MachineryLink
Gleaner Joins the Class 8 Club
WICHITA, Kan. (DTN) -- With much fanfare, Gleaner took the leap at a recent dealer event in Wichita and introduced its first ever Class 8 combine.
Gleaner has long been a combine club of one. When it produced its first transverse rotor machine in 1979, every other manufacturer used traditional straw walker designs or axial rotors. Knowing the pride Gleaner has in its uniqueness, it should be no surprise that it took Gleaner a while to join other manufacturers in the Class 8 club.
The brand wanted to be sure that it was able to "increase capacity [to Class 8] without taking away the things that make Gleaner a Gleaner," said Kevin Bien, Gleaner brand marketing manager. The result is the S88, part of the new S8 Super Series of combines that include the Class 7 (S78) and Class 6 (S68).
Combine classes are delineated by horsepower. Although there are no "official" classifications, most of the industry agrees that Class 8 starts at about 375-hp and first appeared in the early 2000s. Class 9 soon followed, and this year CLAAS introduced a 543-hp Lexion it touts as the world's first class 10.
Up until now, Gleaner has been satisfied to offer up to Class 7 combines with a reputation for great grain quality, fuel efficiency and a light footprint in the field. But, "As we are getting into tougher crops and people have a narrower window to harvest, they have to have a higher capacity combine," Bien said. "We recognized that but didn't want to radically change the design of the machine."
BIG ENGINES
Step one in the redesign was installing a larger engine. Like a lot of manufacturers, Gleaner has been waiting for its engineers to unveil Tier4 Final engines. For Gleaner, that means the AGCO Power 9.8L seven-cylinder engine, which uses a combination of SCR (selective catalytic reduction) and externally cooled EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) technologies. For the S88, the engine is rated at 430 hp with a maximum boost of 471.
Some 20 other changes went into the S88, Bien said. But most key Gleaner features remain unchanged. The trademark transverse rotor is a major component. So is the two-stage cleaning system, which accelerates material at four times the speed of gravity as it comes out of the rotor. A blast of air across the falling material helps remove chaff, leaves and debris before the material moves to the cleaning shoe.
The transverse rotor fits sideways in the machine, and that configuration means the total combine can be shorter than those with axial rotors, which run parallel to the frame. Compact size is one of the reasons the S88 combine is up to "15,600 lbs. lighter than some of our competitors," Bien said.
A unitized, welded frame is another reason for the Gleaner's light weight, which can be an advantage in wet conditions. Less weight also means the engine can direct more of its horsepower to grain separation, Bien said. "We could be a 460 or 470 [horsepower] combine and be a battleship in the field. But is that what we really want to be?"
The Gleaner's unique design also means material flows through it in straight lines with no pinch points. That means no 90-degree gearboxes, which can have a parasitic effect on power.
Pricing for the S88 is $ 440,000 to $485,000 for the machine only.
To achieve Class 8, "We didn't violate what makes a Gleaner a Gleaner," Bien said.
(CZ)
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