If you’ve been in the cotton growing industry for a length of time, you know just how important it is to keep your equipment clean. It’s especially important to clean that equipment at the end of each season—the harvester and baler must be cleaned and maintained before being put away for the season. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as just quickly taking a hose to the equipment and letting it air dry. There’s a thorough set of processes that must be used when cleaning the picker and baler parts to ensure they function next year and far beyond.
Here are some of the methods you will need to use to clean your individual cotton picker and baler parts to ensure these components will be able to stand the test of time:
General cleaning: Before you focus on the smaller and more intricate components of your baler or harvester, you should give it a good general cleaning to remove larger pieces of dirt, debris and cotton residuals. Rather than using a hose with water for this process, you should instead use compressed air. Invest in a heavy-duty blower that is capable of blasting away all of the loose debris from your machine. Make sure you run that blower into all of the small cracks and crevices where debris might be hiding and be otherwise resistant to being cleaned out. Always wear gloves, goggles, a hat and a facemask when performing this step.
Moisture columns and row units: This is perhaps the most difficult and tedious part of cleaning your cotton picker, as it requires you to get in and pick out the debris by hand. Debris accumulated in these areas tends to be thick and wet, or was previously wet and is now crusted and dried in place. This means you’re not going to be able to get it out with compressed air. Pick through the debris to get out as much as you can with your hands, while at least loosening up what you can’t get, then go over the area with compressed air. Again, this step will take the longest amount of time, but it’s worth it to ensure a good clean.
Engine compartment: Buildups of debris inside the engine compartment of your baler or cotton picker can create disastrous situations if left for long periods of time. Open up all of the access panels to the engine and dig out any larger chunks of debris you find inside of it. After you’ve done this, take the compressed air to the engine and blow it out thoroughly, taking care to shut all of the compartments back up when you’re done.
Header: This section is also a little more labor-intensive, but shouldn’t take you quite as long as the moisture columns and row units. Here, you just detach covers from the stripping units so you can find any debris trapped inside. Pull this debris out with your hands, and once you’ve gotten as much as you can this way, blow it out with compressed air.
For more tips about cleaning your cotton picker and baler, contact the experts at Certi-Pik, USA today.
The numerous parts that make up your specialized machinery for cotton harvesting are not built to last forever. With proper maintenance and care, parts can last for their full life expectancy, but they do begin to break down over time and with continued use. Failure of cotton picker parts is accelerated by improper use, a lack of maintenance, failure to clean the machine, the use of little to no lubrication and poor manufacturing.
We at Certi-Pik, USA always encourage cotton farmers to routinely inspect their machines and all their parts. Replacing cotton picker parts before they fail completely is much cheaper than waiting to replace them until after they break and cause damage to other parts of the machine. During your routine parts inspection, use these tips to help you identify when it is the right time to invest in replacement parts for your cotton harvester:
Visual evidence of wear: During your routine inspection of your cotton picker parts, you should be able to notice clear visible signs of wear and tear on most parts. Spindles, moistener pads and bearings, in particular, typically show obvious signs of deterioration or fraying, which is a telltale indicator they should be replaced as soon as possible.
Decreased picker efficiency: During your harvest, if you notice your cotton harvester is leaving cotton in the field or is otherwise decreasing in efficiency, there may be a problem with one or more of its parts. To start, make minor adjustments to see if the problem rectifies itself. If the efficiency continues to drop, do a thorough inspection of the machine’s parts to identify where the problem lies.
Adjustments fail to make a difference: Some parts need to be adjusted every so often to ensure smooth functionality, but there comes a point where no amount of adjustment can make up for the wear on a part. In fact, some parts become so worn down that they cannot achieve the necessary alignments. If you make adjustments to a part only to have the part continue to fail, it’s probably time to replace it.
Parts have been poorly maintained: In the event that you obtain a used and poorly maintained cotton harvester from someone else, or you yourself have neglected to maintain your cotton picker in recent years, the chances that you will need to replace parts is high. Cotton pickers require extensive maintenance and lubrication to remain effective and safe, and if that maintenance doesn’t occur, parts fail much faster.
