Belgian manufacturer AVR is demonstrating its new Spirit 9200i trailed two-row offset bunker harvester at this week’s Potato Europe in France.
Following prototype testing in 2023, seven pre-production harvesters are in the field this season ahead of full commercial availability next year. Designed to work behind a 160hp tractor, key upgrades over the previous Spirit 9200 include ISObus compatibility for the drive system with the Belgian manufacturer offering a Müller Touch800 or Smart570 screen. There is a new joystick, and the ISObus-AUX system allows various functions to be controlled from the tractor joystick.
The four-pump hydraulic system driving the cleaning modules provides full control of the harvesting process, and it is now possible to set the speed of the digging web(s) independently from the haulm and sieving webs. New automatic functions adjust the drive speed and set the intensity of the agitator system in the digging web.
Up to four sieving webs are available for the pintle belt module; either two short digging webs or one long digging web can be attached to the front of the machine. An additional digging web increases the sieving capacity and positioning all webs close together reduces fall heights.
Primary haulm separation is a combination of the sieving and haulm webs. A set comprising two rows of retainers and another set comprising three rows of retainers mounted above the haulm web ensures that the potatoes stay in the harvester.
These sets are individually adjustable in height, and the rows of retainers have been mounted to ensure an adequate distance in between the rows to optimize the separation capacity. In the event of an accumulation of haulm, the frames of the rows can be folded upwards.
Another three rows can be added at the top of the machine. Located below the haulm web, a closed conveyor discharges haulm and allows any potatoes that have accidentally been carried along with it to roll back into the machine.
The picking-off platform provides space for six people, and all settings for the cleaning modules can be operated from it via a keypad.
Equipped with an 8.0t capacity bunker, unloading height is adjustable up to 4.20m, and a hydraulic collapsible shock absorber or box-filling funnel are optional.
Other options include the Clean & Go bunker and the hydrostatically driven axle provides the wheels with 120hp of traction (an increase over the previous model).
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