The cotton picker is several thousand pounds of complex, rotating machinery cutting its way through acres of cotton fields. If this doesn’t sound intimidating to you, operating a cotton picker is probably just another day on the job for you. However, just another day on the job can quickly become your last day on the job if you aren’t careful.
There are several hundred farming-related deaths per year in the U.S., plus thousands of injuries, and the majority of these unfortunate events are related to accidents involving farming equipment. It’s best to practice safety first and protect yourself and others from the possibility of injury when on the job, so here are a few essential safety guidelines to keep in mind when operating a cotton picker:
Keep your picker in proper repair: Even a small issue can become a major hazard when operating machinery this large. Be sure to do regular maintenance checks and keep your cotton picker in good repair. For any replacement cotton picker parts you may need, Certi-Pik, USA can help.
Keep windows and mirrors clean: Cotton pickers are large and complex machines, which create blind spots for the operator. To increase visibility, it’s important to make sure that all windows and mirrors are clean.
Keep all lighting and alarms in proper working order: Warning lights and alarms are there to let others in the area know of the cotton picker’s direction, as well as to alert the driver of obstacles. Be sure that these are always in working order by checking them frequently.
Get help backing the picker: When backing your picker, be sure that the surrounding area is clear by shouting “clear” or some other agreed-upon warning signal. Best practice is to have a spotter who can help make sure that no unexpected obstacles get in the way.
Be careful on public roads: If you need to take your cotton picker onto a public road, be sure to travel at safe speeds. Use an escort and turn on all your flashing lights as well. Since it’s hard for you to see smaller vehicles on the road, best practice is to make certain that they see you and are aware of your movements.
Train and retrain: Establish procedures for operating your cotton picker, and then thoroughly train all personnel. Specific points to consider when training are how systems should be locked for service, steps for operating baskets, positioning of brakes and communication between personnel.
Practice precaution when ascending and descending: When getting into and out of your cotton picker, be sure to first scrape any mud from your shoes. Then face the ladder and be sure to keep both hands on the handrails at all times.
To ensure your safety and avoid the risk of injuring others, use best practices for cotton picker operation and make sure that your picker is always in good repair. For help with replacement cotton picker parts, please get in touch with the team at Certi-Pik, USA today.
The doffer column is an essential part of your cotton picker’s operating system. Doffer lugs rotate in tandem at a speed many times faster than the rotating speed of the spindles to remove the seed cotton from the spindles with a stripping motion. The doffer lugs are a very delicate part of your cotton picker’s operating system. Even a difference of a few parts of an inch clearance can cause damage to your cotton picker and to your crop. To ensure that your doffers are always operating correctly, here are a few tips for doffer maintenance.
Check the clearance of your doffer column daily
If you notice that your cotton picker is doffing poorly, the most common problem is an issue with your doffer’s clearance—the space between each doffer lug and the spindles of your cotton picker. Daily operations or a jam in the system can cause the clearance to become unbalanced, which can result in poor doffing, damaged doffer lugs or even damaged crop. Doffer lugs should operate within about 0.003 inch from the spindle surface. To avoid problems, be proactive about checking your doffer clearance daily. If you notice a problem while operating your cotton picker, be sure to stop and check your doffer clearance before proceeding.
Monitor the flexibility of your doffer lugs
Your doffer lugs should be strong enough to clear seed cotton from the spindles of your cotton, yet flexible enough for trash and other debris to slip through without jamming up the system and causing damage to your spindles. Weather, sunlight and use over time can harden your doffers. Monitor the flexibility of your doffer and immediately replace any doffer lugs that have hardened. If a hardened doffer lug has already caused permanent damage to your spindles, we can fabricate new cotton picker spindles for you if necessary.
Replace worn or broken doffer lugs immediately
There are multiple causes for a worn or broken doffer lug. Age, weather conditions and simple wear and tear can cause doffer lugs to break or the leading edges to become worn and rounded. A worn or broken lug will affect the rotation speed of your doffer, as well as cause frequent spindle wraps or twists on low bars. To keep your cotton picker operating at its best, be sure to frequently check your doffer lugs for damage and wear. Replace damaged doffer lugs as soon as possible to avoid permanent damage to your doffer column and cotton picker spindles.