Fires start easily: Fires in your cotton harvester can quickly turn into a disaster for your machines and cotton fields. Regular cleanings will help cut down on the risk of cotton picker fires, but sometimes the problem doesn’t lie with dirty parts. Worn-out parts can also cause fires, as they are more likely to collect debris and oil that fuel frequent fires.
To browse a wide selection of manufactured and fabricated cotton picker parts, call Certi-Pik, USA. We also offer a broad list of quality specialty items and sheet metal parts for rebuilding picker units. For more than 30 years, we’ve served customers around the world with our top-quality products and competitive prices. Call today!
Any machinery rebuilding project will likely require purchasing new parts to replace older or broken parts. Such is the case with a failing or old cotton harvester. If you choose to rebuild your machine instead of scrapping or selling it, know that the whole process is made simpler when you have a reputable source for quality John Deere cotton picker parts. And, since ideally you want your harvester to work well for years to come, you’ll definitely want to purchase these specialty parts from a source you trust.
If you are planning to rebuild your cotton harvester with John Deere cotton picker parts, then the following information is for you!
Choose a trusted source
Chances are low that you’ll find cotton harvester replacement parts at your local home improvement store. This is a niche industry and you’ll need to seek out a source for in-stock and custom parts building. First, find a distributor that carries parts for your particular harvester model. This means getting familiar with your harvesting equipment’s specifications. Choose a source that offers the best harvester brands on the market, like John Deere, so you can go through your cotton harvest with the peace of mind that comes with being able to trust your parts and machines for years to come. Key parts you’ll need to keep in mind include:
Row units: Cotton harvesters have a very noticeable part called row units. Row units are the claws that are fixed to and stick out of the front of the machine to collect cotton plants and funnel them through. Not immediately visible in each row unit—there are six to 10 row units on average—are the cotton spindle bushings and the spindles.
Spindles and bushings: These two parts work together to get the job done. The bushings are rotating cylinders and the spindles stick out of these cylinders. When the harvester is in full operation, these parts grab the cotton plant that is put into the row unit and separate the cotton flower from the rest of the plant.
Doffers: The harvester parts that take the fresh cotton flowers from the spindle are called doffers. Spinning more than three times faster than the spindles, the doffers quickly remove the cotton and remaining debris from the spindles. This allows the spindles to continue functioning without issue.
Picker ribs: Located vertically in the row unit are the picker ribs. They are in place to separate the spindles as they spin fast during harvest. Picker ribs are vital for clearing away twigs, leaves and other plant matter from the spindles.
Plant lifters: You’ll find plant lifters at the bottom of the row units—only about an inch off the ground—and they work hard to funnel cotton plants into the row units. They grab the plant and carefully feed it through the harvester.
Getting ready to start a cotton harvester rebuilding project? While this list covers just a few of the key harvester parts, you can find everything you need for at Certi-Pik, USA! Contact us today for a list of in-stock John Deere cotton picker parts.
Are you wondering how you can make the most of this year’s cotton crop? Thanks to technological advancements and continuing innovations in the way that agricultural goods are planted, grown and harvested, you may be able to maximize your investment in this year’s planting and produce a bumper harvest.
The best way to ensure that you are receiving the best possible return on your crop investment is to utilize the highest possible quality of cotton picker parts. Using cotton picker parts produced by a well known and trusted fabricator is a surefire way to guarantee that you will be able to make the most of your crop.
In addition to using high-quality harvesting equipment, there are a number of other ways that you can make the most of your time, seed and soil. Here are just some of the most significant ways that you can maximize your field’s efficiency, and implement an effective strategy to make this year’s harvest more productive than ever:
Check your spindles: One of the most important components of the cotton picking process is the picker spindles. If any of the spindles are damaged, deformed or missing, you will not be able to yield your full crop. Work with a trusted purveyor of cotton picker parts to replace any damaged or missing spindles.
