PRACTICAL TEST: New Holland media focus may well concentrate upon the high-capacity CR11 combine, but the company’s ‘bread and butter’ models are just as important. Here we take a further look at the twin-rotor CH7.70, a conventional drum and concave combine with twin rotors in place of straw walkers.
New Holland once offered two combine threshing systems, high-capacity rotor CR models and the straw-walker based CX and TC. With its ‘Crossover Harvesting’ CH7.70 , that will be now entering its fourth season, this now established ‘third’ choice mixes a traditional drum and concave with beater rotor up front with twin rotors taking over the role of straw walkers. Built round the same running gear as a CX6.90 walker machine, the 374hp CH7.70 is the sole ‘hybrid’ variant. We got a chance for an extended drive last harvest.
Wide 1.56m drum and concave
New Holland CH combines are built alongside CX5 and CX6 models in the former Bizon factory in Plock, Poland. Sharing the same 1.56m wide, 60cm diameter drum as those models, German specification CH 7.70 models have straight rasp bar drums as standard, while the UltraFlow drum which was on our machine is fitted as standard to UK specification combines. With this the bars split into four staggered sections, the revised bars mounting on cast steel elements with an increase in drum weight by 131kg to total 326kg. UltraFlow is the recommended choice to deal with difficult conditions including wet and green straw, hence it being standard over here. We were able to put this to the test in what turned out to be a difficult season, the drum coping well in all conditions.
For more up-to-date farming news click here and subscribe now to profi and save.
