Our crop lifters are most effective when they are set to a maximum 35 degrees from the ground. The ideal angle of the lifter is dependent on the angle of the cutting bar as well as the level of the ground, but it is important to note that if the lifter ever comes in contact with the ground that the back half of the tip of the lifter will touch down first. Generally speaking, less of an angle is usually better for lifting the plant. The lifters should be set so that the tip of the nylon finger is about 0.5” to 0.75” /13mm to 19mm above the ground. All lifters are set to be the same angle; they should form a straight line when you look down the row and will work in unison.

More specific information regarding the usage of our crop lifters can be found in the Installation Instructions. 

Like most harvesting tools, there is often no one universal means of adjustment. Longtime Flexxifinger^® users however have developed a short, simple procedure to ensure the optimal performance of the lifters. Please keep in mind that this procedure is designed for reasonably dry conditions and may need alteration for use in damp circumstances or particularly tough soil:

In the field you want to harvest, remove the lifters from the header and set them aside in a safe spot. Combine a few hundred yards into the field without the lifters, making the appropriate adjustments (header angle, reel speed/height, header height) until you are doing the best job possible. Reinstall the lifters and drop your header to the height at which you were just cutting. Lift the reel, secure it, and turn the combine off. Adjust three or four lifters on each end of the header so that the forward lifting point is approximately a thumb's width off the ground. Do the same for three or four lifters in the middle of the header, leaving all those in between unadjusted at this time. Using the three previous adjustments (each end of your header and the middle), take the high average of the forward lifting points. This will set a standard angle at both ends and in the middle. This averaging method is used, because, as we all know, not all ground is perfectly level, so finding an average angle is critical to ensuring consistent results. Adjust all the remaining lifters so that the forward lifting points are dead level with those which are averaged out. The lower your crop, the more you are going to have to make a judgment call as to just how much material you are prepared to leave behind in the field as compared to picking up more dirt or stones. Start combining, slowly moving ahead on what you have already cut. You should be able to see if the fingers need to be adjusted either up or down. If you feel that you would like to try them a little closer to the ground, try adjusting six or eight in a location that you can watch from the cab.

Dave Dietrich, the Flexxifinger^® inventor, adjusts those lifters to the left of center, so that he can see the lifters as material feeds in the table as well as behind the header. You will also see if you're leaving lifter tracks in the ground.

Fine tune that lifting point so you are getting all the plant material you need without digging the nylon portion of the lifter into the ground. Even one eighth of an inch can make a big difference whether you are getting under the plant material or conversely hitting the ground. When you have those six or eight working as good as can be expected, you can readjust the balance of the lifters to this "sweet spot" for your field. The lifters should be making contact with the ground, at very most, twenty to twenty-five percent of the time (less is preferable).

The Flexxifinger^® Quicker Picker is most effective when:

For light rock areas: Proceed in a zigzag pattern covering a 30 foot (9 meter) swath across the field, gathering rocks in the drum and dump the rocks according to jurisdictional regulations.

For heavy rock areas: Make a 20 foot wide swath across the field doing the following: move forward 10 feet at a time, stop and back up to start point, rotate 15 degrees right, move forward 10 feet, stop and back up to starting point, rotate 30 degrees left, move forward 10 feet. Continue this pattern across field.

To download a copy of the Operator’s Manual for the Flexxifinger^® Quicker Picker, please visit Guides & Manuals.