After the advent of grain harvesters, no one reaps, knits sheaves by hand or threshes them with flails, spending a lot of time and effort. Having deployed the reliable and efficient Don-1500 unit across the field, you don’t have to worry about the safety of the crop - it will be harvested on time, before it gets wet from the rains and is blown away by the winds.
Harvester Don-1500
The famous Rostselmash enterprise produced this wheeled self-propelled vehicle for twenty years, switching to newer models in 2006 (Vector and Acros). At one time, the Don-1500 was considered the most popular grain harvesting unit across the vast expanses of CIS fields.
A classic threshing scheme, one drum, a straw walker with five keys, a large grain bin and a powerful engine are the distinctive features of this combine. We also note the fast unloading mechanism and the reinforced drive axle. The set includes a header with a length of 6, 7 or 8.6 meters. It is also possible to equip it with a chopper, hood, and stacker.
Scope of use
If the field has a slope of no more than eight degrees, then the Don-1500 will easily pass through it, removing ears of wheat, rye, oats or other grain crops. If you change the mode of the threshing mechanism, the combine can be used for cultivating corn and soybean fields, collecting grass seeds and cereal crops. For this, additional devices are used.
The unit can be used in any climate zone. Equipped with a stacker, it is capable of collecting straw and chaff from the field. If instead you equip it with a grinding device, you can load the resulting mass into a cart attached to the machine. It is then scattered over the surface of the field.
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages:
- The wheels are equipped with low-pressure tires with high lugs. They allow the machine not to get stuck even in wet and viscous soil.
- A strong and economical motor, as well as a solid diameter of the threshing drum (the largest in the world), make it possible to work perfectly even with long wet ears.
- To prevent the threshing mechanism from clogging, a system has been designed to significantly lower the concave and quickly release it.
- Possibility of installing one of three header sizes, the thoughtful design of which allows you to accurately replicate small uneven soil conditions. Changing the header itself is very quick and easy.
- Large and comfortable operator's cabin, sealed and protected from noise. It has air conditioning.
- The bunker into which the grain is poured has an increased size. This is very convenient - you do not need to frequently drive vehicles to transport the crop.
- The machine is designed for domestic fields, and, as a rule, it turns out to be more efficient, more productive and cheaper to operate than foreign combines.
- Excellent service from Rostselmash, low cost of spare parts. They are easy to get. Machine operators know the Don-1500 well and can make minor repairs themselves.
Flaws:
- The power part is located near the cabin, which causes hot air to blow through the operator.
- Imported combines are still more reliable, comfortable and have more convenient additional functions (however, they are much more expensive).
Photo of the Don-1500 combine
Purpose
The unit is suitable for working in fields with a slope of more than 8˚ in any climate zone. Using it you can harvest ripened wheat, rye, oats and other grain crops. If you change the threshing mechanism and equip the combine with additional devices, then it can equally be used to collect:
- soybean or corn harvest;
- grass seeds and cereal crops;
- straw and chaff (a stacker is used).
By adding a chopping device to the design, you can load the resulting mass into a cart attached to the combine, and then scatter it in the desired parts of the field.
Combine Don 1500 B
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Device
Engine
Six cylinders lined up inside a four-stroke turbocharged engine are cooled by water from a tubular radiator. The air is purified passing through two stages of purification. The engine is located next to the cabin, near the threshing mechanism.
Power is taken from both sides of the crankshaft, which rotates clockwise. The drives of the working mechanisms are powered from the rear, and the hydraulic pump for the chassis drive is supplied from the front.
Brake system
The unit is equipped with a mechanical parking brake, controlled by a lever with a button that snaps into place a pawl lock. To stop the car, you need to pull the lever towards you until the third or fourth click. The brake is released by moving the lever up and simultaneously pressing the button.
There are also separate hydraulic disc brakes for each wheel. They are mounted on onboard planetary spur gearboxes and are controlled by pedals, the height of which is adjusted by a hydraulic brake cylinder fork.
This system is used for a smoother turn on soft and wet ground. Separate braking is not recommended on hard roads.
Hydraulics
This system consists of three: the chassis control drive, the steering drive and the hydraulic system of the working mechanisms. The latter has a minimum of piping and includes distributors with spools controlled mechanically or hydraulically. With its help, in particular, they control the header, reel, auger rotation, stacker, chopper, air duct cleaning, and scrolling of the threshing mechanism.
Scheme of the Don-1500 combine
Steering
The steering column operates from a hydraulic volumetric drive. The steering wheel can be adjusted to the height of the combine operator, changing the height by up to 11.5 centimeters. A collet type clamp is used for this. It is also possible to change the tilt of the steering wheel from 5 to 30 degrees - a pedal is used for this.
Chassis
The drive axle is separate-aggregate. It is controlled hydraulically, which allows you to continuously change the speed of movement (in any of the speed ranges). Thanks to this, the combine has good maneuverability. The hydraulic motor is mounted on the shaft of the gearbox (mechanical, three-way, with four modes when moving forward and one when moving backward).
The driven axle is also hydraulically operated. The clutch is dry type, single-disc, with a diaphragm spring. The tires have treads that provide excellent cross-country ability and self-cleaning.
