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COOKIE TRACKING
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Pre-Harvest Maintenance Tips

Get your corn head ready for harvest

Pre-Harvest Maintenance Tips

Get your corn head ready for harvest

Corn Head Tips

Pre-Harvest Maintenance

At Geringhoff we pride ourselves on providing the best customer support in the industry and, like you, we know that downtime is never an option. In our continued effort to keep you up and running, we’ve put together these early maintenance tips to help you prepare for harvest!


Maintenance Resources

Click on a pre-harvest maintenance topic to jump to that section.

Corn Head Maintenance Checklist
Below is the pre-season maintenance checklist for standard/Patriot corn heads.

  • Put the head on a combine
    • Always use the factory installed safety stops while working under a head
    • Check engagement of combine locks to the head – adjusting as necessary
    • Make sure single point connections are clean before connection, hooking them together
  • Do a general walk around of the head
    • Check for any obvious issues with the head (i.e. leaking seals, rolled poly, loose bearings, etc.)
  • Change all gearbox oils if not done post-season
  • Check oil levels with the gearbox in level position
  • Grease all grease points on the head as defined in the owner’s manual – including annual grease points
  • NorthStar & Horizon Heads: Check knife adjustment/wear and adjust/replace as necessary
    • NorthStar knives are considered worn when you can no longer get the proper tolerances for adjustment
    • 2 mm at the front of the row and 0.5 mm towards the gearbox
  • Rota Disc Heads: Check discs for wear and replace as necessary
    • Rota Disc discs are considered worn out at 110 mm
  • Rota Disc Heads: Check stationary and rotating knives for wear/adjustment and adjust/replace as necessary
    • Stationary/rotating knives are considered worn when you can no longer get the proper 0.5mm adjustment
  • Horizon Heads: Check chopping blades for wear and replace as necessary
    • Blade sets are balanced and must be replaced as a pair
  • Check chains for wear
    • Check the slot left for the slider from the bottom of the head, under the skid shoe
    • Chains are nearing the end of their usable life when they are ½" or less from the end of the slot
  • Check auger drive chain for proper tension and check auger drive sprocket for alignment
    • Proper tension for auger drive chain is ½" deflection
  • Remove and clean movable deck plates and ensure that they move freely during operation
  • Check the auger/auger stripper clearance and adjust as necessary
  • Start the head and run at a low idle
    • If adjustments were made on the row units watch and listen for any interference between moving parts
  • Horizon Heads: While running at a low idle make sure all swinging blades are engaged and spinning
    • If they are engaged but not spinning it may be necessary to replace the shear shaft or friction disc
  • Rota Disc Heads: If no interference is detected run the head at idle for 30 seconds and shut down if any chopping shaft bearings were replaced
    • If bearings were replaced check the bearing housings for any heat – they should be cool to the touch
    • If there are any that are hot the bearing housing will need to be replaced
  • Folding Heads: Check for proper operation of all folding components
    • Check to make sure folding lock pins fully engage and adjust if necessary
  • Folding Heads: When head is unfolded check for proper ATP box alignment
    • The measurement should be the same where it bolts to the frame as it is away from the frame
    • After this measurement is properly aligned check the preload on the clutches – there should be 2-3 mm of preload



Parts Resources
The below parts resources will help you protect your investment and prevent downtime during harvest. Use the Parts Tips for inspecting common wear parts on your corn head. In the event you have parts that need to be replaced, save on Genuine Geringhoff Parts with our cost-effective NorthStar and Rota Disc parts kits.

Parts Tips

Common Wear Parts

Tips for inspecting corn head common wear parts

Parts Kits

Corn Head Kits

View corn head parts kits for NorthStar and Rota Disc
Additional Resources

Contact a Geringhoff Rep

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