THE biggest capacity Gleaner harvester in Australia was recently demonstrated at Swan Hill to machinery dealers and farmers.

The A86 Gleaner from AGCO has a grain tank that can handle almost 10 tonnes of wheat, and some of the largest specification harvesting components in the business.

Powered by a 317kW Caterpillar engine with a 26kW power boost available, the Gleaner is capable of harvesting a variety of crops in various conditions, according to AGCO product manager Will de Fegely.

"There are several features on the A86 that are equal to the largest capacity currently in the industry," Will said.

"It's a powerful machine but has a great deal of functionality to match."

The big equipment starts at the front, with a 12m draper-style AGCO cutterbar.

The feederhouse just behind the cutterbar is 1.41m wide, which provides ample crop capacity, according to Will.

"The feederhouse is equal to the largest in the industry and the reel is fully adjustable both fore and aft and up and down from the cabin, so it's easy to match the prevailing crop conditions," Will said.

"And the side mats on the draper front are flatter than on previous models, which makes the crop feed into the centre of the harvester front very evenly.

"It provides smooth feeding of the crop to the feederhouse, which makes the harvester run much more smoothly and efficiently."

When demonstrated at Swan Hill, the Gleaner was working in a wheat crop estimated to yield two tonnes a hectare.

Will said travelling at a ground speed of 16km/h was no problem.

"There was plenty of capacity," Will said.

"Even at that speed, the grain sample in the tank was beautifully clean and there was zero grain loss at the rear of the machine."

Unloading the Gleaner is a quick process thanks to a 380mm diameter discharge auger.

Will said it took less than 80 seconds for the tank to be emptied when full.

"That's close to 10 tonnes in a little over a minute, which makes unloading efficient," Will said.

"And the grain tank only has a single auger at the bottom, so it's easy to clean and maintain."

In the cabin, the Gleaner's functions are mostly run from a GTA II Plus console.

Will said the console was ISOBUS compliant, which meant it could work with most global positioning software, for hands-free steering, for example.

"And you can integrate two video cameras," Will said.

"So you could have one monitoring the grain tank and one at the rear of the harvester. There are no gears for the ground drive system as it's hydrostatic, as is the main rotor."

Will said being hydrostatically driven, the main rotor could be reversed from the cabin if there was a blockage.

"The rotor is one of the longest in the industry at 3.57m and it has a diameter of 800mm," Will said.

"And being hydraulically driven, its speed won't change as engine revs do.

"It is controlled in the cabin and cab be run from 200rpm to 1000rpm.

"It also has a three-speed gearbox to ensure the best torque, no matter what the rev range."

At the rear of the Gleaner, there is a two-stage cleaning system for chaff discharge. The top sieve has an area of 2.8sq m while the other sieve has an area of 2.44sq m.

A 330mm-diameter cleaning fan can be run from 500 to 1350rpm.

Will said in just three minutes the straw choppers and spreaders could be adjusted so chaff was ejected as a windrow.