Amity Technology 3200, Operating Manual

Page: 38 / 77

7 - 11
7.6.1 Knives
Scalper knives should be set so that they remove a slice off the crown on the beet that is 1.5 - 2 inch
(4 - 5 cm) in diameter. Excess of this amount will result in lower tons per acre yields. Properly setting
scalpers is critical in optimizing your defoliation job.
Set up scalper knives as follows:
1. Start with the defoliator at level operating height on a flat and level surface and lower the scalp-
er bar to the ground.
2. Loosen scalper knife bolts so the knife can be moved.
3. A good starting point is with the knives ½ inch (1.2cm) below the trailing edge of the scalper bas-
ket. To set this consistently use a ½ inch (1.2 m) shim under the trailing edge of the scalper bas-
ket.
4. Adjust the knife so that it is flat on the ground and ½ inch (1.2cm) back from the trailing edge of
the basket for a starting point.
5. Tighten scalper knife bolts and move to the next knife.
6. Final adjustments are to be made in field.
Scalper knives field adjustment.
1. With all knives at the initial set point begin defoliating.
2. First set defoliator height so the flails are doing a proper job before setting knives.
3. With defoliator height set, lower scalper to operating position and travel 50 feet (15 m) down
the field.
4. Evaluate scalper performance including slice size and angle of cut.
5. Raise or lower scalper knives to increase or decrease amount removed.
6. Angle the scalper knives forwards or backward to achieve a level cut from scalpers.
7. Once set scalpers shouldn ’ t have to be reset, but should be periodically sharpened to maintain a
quality cut.