2-Way Crop Chopper

2-Way Crop Chopper CULTIVATORS Cultivators (58C) 20-5-40 Bill Fuesz, Haxtun, Colo., wasn't happy with stalk choppers on the market be-cause he couldn't find one that would chop corn and sunflower stalks into uniform lengths. He solved the problem by building his own "two-way" residue chopper that's unlike anything you've ever seen. "It completely shreds residue into small 6 to 8-in. long pieces and it doesn't plug up," says Fuesz, who built his first prototype three years ago and has used it on more than 8,000 acres. The 32-ft. unit is equipped with two rows of special-built cutting wheels that he made from scratch by mounting pairs of 3 1/2-in. wide knives on 18 1/2-in. dia. cutting wheels. The cutting wheels mount on axles that are tied together with sprockets and chains which time the disc gangs so that the cutting blades on the rear discs enter the soil just as the ones on the front discs come out. "It works better than any other method I've ever tried," says Fuesz. "The secret to its success is that it chops both ways which ensures that it will always cut through residue no matter what direction it lays. Other residue choppers use either coulters that run parallel to the line of travel or blades that chop perpendicular to it. As far as I know no other residue chopper chops both ways at the same time. "It's built in five sections so it flexes on uneven ground. There are two sections on front and three on back, with four hydraulic cylinders used to raise and lower the ma-chine. The cutting wheels are spaced 15 in. apart and are offset 7 1/2 in. on the back axle so that they overlap each other. The blades on the rear axle just miss the shaft on the front axle and vica versa. Because of the timing of the front and rear gangs it won't plug up. If the front cutting wheels start to plug up with residue, the rear cutting wheels immediately start ripping it out. It leaves residue on the ground without causing it to fly up into the air." The key components of the new machine are the new-style 2-way cutting discs. Although they look deceptively simple, a lot of work went into their design. Fuesz assembles each one individually using a die made for him by Nichols Tillage Tools (312 Hereford Ave., Sterling, Colo. 80751). Each cutting segment is made up of individual pie-shaped sections with 3 1/2-in. wide cutting blades mounted at right angles. There are 18 blades per disc, or 9 per side. "The 32-ft. wide unit will cover twelve 30-in. rows. I use a 175 hp tractor to pull it which lets me cover about 30 acres per hour. I use it in the fall on irrigated corn and on irrigated and dryland sunflowers. I use it in the spring to chop corn and sunflower stalks, then chisel plow once and plant. It can also be used as a mulcher or as a soil conditioner, allowing me to chop residue and incorporate chemicals at the same time. Or I can use it as a tillage tool before planting wheat to kill weeds that have already emerged. It would also work great in conjunction with a deep tillage tool. I keep a tank full of water on the unit to add weight. "I plan to build a 30-ft. wide, 3-section, 3-pt. chopper in the future and put it on the market for $15,000 to $20,000." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bill Fuesz, 20526 Hwy. 59, Haxtun, Colo. 80731 (ph 970 774-7280).

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