Estimating Cotton Stripper Power Requirements

Cotton strippers are used primarily in the Southern High Plains due to the specific varieties grown.  Typically cotton strippers cost about 2/3 the price of a cotton picker and range from ½ to ¼ the horsepower.  A cotton stripper also has a higher field and harvesting efficiency than a cotton picker under low yield conditions. ASABE D497.7 indicates that the rotary power requirement for a cotton stripper is a function of width only.  This objective of this study was to estimate the total power requirements for a cotton stripper. Data were collected with the harvester stationary while different components were operating, while the harvester was moving and not harvesting, and while harvesting at different speeds. Data collected included fuel consumption, engine speed, ground speed, hydraulic and header drive power, other machine parameters, and crop flow. The collected data does not include engine horsepower. Static testing revealed that the fan required significant power. Drive power was highly correlation with ground speed. Fuel consumption during harvesting was correlated to mass flow rate of cotton harvested. The data collected suggests that cotton flowing throughout the harvester impacts fuel consumption, suggesting that the ASAE D497.7 may need to be updated to include the effect of material flow rate on the rotary power requirement.