Paddy Threshers

Eng. M. H. M. A. Bandara (Sri Lanka)

Dr. Nguyen Quoc Viet (Viet Nam)

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Type of Machines

• Small capacity engine driven threshers

• Medium capacity two wheel tractor

powered threshers

• High capacity combine threshers powered • High capacity combine threshers powered

by either four wheel tractor PTO or

separate engine

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Population and use

• Low capacity machines- Small scale

farmers specially in mountainous

areas

• Medium Scale machines- Specially • Medium Scale machines- Specially

farmers having less than o.25 ha.

• High capacity combine threshers-

Large scale cultivation areas having

more than 0.5 ha holding size

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Accidents from different farm

machinerywww.unapcaem.org2012 - ANTAM - (www.unapcaem.org) page 4 of 12

Mode of damages

• Environmental damage

• Grain damage

• Human damage

• Machine damage• Machine damage

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Environmental damage

• Pollution (Dust , pollution of drinking

water)

• Sound (Sometimes more than 95 dbA

continuously) continuously)

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Grain damage

• Quantitative

- Un-threshed losses (Unrecoverable)

- Separation losses (Unrecoverable)

- Shattering losses (Partly recoverable)

• Qualitative

- Cracked grains

- Milled (de-husk) grains

- Tailed grains

- Grain with pedicels

Total losses sometimes reach up to 20%

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Human damage

• Injuries (Temporary damages)

– Finger and hand damages

• Long term permanent damages

– Back pain, loss of sense of – Back pain, loss of sense of

fingers, hearing loss etc

• Loss of lives

- Many accidents caused

entangling with the unprotected

PTO shafts.

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Machine damage

• Poor manufacturing quality

• Poor material quality

• Wrong designs

Because of the unreliable

machines,unnecessary delay in harvesting

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Testing & Evaluation Procedure

• National Testing Centres are responsible

• Use former RNAM test codes with slight

modifications, adapted to local situation

• Testing and certification still is not mandatory• Testing and certification still is not mandatory

• However a draft Farm Machinery Act (Sri

Lanka) is being prepared including T & E a

mandatory requirement

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General Contents in Testing

Procedure• General Performance Test (Capacity,

Losses etc)

• Composition of the grain mixture at the

main grain outletmain grain outlet

• Safety

• Durability

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Future trend

• Use of threshers is slowly diminishing and combine harvesters are catching up the market.

• Is it necessary to concentrate on threshers

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