Diagram of chain drives of the Don-1500 combine
Reaper
An inclined chamber is suspended from the thresher, to which, in turn, the header is attached on hinges with springs. It includes cutting and balancing mechanisms, as well as a drive mechanism, dividers, a reel (attached to the header by four bipods) and an auger.
In the front part of the header there are shoes for following the terrain. During operation, they can be placed in one of four positions. The harvester is transported on a special trolley.
Cutting mechanism - can be with open or double fingers. The reel with quick release pins, controlled by two synchronous hydraulic cylinders, is equipped with two eccentrics (located on the sides). The reel rake angle is adjusted automatically. The balancing mechanism consists of two suspensions (adjustable and non-adjustable), a lever, a removable pin, a spring block and an adapter. The auger has an increased size - 59 centimeters.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of the mechanism include:
- High performance;
- Low-pressure tires with high lugs (the unit does not get stuck);
- Economical motor model;
- Threshing drum with the largest diameter in the world;
- Ability to prevent clogging using a high-speed release system;
- Three different header sizes to choose from (change quickly and easily);
- Increased grain bin size;
- Durability and high reliability;
- Availability and low cost of spare parts.
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In addition, minor repairs to this combine can be carried out by almost any machine operator. User reviews reveal one significant drawback: the operator in the cab is exposed to a stream of hot air coming from a nearby power unit. This can greatly affect the comfort of a working person.
Specifications
Technical characteristics of the Don 1500 grain harvester:
| Characteristics | Indicators | Unit measurements |
| engine's type | SMD-31A | |
| Speed (transport, maximum) | 22 | km/h |
| Speed (operating, maximum) | 10 | km/h |
| Performance | 14000 | kg/h |
| Drum rotation speed | from 512 to 954 | rpm |
| Drum diameter | 0,8 | m |
| Drum length | 1,484 | m |
| Header grip | 6.7 or 8.6 | m |
| Weight (weight with six-meter header and stacker) | 13 | T |
| Grain tank volume | 6 | m3 |
| Ground | from 6 to 8 | kg |
| Thresher width | 1,5 | m |
| Height | 4 | m |
| Width | 8,05 | m |
| Length (with divider and stacker) | 11 | m |
Video review of the Don 1500 combine:
Main modifications
Don-1500A
This model is the original one. All the characteristics and features listed above apply specifically to it.
Don-1500B
This variation was a consequence of the refinement of the previous model.
In particular, the following was done:
- Many copies began to be equipped with a more modern engine - the YaMZ-238 AK, without turbocharging, with a V-shaped arrangement of cylinders.
- Instead of one stone catcher hatch, there were two.
- The size of the crankshaft crank has been increased while its rotation speed has been reduced.
- The upper sieve has become larger.
- The parameters of the drum pulley have changed, and its speed range has increased.
- The unloading auger has become larger.
- A reverse has appeared in the drive mechanism of the header.
- The cutting mechanism has shortened open fingers.
- A special deck has appeared that eliminates sticking when wet grain is removed.
The cleaning area has increased by one third, which immediately increases productivity by one fifth.
Distinctive characteristics of the Don-1500A and Don-1500B models:
| Characteristics | Don-1500A | Don-1500B | Unit measurements |
| engine's type | SMD-31A | YaMZ-238 | |
| Straw walker crank radius | 6 | 8 | cm |
| Crankshaft speed | 157 | 195 | rpm |
| Engine power (operating) | 165,6 | 178 | kW |
| Rotational speed (nominal) | 2000 | 2000 | rpm |
| Number of engine cylinders | 6 | 8 | PC. |
| Cylinder diameter | 12 | 13 | cm |
| Piston stroke | 14 | 14 | cm |
| Working volume | 9,5 | 14,86 | l |
| Fuel consumption (specific) | 224-234 | 220 | g/kWh |
| Performance | 14000 | 16800 | kg/s |
| Drum rotation speed | from 512 to 954 | from 450 to 900 | rpm |
| Diameter of inclined unloading auger | 25 | 30 | cm |
Video
The brand implemented the first global changes to the family in the Don 1500B version. It is considered to be the highest quality and most productive. The combine received a powerful YaMZ-238 AK engine with turbocharging. The unit was developed specifically for this series. Design changes include reducing the size of the grinding drum, increasing the number of cutting knives and optimizing the placement of internal components. The Don 1500B was also equipped with a pick-up that allows the cut crop to be separated, increasing the quality of the collected grain. Modernization increased equipment productivity by 20%. The characteristics of the combine are still relevant today.
News here.
The production of Don 1500B ended in 2006. In the model range of the Rostselmash company, the family was replaced by more modern Vector and Acros combines.
Don 1500B is designed for harvesting spikelets and grain crops using direct and separate combining. Additional devices allow you to collect small-seeded cereals, legumes, corn for grain, sunflower, grain mixture, soybeans and grass seeds.
To collect the non-grain part, the equipment is equipped with a universal chopper, stacker, hood and chopper-spreader (optional). Also available for the combine are universal headers and a pick-up platform. Additional devices allow you to lay straw and chaff in a windrow or scatter it evenly over the field area.
The collection of small seeds, cereals, legumes and cereal grains is carried out with maximum quality. Don 1500B is capable of working on uneven surfaces with a maximum slope angle of up to 8 degrees. The equipment can be used in any climate zone.