Clean the spindles: Once all of your spindles are intact and in proper working order, you must ensure that they are cleaned and lubricated. Debris on the spindles or a lack of proper motion can result in lost harvest opportunities in your fields. Working with mechanical experts is the best way to maximize your yield.
Align the equipment: The spindles and the doffers on your cotton picker must be perfectly aligned before you take your machine out into the field. If these two components are out of alignment, it will result in lost bolls during the harvesting process. Consult with a cotton picker parts expert to learn more about attaining alignment.
Calibrate clearance: Make sure that the spindle tip clearance and the picker head height are perfectly calibrated well in advance. Failure to calibrate these two components can result in lost crops and bolls that haven’t been properly yielded. If you are unsure about the proper way to calibrate your machine, consult with a cotton picker parts expert.
Since 1988, Certi-Pik, USA has been the nation’s foremost fabricator of cotton picker parts. For nearly three decades, farmers have relied on us to provide them with the most dependable, trustworthy agricultural supplies in the region. You can count on us to deliver reliable components that will help you to maximize your field’s efficiency, and receive the largest possible return on your investment. We are proud to support American cotton growers with our high-quality, domestically fabricated components.
If you are looking for ways to improve your cotton picking processes, you should reach out to one of our talented and knowledgeable associates today to learn more about the ways that we can help you make the most of your cotton fields.
Like all crops, cotton must be harvested before further steps can be taken to prepare it for sale to consumers—this includes cleaning and packaging. First things first, once the cotton crop has grown to maturity, the cotton will need to be separated from its stalks. While cotton crops of the past were picked by hand, today’s cotton farmers are taking advantage of cotton harvesting machines. A cotton harvester is a relatively simple and effective machine, but it’s important that you invest in the right type of harvester to ensure an excellent harvest and high quality cotton.
When researching cotton harvesters, you will notice that there are two good options on the market: cotton strippers and cotton picker spindles. Both are made to assist in the cotton harvesting process, although they each have their own methods of doing so.
So, if both cotton strippers and cotton picker spindles are used to harvest cotton, is there a difference between the two?
What Is a Cotton Picker Machine?
Just as the name suggests, a cotton picker basically picks the cotton. It picks the cotton from the bolls—which are the fluffy and round clumps of cotton you see growing on the plants—using revolving prongs or finger-like spindles. The burr and used parts of the boll are left behind. As harsh as the picker looks, it is able to pick cotton quickly and efficiently without causing damage to the plant parts or the unopened bolls.
Since mature cotton plants will continuously produce during the growing season, it’s typical to see a cotton picker running through the cotton fields more than once throughout the harvest months, but only if the bolls are ripe and ready to go.
What Are Cotton Stripper Spindles?
In contrast to cotton pickers, cotton strippers are harvest machines that are used once, and used in areas where certain weather conditions prevent repeat harvests. As you can imagine, this harvesting method is more invasive in comparison to picking cotton bolls only when they are ripe.
In the case of cotton strippers, these machines are designed to pull the entire boll, whether ripe or still growing, or the plant stalk is cut as close to the ground as possible. Yes, the entire stalk is taken along with the bolls. Then another machine works to remove the burr and any unwanted vegetation, which is everything but the cotton material. Though collected, the unripe green bolls are not kept. Instead, they are separated out of the harvest and sent to the underside of the harvester.
Modern cotton picking equipment makes harvest time a lot simpler. Ultimately, it’s up to you, the farmer, to choose a harvester that best suits your needs. Either type of cotton machine will need regular care and maintenance to ensure maximum picking efficiency every harvest season. And since they are hard-working, you’ll need to plan ahead for replacement parts.
Make sure your cotton harvest goes smoothly with the help of cotton strippers or cotton picker spindles, as well as a stellar harvesting team. Contact us at Certi-Pik, USA to learn more about your cotton harvester options, and the cotton picker parts we offer!
