8-Row Stalk Chopper Converted To 16-Row "Spring Cushion" Model

8-Row Stalk Chopper Converted To 16-Row "Spring Cushion" Model TILLAGE EUIPMENT Miscellaneous 28-1-4 "We were bending and breaking a lot of blades on our Buffalo 8-row rigid stalk chopper. We also wanted to cover more acres in the field. So we converted the machine to a 16-row model with a 40-ft. toolbar and heavy 12-in. coil springs," say Robert and Lee Rottinghaus, Jesup, Iowa. The chopper was originally equipped with 8 rolling choppers. They remounted them on a used 40-ft. folding toolbar off a cultivator along with 8 new Buffalo choppers. They took thirtytwo 12-in. coil springs from an old cultivator and mounted them on heavy duty brackets that they made out of 3 by 3, 1/8-in. thick angle iron. The brackets clamp onto the toolbar. The chopper units are installed at a 20-degree angle, just like on the original machine, to improve the cutting action. "We used it this fall for the first time on about 1,500 acres of ridge-tilled corn stalks. It worked good," says Robert. "We used our Case IH 200 hp front wheel assist tractor to pull it and it had plenty of power. Going at 12 mph we were able to cover about 50 acres per hour. Originally the chopper units mounted rigidly under the machine's 7 by 7 toolbar, which put a lot of weight and pressure on the blades whenever they hit a rock. The springs solve that problem. The massive support brackets we made for the springs added 1,200 lbs. of weight which improves the stalk cutting by the chopper units. We had to replace the toolbar's original 4-in. dia. hydraulic wing lift cylinders with 5-in. ones in order to handle all the extra weight." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Clever Tech, Inc., 4121 South Canfield Road, Jesup, Iowa 50648 (ph 319 827-1311; fax 319 827-2425).

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