Midwest have developed their draper platforms to mount onto all brands of harvest combines, self-propelled windrow tractors, 3 point linkage tractors and forage choppers.

Midwest make platforms to suit Agco, Claas, Case IH, New Holland, Massey Ferguson and John Deere. Midwest also manufacture a range of Forage and Swather Platforms.

21’ 25’ and 27’

Midwest frame sizes are 25' 27' 30’ 33’ 36’ 41’ 42’ 45’ 50’ 55' 60’

No. The ground wheel chains and pins are designed for transportation of the platform only. Be sure to remove ground wheel chains from the wheel arm and u-bolt to the platform during operation.

Pressure should be between 35 and 55psi dependant on ground conditions.

Gauge wheels pressure should be 40psi. (270KPA)

Move your reel back to the fully closed position and hold for 2 to 3 minutes to allow the hydraulic oil to fully circulate through the system. You may have to repeat the process as it can take time to purge the air out of the hydraulic system.

Reel speed should run approximately 15% faster than ground speed.  In normal crop conditions we need only to push the crop as it's cut onto the platform belts, not throw it up on the belts, as Midwest doesn't have a ledge or hump to push the crop over to get to the draper belts. We flat feed onto the draper belts. Therefore if we are cutting clean and have no knife loss, there is no need to spin the reel faster. There is little to no straw built up on the feeder houses from throwing the straw over the back of the platform. It’s your grain, put it in the header box!

If the reel speed cannot be increased with the header reel speed control, take the following steps -

1. Find the reel relief valve.  This is located on the top of the reel drive motor. Undo the lock nut on the reel relief valve; screw the relief valve in fully and then out 3 turns (factory setting).
2. Check all hydraulic connections are properly engaged and not leaking or restricted.
3. Check reel drive for proper adjustment and that the reel is free and easily turned.

Lift your rams to the fully raised position. Bleed the air out of number three lift ram located on the right hand side.

Tip – once phased, avoid lifting the rams to maximum height and holding with full pressure as this may increase fluid in the right hand cylinder.

Check for any bent retractable fingers.  Ensure the feed drum isn't contacting the feeder chain.  Make sure you don't have a failing universal, failing bearing or worn rubber guides.  For more vibration pointers, refer to knife timing. 

Setting the drum up to get maximum feed from your platform is very important. When setting the feed drum correctly, we can expect the platform to deliver the crop to the combine and not wait for the combine to take the crop from the platform. This increases the platforms ability to feed big bulky crops in tough conditions. This can be upward of 30% more than some of the other platforms offered on the market today.  Midwest recommends you run the feed drum in accordance with crop conditions. In light crop, run the drum close to the floor.  In heavy conditions adjust the drum to the highest setting.  Adjust finger pitch to enable finger to be at full extension at the 2 o’clock position.

Check the distance between your feed drum and the feeder house chains. It should be 25mm to 45mm. If not, this can be easily adjusted by the feed drum mounting plates located on either side of the drum.  This is a vital adjustment to have correct for platform feeding performance. Please refer to the Operator Manual located on line when adjusting the feed drum.

Incorrect knife timing causes excessive vibration of the platform. Knife is timed correctly when both knife heads are at their outermost at the same time. This can be seen by lining the grease nipple on the knife drive directly below the indentation on the flywheel.

To set knife timing for the Crophawk & Midwest Durus range -

1. Rotate the knife drive on one end until the knife is in the fully out position.   This can be determined by lining up the grease nipple and the dot on the pulley just below it.
2. If the knife drive on the opposite end is not in the same position, loosen the tensioner idler pulley anchor bolt and tensioner lock nuts on the knife drive belt tensioning idler pulley.
3. Raise the pulley to the highest position, slip the drive belt over the teeth until the knife drive is in the desired position.
4. Re-tension the drive belt, tighten the idler pulley anchor bolt to 271nm (200 ft-lb) and tighten the tensioner lock nuts and adjuster nuts to 43nm (32 ft-lb).
5. Finer adjustment can be achieved by loosening the 5 bolts on the adjustable flange located next to the oil tank and changing flange position. Re-tighten flange bolts to 142nm (105 ft-lb).

For your knife to be stalling the knife clutch may be slipping.

The knife clutch adjustment is the same on all platforms and should be set to slip only if the knife jams.

Draw a line from the adjuster nut across the springs, friction plate and pulley side. Run platform in normal conditions and observe if clutch is slipping

To Adjust

1. Loosen the three pressure bolts on the lock ring.
2. Turn nut clockwise to apply more pressure to the clutch.
3. Retighten the pressure bolts to within 1mm of seating

If applying more pressure to the clutch does not stop the slip, the friction plates may be worn and need replacing.

1. Before beginning your harvest, check your knife head bush and the bearing wear to make sure they do not need replacing.  
2. Check that your knives are not clashing at the overlap.  
3. Check your knife drive box by winding it over slowly by hand.  Look for any delay while turning the drive cog, watching the knife arm change direction.  If needed, repair or replace the knife drive box.
4. Check the knife moves easily without catching on bent knife guards.  Repair or replace damaged knife guards.

To prolong the life of the knife, knife heads and knife drive boxes, service and replace your knife bushes and bearings regularly.  Servicing the knife sickles and guards regularly can also make a difference to performance.

Check that the knife timing is correct.  Ensure the feed drum isn’t contacting the feeder chain. Make sure you don’t have a failing universal, bearing or bent retractable finger in your drum.

