The Complete Guide to Maintaining Your Combine

Combines are the workhorses when it comes to harvesting grain crops, and keeping yours maintained is key to enjoying continual profits. Regular maintenance on this versatile machine is key, as even a simple breakdown can mean costly repairs and downtime. This combine maintenance guide outlines a few steps that you can take to ensure that your combine works properly all year. Here at PrairieLand Partners serving the state of Kansas, we help farmers find the right combine for harvest season. 

Perform a Regular Seasonal Maintenance in Winter

When your combine is out of service for the winter, perform a full maintenance on it to ensure a well-working machine for the upcoming harvest. 

• Wash and wax
• Check all lights to ensure they are working.
• Check all belts and tighten as needed.
• Check for cracks in the feeder house and elevator chains and replace as needed.
• Check all bearings for signs of wear, dryness and fatigue.
• Check the condition of the straw chopper. It should be properly balanced with no shake or excess noise.
• Check the fountain and unloading augers for signs of wear. These may need replacing annually.
• Blow out all dirt and debris from inside the combine. This debris can often serve as a nest for rodents, and mice, squirrels and rats can cause extensive damage to your belts and internal components.
• Blow out the radiator and heat exchangers.
• Clean out the cab, looking for and sealing up rodent entry points.
• Open inspection plates and check for damaged components.
• Change oil and filters and lubricate all grease fillings.
• Fill your combine with fuel and consider purchasing fuel additives to preserve it throughout the winter.
• Check the corn head, replacing gathering chains, sprockets and drive chains if needed. Adjust the width of stripper plates  and refill with grease or oil.
• Make sure your combine is road-ready by inspecting all lights, flashers and reflectors in good working order.
• If you have an axial combine, inspect the rotor and concave, making sure to check the wires for damage and the bars for signs of wear.

Remember that not all of these items will need repair or replacing, but it helps to run down the entire checklist to make sure no items are missed. 

Keeping your combine maintained throughout the winter is key to keeping it running all year with little to no downtime. Here at PrairieLand Partners, we offer full-service agricultural equipment service to keep all of your machines running efficiently. Our service centers offer overhead bays, hoists and a wide range of tools that allow us to repair your combine quickly and effectively. If you are in need of a new combine, PrairieLand Partners serves the entire state of Kansas, and can help you with all of your farm equipment needs. Call us today.