“When I talk to grain farmers about the screens we make I ask them if they want to run dust and dirt through their combines, wear out bearings, augers and chains, and get dirt in the tank, or do they want cleaner material going into the machine from the start,” says Manitoba grain farmer Bill Dueck.  “Once they realize that our slotted feederhouse screens will practically eliminate any dirt entering the machine, I’ve usually made the sale.”

Dueck manufactures and markets slotted screen panels that replace the solid metal feederhouse floors on Deere, Case IH and other combine models.  The screens, which are made of 10 gauge steel with 3/16-in. wide by 7/8-in. long slots, are used during pea, edible bean and soybean harvest.  The screened area is 16 in. deep and Dueck says it removes a large amount of dirt, dust and chaff that would normally go right into the machine with a solid feederhouse floor.  “I had one customer tell me that he tied a 2-gal. pail under his machine and, after making one round, the pail was almost full,” says Dueck.  “That was about 20 percent of the screen area, so a lot of dirt and dust was going back onto the field rather than into the machine.”

Dueck came up with the idea about the year 2000 ago when he noticed a large amount of dust and dirt in the harvested peas on his own farm.  “The pickup gathers up small pieces of dirt and with a solid feederhouse floor; in the machine it goes,” says Dueck.  “The air system on the combine removes some of the dirt, but not all of it.”  Using the JJEB feederhouse screens results in a much cleaner sample, and in some cases, a premium price for cleaner product.  One of Dueck’s customers told him he received a one dollar a pound premium for his peas compared to peas from a combine without the screens.  Other customers have traded combines and ordered screens for their new machines because they see the advantages of cleaner grain.

JJEB ‘s screens bolt onto the feederhouse when the OEM solid metal floor is removed.  The company makes a solid metal plate to cover the screen area when small grains or canola are harvested.  It’s held in place with spring-loaded pins.  Farmers who want to take their mechanical cleaning process even further can use JJEB screens on elevator doors and clean grain auger floors.  Those products are made of 14-gauge steel and have 5/32-in. by 3/4-in. slots that run either straight or at an angle.  Dueck recommends a farmer trying the feederhouse screens first, then adding the other screens if the grain sample is still dirty.