RB, Those speciality combines are only used in heavy weed and nightshade infected fields that I know of and not as a general rule. Weeds, and especially Nightshade do not mix with the harvest of edible beans. If you are getting splits and dirt, then you don't have the combine set up right. When the beans come out of the machine, they should be clean as a whistle and with only about a 1% or less tare. They should be almost as clean as they are when you buy 'em off the grocery shelf. As you know, during the heat of the day, the beans will shell by just barely "bumping" the little critters. So, this means that all the actual threshing takes place at that very first concave bar. Everything from that point to the truck is concentrated on getting the crop clean. Therefore, the cylinder has to be slowed way down; to about 175 rpm and the clearance opened up from what you would normally combine other crops at. I always ran it at about 1 5/8”. Also, when combining beans, you put special sieves on both of the elevators, the unloading auger and you swap the clean grain pan in the shoe for a perforated pan insert. Next, you have to get that air turned up a little. All this has to be done to let the dirt and cracks dump back out on the ground. Last trick of the trade is to keep that machine full; don’t putz around with it, load ‘er up and make it snort. The volume of crop fed in cushions the harshness of the threshing process. If you are using a rotary machine, all bets are off, ‘cause I’ve never owned one. :>( Hope this helps, Allan
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