John Deere 40/90 Upgrade
Kits Explained
Follow along with Marion as he explains the Full Calmer BT Chopper® Upgrade Kit offered for the John Deere 40 and 90 series corn heads. He describes in detail how the Calmer Upgrade Kit is one of the most advanced corn head systems in the industry that will note only enable your older John Deere corn head to perform better than a new head, but also make you more money by reducing a pass across the field, eliminating the chopping of stalks, improving planting operations, and increasing yields. We guarantee your satisfaction or your money back!
3 STEPS
follow our recommended steps for maximum performance
Step 1
BT CHOPPER®
STALK ROLLS
AND GRASS KNIVES
Reliable stalk rolls are critical to a top-performing corn head. That’s why Calmer invented the World’s Only All-Weather Stalk Roll™ known as the BT Chopper®, which is the only roll in the industry with a patented “open window” feeding chamber for the superior feeding and processing of stalks in all crop conditions.
The 10 razor-sharp knives on each stalk roll cut, chop and shear cornstalks into confetti-like pieces for accelerated decomposition. As a result, you’ll be able to reduce a management pass across the field, improve your planting experience and increase yields. Calmer Grass Knives match the curvature of the BT Chopper’s® redesigned nose to prevent the back wrapping of grasses.
STEP 2
MULTI-ZONE BEVELED STRIPPER PLATES
“They work just as Marion described – true facts! Saves those small ears you would lose with OEM deck plates and now we have no butt shelling. Calmer’s rolls/kits gets rid of all the husks and now just ears going through the machine.”
Reduce Butt Shelling and Decrease Intake of Material Other Than Grain (MOG) aka “Trash” Into Combine
Calmer’s Patented Multi-Zone Beveled Stripper Plates have a wider front opening that helps minimize the bulldozing of cornstalks when not fully aligned with the row. This wider retrieving area is manufactured straight to reduce ear wedging problems and beveled in the back stripping area to allow the stalk rolls to engage the ear shanks, leaves and husks, which significantly reduces trash intake into the combine. The patented beveled edge emulates the rounded bottom of the corn ear to help reduce butt shelling problems by displacing the energy around the base of the corn ear.
STEP 3
Slow Down Kit Chains and Sprockets
“I have been using Calmer Chopper Rolls and trash reduction kit since 2010. Recently traded heads and the first thing I did was remove brand new JD rolls and put Calmer Choppers on. Since I started using Calmer products I’ve had 5 neighbors update their corn heads to Calmer product!”
– Randy Warner,
Rock Rapids, IA
By slowing down gathering chains by 25% with Calmer’s smaller 6-Tooth Drive Sprockets, trash intake can be reduced by an average of 61%. Calmer’s larger 9-Tooth Idler Sprockets improve the chains’ grabbing ability in both normal and adverse crop conditions and allows for a standard-size gathering chain to be used. This new-and-improved, non-greaseable idler sprocket is solid-steel and has a replaceable bearing for increased life and lower maintenance. Longer-lasting Chrome-Pin Gathering Chains are sent with all Slow Down Kits.
Big picture Economics
Follow along with George as he explains the cost economics of maintaining his corn head with BT Chopper parts.
OEM PROBLEM
No Feeding Chamber
No stalk roll will perform properly without a feeding chamber in the entry area. All factory John Deere rolls have the same length flutes and therefore a continuous overlap in the entry area, which creates a wall of rotating steel and prevents the the entry of cornstalks.
Mechanically, this flawed design results in the premature wear in the first few inches of the stalk roll, while the remaining length of the blades stay in “like new” condition since stalks cannot travel further up the row unit.
Cornstalks CANNOT engage with factory rolls or become processed due to the continuous overlap in entry area.
CALMER SOLUTION
Patented “Open window” Feeding Chamber
Through in integration of multi-length blades, the Calmer BT Chopper® Stalk Roll is the only stalk roll on the market with a patented “open window” feeding chamber, which enables cornstalks to travel efficiently into the row unit to become processed.
This design performs in all crop conditions, guarantees the traction of stalks for processing, results in longer stalk roll life, reduces low ear snap, and prevents the bulldozing of stalks at the end rows.
