Combine Starting Settings

Start here, then pan and tune for today's crop. These are not final settings.

Best starting points

Crop	Combine	Rotor rpm	Concave inches	Fan rpm	Bottom sieve mm	Feedrate bph	Expected loss bu/ac
Canola	A85	650	0.5	840	7	400–500	0.3–1.0
Canola	MF09	650	0.5	820	6	700–1000	0.4–0.7
Wheat	A85	875	0.10	1020	6	850–1000	0.6–1.3
Wheat	MF09 EST.	875	0.05	1000	6	900–1100	0.6–1.3
Barley	A85	680	0.10	870	7	600–800	1.0–1.5
Barley	MF09 EST.	680	0.10	850	6	800–1000	0.6–1.5
Peas	A85	300	0.70	950	11	450–700	0.2–0.4
Peas	MF09 EST.	300	0.70	950	11	600–800	0.2–0.4

EST. = little MF09 data; carried over from the same combine platform. Chaffer settings were not logged.

What matters most

Canola

A85: loss rises quickly above 500 bph. MF09: usually carries about twice the feedrate. Crop condition can move the usable rate 2–3×; slow down in tough or uneven crop.

Wheat

Use the highest rotor and fan of these crops. On the A85, stay below 1000 bph; loss rises sharply near 1100 bph.

Barley

Start without the filler plate. In tough or green straw, go down on rotor and up on fan.

Peas

Run low rotor and a wide concave. Watch splitting and cracking more than loss.

Set the fan with returns

Hold speed and swath steady. Change fan by 20 rpm and wait 20–30 seconds.
Keep raising fan until returns start to rise.
Set fan 20–30 rpm below that point, then check with a pan.

A85: the returns meter reads about 20% when empty. A 30–37% indicated reading has been normal in good canola runs.

Two quick checks

Pods in the canola tank: adjust air; do not open the bottom sieve past 6–7 mm.
Cracked grain: compare returns with the tank sample. More cracking in returns means cut returns. Equal cracking means open the concave.