Your cotton picker is an expensive and delicate piece of machinery. Even a small imbalance or worn part can result in costly repairs, damaged crops and even injury. To avoid problems, be proactive about maintaining your cotton picker. Regularly monitoring and repairing your doffer is one way to ensure that your cotton picker stays in good repair for the long term. However, if you do find that you’re in need of replacement parts for your cotton picker, the staff here at Certi-Pik, USA are always ready to help. Give us a call today for more information.
You may have always wondered what path cotton took to make it from a cotton field to your wardrobe. Let’s chronicle cotton’s journey from a small seed to being extracted with cotton picker parts in order to become a mainstay in your closet:
The plant: It may be hard to believe that your shirt was once a plant that went through the germination and photosynthesis processes, just like any other plant. Starting as a seed that is planted in moist and favorable soil, leaves begin to grow within a week. As the plant continues to grow, these initial leaves will fall off, exposing the cotton boll, which contains the seeds that will mature into the cotton fibers that are eventually used to create lint.
Harvesting and picking: The removal of cotton from the field is typically done using a mechanical cotton picker, although cotton is still handpicked in some areas of the world. If a mechanical picker is used, the machine grabs the plant from the field and then begins the process of removing the cotton from the rest of the plant in the picker head. The cotton seeds and fibers are separated from the rest of the plant when the rotating spindles on the picking bar grab and pull them off with the aid of a rotating drum. The drum then carries the locks that contain the cotton fibers to the doffer, which takes the fibers off of the spindles. The fibers that are removed during the doffing process travel to the picker door, where they are blown into a basket, ready to be collected and transported to the cotton gin.
Ginning: There are two different types of ginning done to separate the cotton fibers and seeds. For shorter cotton fibers, saw gins are typically used. In this process, circular saws pull the cotton seeds and fibers through narrow slots. Since the slots are so narrow, the cotton seeds cannot pass through, and only the fibers remain. The other type of ginning that is done to extract longer cotton fibers is executed with the roller gin. Once the long fibers are attached to a coarse roller, the roller is pulled under a rotating bar that doesn’t allow enough room for the seeds to pass through, and the long fibers are extracted.
Production for public consumption: The raw fibers (or lint) are transported to textile mills where they are turned into the fabrics that we encounter in our daily lives. At these mills, the cotton is processed through several stages that condense the fibers into a web, which is purified, spun and turned into yarn. The yarn is woven and loomed, and cloth is formed. Depending on what the cloth will be used for, the fabric will go on to be treated and colored to create various consumer products.
Cotton harvesting and production takes place all over the world, so a distributer who can fill orders both locally and globally is valuable. Certi-Pik, USA is one of the premier distributers of cotton picker parts all over the world, so if you have been having trouble with any of your machine’s parts, be sure to give us a call so you can get your picker up and running right away.
Rust is one of those things that forms when metal is left exposed to the elements for a prolonged period of time, particularly moisture like rain, snow and dew. You’ll notice that a moist metal surface will oxidize before corrosion shows itself as discolored and peeling, flaky patches—this is rust. Or course, the best way to prevent rust is to protect metal surfaces from the rain, but this is not always possible. For instance, you may have a lack of adequate storage space, or your machinery may have broken down out in the field just before a rainy period.
So what should you do if you encounter rust? It’s easy enough to order a ton of commercially produced rust remover solution, but if you’re in the agricultural industry, you need to be cautious about how you remove rust from farm machinery and equipment, because you want to avoid contaminating your field crop with poisonous, toxic products. Here are a few natural ways to remove rust from cotton picker parts without using harsh chemicals:
Use abrasive tools: Since there’s rust somewhere on your machinery, thin flakes of chafing metal are likely to be present, as well as a classic reddish-brown substance. Whether the metal is rusted deep or the rust is only just forming, these flakes should be rubbed off prior to cleaning. Simply take a rough tool—like steel wool, a lump of tin foil, sandpaper or a rust-free wire brush—and scrub the rust away.
