivity, and reduce downtime. A complete maintenance procedure of a cotton picker involves thorough cleaning from top to bottom, adding fluids, greasing, inspection, and repair. Here are the common cotton picker maintenance tips that can keep your machine operating properly, maximizing your yield and your harvest’s efficiency.
Keep the Row Balanced
For a better and continued good performance, keep the rows balanced. Analyze your cotton picker spindle carefully and ensure that the height and tilt of all the row units are accurate. It should not be out of balance or have any uneven areas. Ideally, rows should only be set at the beginning of the season, depending on the width of that year. Maintaining row balance ensures optimum efficiency during cotton picking and reduces the risk of problems caused by crooked or slanted row units. This will also help with quicker debris cleanup, which would otherwise wear down the cabinets and system.
Keep Your Bushings and Spindles Sharp
To work as intended, your spindles and bushings ought to be kept sharp. With time these parts dull out, making the entire unit less efficient. If the need arises, take some time, and sharpen the spindle and its bushing. Preferably, the parts should be sharpened at the end of each harvest or season.
However, if they hit something in the field, such as the rock, they should be inspected and resharpened if needed. In addition to that, watch out for any rusting that might occur. Do this as occasionally as possible. Any spindles which do not rotate or work should be removed, as they can bring down the entire system.
Have a Routine Maintenance Procedure for Your Cotton Picker
Regular maintenance is a multi-point inspection done once over to ensure gaskets form tight seals, filters are clean, fluids are full, and all the subsystems are working correctly. Through routine maintenance, some problems are fixed, and it can also indicate a need for a more thorough inspection and repair procedure. Below are important cotton picker routine maintenance procedures every cotton harvester ought to know:
- Before starting the cotton harvester engine for the first time in the morning, check the engine coolant and engine oil levels, but be mindful of the safety rules.
- When there is a large accumulation of trash or lint in the basket or bale chambers, use your hands or a hard broom to remove it. This should be done any time of the day when a sensor shows a false situation or when waste accumulation creates a fire danger. The process can be time-consuming, but it is the most effective way to proceed.
- The cotton picker header needs to be cleaned just like the row units. You can start with the simplest method, which is hand cleaning, or use a crowbar that is used as a scraper to pull bulk material accumulations out of the header. The quick blast can knock out the remaining debris or dust with an air compressor getting the system back to working as it should.
- Inspect all the sensors and remove any barriers that prevent false indications. If possible, perform hand-cleaning. Because electrical components are less likely to be tampered with, hand-cleaning is safer than any other technique.
- Row units might not be fun to clean, but they will need to be done well before they are completely clogged. Cleaning row units require you to pluck out any debris or clumps which may have stuck in them by hands. Alternatively, there are special techniques and tools for cleaning the row units, but they are only applicable on special occasions. Hand cleaning is the most used method, and then dusting off with compressed air. Just ensure your units are not clogged since clogging disrupts the flow of harvest and may eventually result in a breakdown.
- The outside of the machine may not seem important, but it is always a good procedure that you keep it clean. Keeping the exterior section clean will always inspire the workers to maintain the engine and the interior components. Maintaining your tractor exterior also maintains the resale value of the tractor, which might eventually be sold.
Keep Your Cotton Picker Parts up to Date
Your spindle and other related parts may become dull and fail to perform through normal wear and heavy use. You will likely try to clean these parts or make some adjustments, but it will not help expedite the harvest. This is often frustrating, especially if you bought a new machine without looking at past maintenance schedules. If these parts are not working according to the specifications or develop problems along the way, they will need to be replaced. This ought to be done as soon as possible to prevent further damage or stressful operation.
The off-season is the best time to take care of any cotton picker replacement or repair since you will have ample time to check the entire machinery without the pressure of getting back to work. Hurrying the maintenance process is not recommended as some issues may go unnoticed. If you notice any parts that are deteriorating, broken, or need replacement, they should be replaced right away. In addition, ever compromise on quality.
Get Only Quality Cotton Picker Replacement Parts
Are you in need of replacement parts for your cotton picker? Professional companies exist that give cotton harvesters access to parts for assembly or rebuilding. Ensure you source your parts from a reputable supplier to get the highest quality replacement parts. Some suppliers do offer custom designs you may require to keep your machines running. To ensure you buy the correct parts for your cotton harvester, take note of the make, design, size, and any other identifiable features on the old parts.