On the 25 of August 2021 my 515 finally takes another bite at crop for the first time in many many years!

initialy the rusted surfaces made feeding the crop slow and caused some bunching but this is to be expected until the surface shines up a bit! 

There was a minor issue with the fanning mill that was partially seized but that was overcome, it was great to hear that six cylinder Perkins purring away sounding content after years of silence.

A few minor adjustments on drum speed and sieves soon had a near perfect sample coming into the tank.

After an hour of cutting and just when the surfaces are shining up and crop flowing nicely there was a tidal wave of hydraulic oil running down the feeder hose ! the whole contents of the tank was streaming down into the table.

After removing the side guards under the dash to investigate it soon become apparent the main feed hose from hydraulic pump to the control lever spool block had let go! Unfortunately it's age had decided that was enough and combinining this evening was brought to a standstill.

The following day with a new hose and oil reservoir topped up we were off again at midday and despite the hot afternoon temperatures the 515 performed very well, there was a small issue with the multi flow slip clutch and this will probably need replacing in the future.

The following pictures and film of this old ladies return to the harvest fields.

Despite the enormous work it takes to bring one of these combines back into harvest ready! Once this has been achieved you have a machine that can be taken out every season and used to harvest your crops with just a little time spent doing routine servicing and inspection.

And the joy of operating something that seems very content to work all day with very little problems returning a sample that the newer combines today are sadly lacking !

A big thank you to Pete and Kieran Nash for capturing this maiden going about her business in the quiet fields of Somerset .

Many thanks Guys.

Regards Colin Cloude