Can you experienced picking men guide me? How tight should the husking rolls be on the New Idea? If too tight, will they wear out too fast? What do I use to gage or measure how tight? Thanks.
I just looked at my New Idea 323 manual and it doesn't say anything about an adjustment on the husking rolls. It only tells you how to time them if they are all steel. If every other roller is rubber you don't have to time (that's what the manual says). I think the way you adjust the clearance on the ones with the rubber rollers is to replace the rubber when it's wore out.
Maybe someone else will know more.
Chris
-- Edited by firefighter9208 on Tuesday 14th of September 2010 02:52:34 PM
Thanks for checking manual. I can set the spring compressions tighter to keep the rubber roller in contact with the steel roller but I didn't want to get too tight for fear of high wear.
You won't know the right setting until you start picking. Back 'em out and watch how the husks pull off . . . then tighten spring pressure until you get the husks off like you want. Often if there is a lot of stalk getting into the husker with the ears you need more spring pressure to pull that through. Before you do all this, though, make sure all the little pegs are in the plugs in the steel rollers. If a bunch of those are missing, it still won't husk well even with high spring pressure.