This machine is easy to operate, has good capacity for its horsepower with a generous sieve area, and with its minimal use of electronics, should prove to be reliable
- Minimal electronics
- Big sieve area
- Powerflow front
- Good capacity for its horsepower
- Quiet, comfortable, spacious cab
After nearly 11 years’ absence from the New Zealand combine market, local Massey Ferguson dealer JJ’s recently delivered a MF 7270 combine to mid-Canterbury cropping farmer Anthony Hampton.
The new 7270 comes equipped with the latest version of the powerflow front and Massey Ferguson’s BETA threshing system, which has an additional rotary separator behind the drum.
Engine and power
This combine’s power comes from a 300hp Tier III Sisu engine with a 30hp boost, so unloading when harvesting is no problem.
The Sisu power plant is situated behind the grain tank, and access is excellent.
While on top of the combine, the reservoirs for the four-speed hydrostatic drive and hydraulics are beside the engine with easy to check sight glasses. The rotary screen and radiators are also laid out for easy access.
Safety is taken care of with rails that lift up when working around the engine area and accessing the grain tank.
The front end
The 7270 is fitted with a 22’ powerflow front with auto contour, with the usual hydraulic adjustments for the reel and a large diameter auger.
Operating in short, dry land barley, it was doing an excellent job. The reel was set low and forward, pulling the crop heads first onto the powerflow belts, resulting in a very even crop flow into the auger and combine.
Visibility is excellent as the knife is set further forward than with a conventional front to accommodate the belts, and Hampton told me that when fitted with a set of lifters, the combine does an excellent job of picking up three mown rows of rye grass, eliminating the need for a separate belt pick-up.
The front is easy to take off and coupling the hydraulics is made easy with a multi-coupler similar to that used on a loader.
Threshing system
The crop is taken from the front into a power roller, which distributes the crop evenly across the throat chain width ready to enter Massey Ferguson’s “BETA” threshing system. This features a standard drum and concave followed by a beater, then a second rotary separator for hard to thrash crops. This has a concave that can be rotated clear of the separator feeding the crop directly onto the six galvanised walkers for easy to thrash crops, improving the combine’s capacity.
A feature of the concave is that it can be adjusted from the cab both at the front and the rear so the optimum position for the crop can be attained.
Straw is then passed to the ground or through the chopper, which features serrated knives, and while the crop being harvested was quite short the chopper was doing a very good job chopping and spreading the straw into the stubble.
Grain tank
The grain tank capacity is 9000 litres. Its lid system can go from completely covering the tank to an extension of the tank when fully open, which is electrically operated by a single actuator from the cab.
The tank has two alarms, one at about ¾ full and the other for full. A window in the front allows the driver to view the tank through the back window of the cab, as well as a flap outside the cab for collecting a sample.
Cab
Quiet, spacious and well laid out, I found visibility from the cab excellent.
All the common controls are fitted to the hydro lever and arm rest within easy reach of your right hand, with a digital display on the cab pillar showing all the functions of the combine.
Maintenance
Both side covers open on gas struts, giving access to the drives and for greasing. Access to the top of the combine is via a ladder for service checks on the motor and grain tank. The ladder can be unclipped and used elsewhere around the machine.
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Specifications
Cutting widths available on FreeFlow 5.40 to 6.60
Cutting widths available on PowerFlow 5.50 to 6.70
Table and elevator reverser Standard
Table features Automatic cutting height control
Hi-inertia cylinder
No. of bars 8 + 8 ballast bars
Width / Diameter mm 1600 / 600
Speed range rev/min 430 to 1310
ABC Concave degrees 14
Concave
No. of bars 12
Wrap angle degrees 106
Area m2 0.99
Rotary separator
Width / Diameter mm 1600 / 600
Separator concave
No. of bars 8
Wrap angle 57
Area m2 0.54
Straw walkers
No. / No. of steps 6 // 4
Separation area m2 8
Grain tank
Capacity litre 9000
Unloading rate l/sec 105
Auger length 5
Unloading height 4.45
Engine
Make/type AGCO SISU POWER
Capacity litre 8.4
Power (ISO) hp/kW 335* / 246
Fuel tank capacity litre 600
Transmission
Type / No. gears Hydrostatic / 4
Dimensions
Overall length without table mm 8370
Width without table, standard tyres mm 3850
Weight kg 13650
Photography: Ian Harwood