1. On level ground, lower the platform until knife skid plates lightly touch the ground.
2. Loosen the adapter spring level bolt lock nut.
3. Adjust adapter level bolt until the flat washer has 1mm of clearance off the bolt head.
4. Lock up the adapter level bolt nut.
5. Check the suspension adjustment nut is set at the top of the threaded suspension shaft (lowest spring preload).
6. Lift the platform so outer platform wheels clear the ground. If the platform is still not level, wind the suspension adjustment nut to compress the spring (increase spring preload) on the side that is hanging low. (This will now be the adapter spring neutral position).

Start with 80psi to a maximum of 100psi

Adaptor airbag pressures should be 90psi in the 2019 Durus and above. Earlier models should be approximately 80psi. The higher the pressure, the easier the platform will float when it's working on the ground.  

Outside Ground Airbags pressures should run at 35psi, the higher the pressure, the more the platform will run as solid and have more residencies in its lateral movement. 

It is most likely a build-up of dirt and debris underneath the stainless. To fix this remove the five bolts retaining the crop throat and remove the debris from between the stainless and the sub frame.  On pre 2011 Crop Hawk platforms, also check the clearance between the outside edge of the adaptor sub frame and the crop throat stainless floor.  It should have a clearance of 35mm. Please refer to online operators manual for detailed instructions.

The draper belt will always track to least tensioned end of the roller. If the belt is tracking incorrectly on the draper drive roller, loosen the bolt on hydraulic motor mount plate and move roller accordingly. If the belt is tracking incorrectly on the idle roller, loosen the 4 lock nuts on the tension rod and push or pull the the tension rod accordingly to correct the tracking.  Pulling the rod out will move the rear of the idle roller towards the centre of the platform. Pushing the rod in will move the front of the idle roller towards the centre of the platform. Re-tighten lock nuts leaving 1-2mm of clearance between the washers and tension mount.

1. There may be a foreign object caught in the draper belt or frame work. Remove the object.
2. Excess material build up inside the draper belt.  Loosen draper tension, remove material build up and retention the draper belt.
3. You may have a collapsed or failing bearing.  Replace bearing, retension draper belt and check the belt tracking.
4. Check your hydraulic oil.  If required, fill until the oil is at the top of the sight glass.
5. Foreign object in the relief valve.  Remove the relief valve from the flow control block.  Clean it out, making sure the plunger is moving freely.  Refit to platform.
6. Your pump may be loosing pressure.  With a temperature gun, measure the temperature on the suction side of the pump and then the outlet side.  If the temperature has a spike of more than 4 degrees, replace the hydraulic pump.
7. If only one belt is having issues, your belt may be too loose.  Adjust to correct tension.  If tensioning is correct, there is a chance the hydraulic motor has collapsed internally. 

Keep an eye on your draper belts and make sure they don't show signs of change or wear marks (eg. a rub mark all the way along the belt).  Check for anything rubbing underneath such as a stick jammed under a leg or in the knife channel.  Also check the edge of the draper belts for wear when servicing in the mornings as this can show signs of the belt not tracking straight or a roller bearing failure.

Every 200 hours, loosen the belt tension off, lift the top part of the draper belt up and blow out any foreign material caught in between the belts.  Also check your draper roller bearing for wear.  This can help increase your draper belt, roller bearing and tensioning components life span.

Give the centre draper belt a good clean underneath and check the clearance and alignment such as the retractable fingers are not rubbing, the joiner bar isn't hitting the floor and the rear guard is in place to stop material feeding back under the belt. Also, while the belt is loose, check the bearings, especially if the platform has been running in short dusty crop conditions.

1. Incorrect tension on draper belt, the belt is too loose. Adjust to correct tension. This can be done by -
   1. Loosening and pushing the centre cartridge forward - see draper belt adjustments.
   2. Adjusting the retractable finger pitch - see retractable drum adjustments.
   3. Or adjusting the height of the retractable feed drum - see retractable drum adjustments.
2. Foreign object caught between Draper Belt and Frame work – remove the foreign object.
3. Incorrect tracking on draper rollers. The belt will always track to the least tensioned end of the roller. If the belt is tracking incorrectly on the draper drive roller, loosen the bolt on the hydraulic motor mount plate and move the roller accordingly. If the belt is tracking incorrectly on the idle roller, loosen the 4 lock nuts on the tension rod and push or pull the the tension rod accordingly to correct the tracking.  Pulling the rod out will move the rear of the idle roller towards the centre of the platform. Pushing the rod in will move the front of the idle roller towards the centre of the platform. Re-tighten lock nuts leaving 1-2mm of clearance between the washers and tension mount.
4. A collapsed bearing will cause incorrect tracking. Replace the bearing, retention the draper belt and check the belt tracking.
5. Incorrect height setting on centre cartridge. Reset centre cartridge height.
6. Incorrect height or pitch setting on the retractable drum (centre cartridge belt)  

The hydraulic drive system has a capacity of 65 litres. The accelerator gearbox holds 300ml. For the reel hydraulic system capacity, you will need to refer to the combine owner’s manual.

Change the oil in the accelerator gearbox on new platforms at 200 hours and then annually using a Synthetic grade 75-85 oil. Midwest runs Castrol Syntrans 75W/85.

In the oil reservoir, use AW68 grade hydraulic oil.  Be sure to keep the oil level in the sight glass and do not overfill.  At 50 hours (from new), the hydraulic oil filter located at the oil tank on the right hand side should be changed, and then changed annually. Hydraulic oil should be changed at 1200 hours.

The relief valve in the drive box are factory set at 2100psi.  If a cross auger is fitted after delivery, the pressure will need to be increased by 300psi.  This can be achieved by screwing the relief value in by one turn.

The system oil flow requires a minimum of 40 litres per minute to run the platform at capacity.