Inside the Combine Cab

In last week's post, I talked about how a combine works on the inside.  I promised a tour of the operator's cab to some of my Facebook followers, so here it goes.

Yes, the combine cab is climate controlled.  We have heat and air conditioning!  You would be surprised to know that the warmest time of day in a combine is in the evening when the sun shines in the windows.  I also have a radio that has AM, FM and a weather band.  I do not have the fancy model that has a CD player.

There are a surprising number of light switches in a combine. There are lights for road transportation and working in the field. There are even lights inside the combine if you have to go in to inspect things.

The corner post of the combine has a 3 different screens.  The one I use most is the one in the middle.  It tells me how much crop I am running through the combine and if I am throwing any grain on the ground behind the combine.  The last couple of days we have been having trouble with one of the elevators saying it was full, but really wasn't.  We spend some time doing some calibrations and hope we have it right now.

The Command Center is something new in this combine compared to my old one.  I love that I can see what all of my settings are at a glance when I need to adjust something.

Speaking of making adjustments.  I can make almost all of the adjustments needed from the comfort of my air ride seat.  This is also a bit different than the old  combine.  It allows me to change things as I go through the field and the crop changes (gets greener or drier).

This is my oldest son's favorite thing to watch in the combine.  This display reads the yield (usually bushels per acre), the number of acres harvested, etc. and it also runs my auto steer for the combine.  My favorite feature of the new combine.

My youngest son loves to watch the grain fill the tank.  You can watch it fill as you drive through the field through the window behind my driver seat.  We should really clean it if we are going to take pictures and video through it.  Sorry!

As I have advertised on my Facebook page, I do offer free combine rides for kids (old and young).  I really like the passengers that bring me a snack or drink.  If you are in the area and want a ride, be sure to find out where we are harvesting.

As I have said, this is a new combine for us.  Check out the video our family put together celebrating the new addition.  Many of the pictures were taken by our 6 year old son as he helped us this weekend. 

-A Kansas Farm Mom