Use a baking soda paste: Many homeowners are familiar with the cleaning power of baking soda, but not everyone knows that it’s also great for eliminating rust. Mix baking soda with water to create a paste mixture thick enough to adhere to the rusted surface. Apply to the problem area and let it sit for several minutes. Now, use one of the aforementioned abrasive tools and scrub. Wipe off any remaining paste to see if you need to repeat the process.
Use white vinegar: Your cotton picker parts may benefit from a cleansing white vinegar bath to remove rust. Like baking soda, pure white vinegar is a common household cleaning product that’s both cheap and natural, in that it does not contain toxic chemicals. To use, pour over spots of rust on metal surfaces or screws, bolts or joints and make sure to rinse well with water. Note that since vinegar is acidic enough to dissolve rust, that also means it’s strong enough to damage metal, so you must rinse thoroughly.
Use a potato slice: Here’s one you might not know about: you can actually use a slice of potato to remove rust from your farm equipment. This method is better for smaller rust spots or hard to reach spaces—like in between close joints—and it’s even good for preventing small areas of rust from spreading. Although the potato’s oxalic acid is enough to help dissolve rust, you can boost its efficiency by sprinkling a little salt or baking soda onto the slice, and then rubbing it all over the rusted spot.
If you are in the market for replacement cotton picker parts or parts for a cotton harvester rebuild, or if you need tips about maintaining your equipment, contact the team at Certi-Pik, USA before looking anywhere else.
Modern cotton picker parts and innovative picker models have come a long way in a short time. If you’ve been growing cotton for more than a few decades, you know that even as recently as the 1970s and 1980s, cotton harvester equipment was wildly inefficient—it’s only through today’s modern technologies that we’ve been able to raise the total yield rates of fields as high as 95-97%!
But, today’s high crop yields are more than just a product of great cotton picker parts—they’re also the result of better cropping techniques and a forethought to increasing total yield. Sure, cotton croppers were able to get 95% yield rates even 40-50 years ago, but that was often due to a practice called “scrapping.”
Scrapping is essentially the act of harvesting a field twice, going back after an initial harvest to clean up any leftover bolls in order to drive the best yield rates possible. The problem with scrapping, however, is that it’s a wildly inefficient way of driving up your yield. Take a look at four reasons you should avoid scrapping:
First and foremost, scrapping is wildly inefficient in terms of fuel. Going through your fields a second time is going to use twice as much fuel… however you’re going to get a minuscule fraction of the harvest in return. Save your fuel and don’t scrap: you’ll end up costing yourself more in the long run.
After your initial harvest, going back through your field to scrap can have very serious ramifications on soil impaction. Especially if you have drainage tile or in-ground irrigation in place, you could be putting unnecessary strain on these features with a second run-through of your field.
Scrapping puts excess wear on your cotton picker parts, even if they’re not being actively engaged in the capacity they were during the first harvest. Spindles can still break, doffers can still become compounded with debris, etc. Putting excess wear on your cotton picker parts is a good way to cost yourself more money than you’re making scrapping.
Scrapping is time consuming! Going back and essentially re-harvesting sections of your fields takes a lot of time, which could be better spent elsewhere. Time absolutely equals money, so every spare hour you’re scrapping is money down the drain, which isn’t likely to be recouped by your secondary harvest.
Scrapping for yield might seem like a great idea in theory, but in practice it falls far short of its intended benefits. Instead, take a look at a few ways you can ensure superior yield through your first harvest, eliminating the need for scrapping:
Observe your crop development and plan for a single harvest at peak maturation.
Keep your harvester and its equipment in top working order.
Have a harvest plan and path in place that maximizes picking.
Use proper picking and baling techniques that minimize crop loss.
Gone are the days of mandatory scrapping to get every last little bit of your yield! Instead, give some of the above tips some thought and work to maximize your yield on the first and only harvest you’ll need this year.
