The care and maintenance of farm equipment is important to prolonging the life of your machinery. Through proper care and maintenance, you can minimize the risk of unexpected repairs which will cost you time and money.
Here is a checklist to help you with your post-harvest equipment maintenance:
- Always consult the operator’s manual for post-harvest maintenance and check points.
- Ideally, you would create a checklist (or use this list) to be sure you are covering the key areas.
- Blow off dirt and debris both on the outside and inside. Harvest debris can attract rodents that can chew on wires and other electrical components.
- Wash the outside; try to keep the water off bearings and other moving parts or be sure to blow them dry.
- Touch up scratches and worn areas with paint or rust protectors.
- Make sure to blow out radiators.
- Check cooling system protection level for your climate, replacing coolant if needed. To protect against corrosion, check supplemental coolant additive (SCA) level and add if necessary.
- Open inspection plates and look over the components.
- Open concaves and sieves and look over for any issues.
- Check bearings for any corrosion, spun on a shaft, or if they are loose. Replace all questionable bearings.
- Inspect all augers and conveyors for wear and damage. Replace the necessary components as soon as possible.
- Check walkers and their bearings for damage, cracks or wear.
- The same goes for the rotors while also evaluating alignment and bearings.
- Make sure the straw chopper is balanced properly without excessive vibration.
- Check and tighten all belts while inspecting for any cracks and dry rot symptoms.
- Check feeder house chains and elevator chains for proper tightness and wear.
- Look over the feeder house panels (especially the floor) for excessive wear.
- Check fountain and unloading augers for damage and any wear.
- Change oil and filters while lubricating all grease fittings and lubricate chains and other maintenance points outlined in the operator’s manual.
- Remove and store all drain plugs so that water does not accumulate in areas like grain tanks.
- Make sure all lights are functioning properly.
- Give the inside of the cab a good cleaning, looking over door weather stripping, seats and other in-cab parts. Consider placing something to deter rodents in the cab.
- Fill with fuel and consider adding a fuel stabilizer for winter storage.
Download the Checklist here : Post Harvest Checklist