Harvesting Attachment

Type – Foidin

This attachment was designed and developed to permit the harvesting of foidin sods while the surface of the field and loose milled peat are wet, also to permit the harvesting of foidin sods and milled peat or all milled peat when bog conditions are favourable.

The attachment is fitted to the Harvester type III machine in place of the spiral unit and ball housing. It consists ~f an elevator conveyor which lifts the foidin or milled peat and discharges it onto a cross conveyor which in turn discharges onto the belt conveyor of the standard machine.

The elevator comprises a light frame work fabricated in square hollow section steel with fixed sheeting top and bottom but the centre portion is fitted with hinged flaps which can be closed to complete the sheeting of  the conveyor or left open to allow the screening out of  wet mould. The conveying element is a bar screw chain passing over the partly sheeted, or when flaps are closed, fully sheeted elevator and runs on sprockets at the top and on small diameter rollers at the bottom. The complete elevator is supported on a structure cantilevered from the frame of the main machine.

The cross conveyor is rubber/canvas belting running on conventional end rollers with intermediate troughing rollers and is carried on a separate frame work supported at three points within the cantilevered frame from the main machine.

The drive to the elevator is from the gearbox normally used to drive the spirals while the belt is driven by chain and sprocket from the driving roller of the standard machine conveyor.

The attachment is lifted and lowered by hydraulically operated rope from the main machine using the standard machine equipment.

While the machine was primarily developed for lifting foidin sods in wet conditions, it lifts milled peat very effectively in the fourth and fifth lifts.  The fixed speed of the potato type chain makes the lifting of the first, second and third milled peat lifts uneconomical.

Type – II

The purpose of this attachment is to pick up and convey the ridges of milled peat from the centre of one field to the centre of the next field and finally into the bog stockpile, in accordance with the Peco system. The field spacing is 50 ft. (15.24 Metres) centres.

The attachment consists of a single or twin spiral pick-up unit, a primary conveyor belt and a jib conveyor belt. The spiral unit is positioned at one side of the tractor unit close to the tracks, the primary conveyor runs through the width of the tractor unit, within the tracks d the jib conveyor projects at the other side of the machine.

The spiral unit consists of one or two spirals housed in a sheet metal casing sealed to the bog surface at both ends and at the rear (relative to direction of travel) by a trailing board, in almost vertical guides. The housing is fixed to the tractor unit by two arms which extend into and are pivoted at the centre of the tractor it. The casing is articulated between the inner and outer supporting ground rollers, so that the unit follows the profile of the bog as accurately as possible. The two outer supporting rollers are carried on a swing beam to ensure that all four ground rollers are taking the load. Axial movement is provided in outer spiral shaft bearing.

The primary conveyor belt is supported partly on the arms of the inner spiral casing and on the tractor. The belt is driven at the delivery end while the pulley at the intake end located close to and fixed to the spiral delivery plate.

The jib conveyor is pivoted on the tractor, on the bottom drive pulley centre which is located below the livery end of the primary belt. The extended jib can raised and lowered depending on what level the peat is required to be delivered.

The jib is controlled by wire ropes which pass over pulleys at the top of a mast and are secured to a hydraulic ram fixed to the mast. The base of the mast is pin jointed o the main machine. The spiral unit is also connected to the top of this mast by wire ropes and hydraulic ram and for idle travel the complete spiral casing is lifted clear of the ground.

Hydraulic controls are also fitted to the trailing boards of the spiral casing and the discharge cowl of the jib belt to control the trajectory line of the peat.

The drive to the spirals is protected by shear pin tension bolt safety device.