Cornstalks EASILY engage with Calmer’s patented “open window” feeding chamber to become processed.
OEM PROBLEM
NON-AGGRESSIVE FLUTES
Limited Residue-to-Soil Contact
Straight-fluted knife rolls for John Deere 40 and 90 corn heads have too much overlap in the entry area, which prevents cornstalks from engaging properly with the flutes to become processed. This hesitation results in stalks and ears passing below the corn head without being managed.
Failing to properly process cornstalks prevents residue-to-soil contact, leading to the immobilization of important nutrients on the soil surface, slower degradation rates and leaves a wet mattress of residue in the spring.
CALMER SOLUTION
10 intermeshing Razor-sharp blades
Superior Residue to Soil Contact
During rotation, the shortened flutes on the Calmer BT Chopper are timed to create 2, 4-inch feeding chambers for an efficient handoff of the stalk into the 17 1/2-inch knife chamber to be processed.
In the knife chamber, 20 intermeshing, razor-sharp blades cut, chop, and shear cornstalks into confetti-like pieces. This process exposes the pith of the stalk and places the residue strategically over the row for superior residue-to-soil contact, accelerated decomposition, easier planting and higher yields!
Cornstalks are easily engaged and processed for superior residue-to-soil contact and rapid decomposition..
OEM PROBLEM
Straight STRIPPER PLATES
Factory straight stripper plates are not formed to match the natural shape of the bottom side of the corn ear, which causes kernel loss upon impact by displacing all the energy on one kernel. (see image below)
Also, because these plates don’t match the curvature of the ear leaf, the ear shank cannot get close enough for the stalk roll blades to grasp and process it at the corn head. This results in the husk staying attached to the ear and sends it and more material other than grain (MOG) into the combine.
CALMER SOLUTION
Patented Multi-Z Beveled Stripper Plates
OEM PROBLEM
Excessive Gathering Chain Speed
With genetic enhancements, today’s corn hybrids are taller and drier and therefore more brittle during harvest time. Prior to 2008, corn heads utilized row units with speed ratios from the 1960s that used fast gathering chain speeds. These fast gathering chain speeds often cause the gathering chain lug to shear or break off the top of the plant before the stalk rolls have a chance to pull it below the stripper plates. The gathering chain lug then takes the broken portion of the plant and pushes it inot the cross auger, eventually resulting in a LARGE PILE OF FLUFF.
CALMER SOLUTION
patented slow down kit
Calmer’s Patented 6-Tooth Gathering Chain Drive Sprocket slows down the gathering chain by a full 25% and reduces trash intake by an average of 60%! This allows the stalk rolls to make additional revolutions and make more of the plant disappear below the stripper plates before the gathering chain lug can break it off. We also recommend replacing the factory 8-tooth idler sprocket with Calmer’s Patented 9-tooth idler sprocket (heavy-duty solid-sealed sprocket with replaceable bearing) to reduce wear on the idler block and increase the chain lug’s grabbing ability in down corn.
Calmer’s patented drive and idler sprockets help reduce the amount of trash going into the combine and prevents large piles of fluff from accumulating on the corn head.
Get MORE than you bargained for this fall with Calmer’s BT Choppers® and Residue Management Upgrade Kits
With Calmer Upgrade Kits, you’re getting more than just corn head parts, you’re getting a peace of mind that your residue management and corn head problems are solved for good during harvest.
Agronomic and Mechanical Advantages
Mechanical Advantages
- Compatible with all Tillage Systems
- 25% Less Hp Needed than with Chopping Heads
- Superior Cornstalk Flow to Engagement
- Better Ear Separation
- Less Tire Wear
- Less Butt Shelling
- Increased Harvesting Speeds (Achieved through a combination of installing Calmer® products and proper combine settings)
- Lower Spread Load
Agronomic Advantages
- Unmatched Residue Decomposition
- Warmer Soils
- Drier Soils
- Increased Earthworm Populations
- Reduced Nitrogen Penalty
- Easier Planting
- Higher Yields