Combines cutting beans

A flex head is no doubt the way to go. Get a good one that hasn't been wrecked or one that when the cutterbar is bolted up rigid there are still bows all through it. If you run the automatic head control you will fall in love with it. When it is working it is the best. As far as cost of the header you need to figure out how much to spend. If you want to spend 10 or 12 grand, then get a 900 series flex. The 8820 can easily handle a 925. When cutting beans the sickel has to be in great shape to do a good cutting job. The shorter the beans, the smaller the stalk, the harder it is to do a good sickeling job. We usually rebuild our sickel every 800 to 1000 acres depending on conditions. I hope this helps. Have a good one

I was first time user of a flex head this year. I took off 165 acres of soybeans with a John Deere 930 flex head that had a Crary air finger reel on it. It did a great job! The header height works good on the rolling ground and only time I had a problem was when I had a drainage ditch that was not straight and had not cut out first. It is good to also get the poly liner on the flex head if it doesn't already have it. Makes it slip over muddy conditions very well. I ran the flex head on my 7720 II. I also had added a fore_aft control to my combine. Prices of used flex heads seem to also vary depending on region.

We use a 915 flex on my neighbor's 6620 Titan II. It works great! The only time you need to slow down and manually adjust is when one is going through a swail. We have the machine settup to run between 3.5-4.0 mph in 50bpa soybeans.

Flex head is better. I have one of those inbetween years also which has the manual_auto switch in the cab. Mine is a 1978. When coupled whith a head that has a sensor under the head so that when too much pressure is sensed, it automatically raises the head a little. Once the head is lifted so far off the ground it does not work I believe. Mine did not work this year and I did not have time to find the problem. I have heard reports of mice eating thru wires and what not. Anyone an expert on how to adjust these headsIJ Mine is a 215 model. It has a red ball over on the right side which helps determine the ground pressure_height. This alone is a big improvement over the older series. I am not sure the advantage of the electrical control of a 900 series head with a combine that did not have the DAM or dial-a-matic. but they look like they would feed in the beans better. There are a lot of things to look for in setting up the head to best feed in crop. reel adjustment (pitch and closenest to auger, auger adjustment, make sure your sickle is sharp, add ons such as stainless steel to reduce friction on top, and plastic to reduce friction underneath. Cost varies on condition, area, and need. good luck

A flex head is definitely the way to go...We run a 930 on our '85 8820 TII. It has no problems at all handling the head. Make sure you get one with stainless steel floor pans on it, this will aid in even and steady crop feeding. Up in northern Minnesota, many of the beans are short. Depending upon how dry they are, we usually run between 2.8 and 3.7 MPH, watching the header loss for speed adjustment. You may have some problems with a clean cut the first round of the field, The 30 footer is a little more difficult to run when to ground is uneven. But it will more than make up for that when you are into the field a little more.

I looked closer and I do not have the dial-o- matic. Talked with a dealer in Marysville, KS that I bought another piece equipment from and he stated the flex would help. They had several. All of them were '96 or newer and were 925 with poly floors. What are the wear points. He stated most of the heads only ran beans about half the time and wheat and milo the other times. Starting at $10K. Sound rightIJ Will I have a problem with the flex on the 8820 without dial-o-maticIJ THANKS for all the comments so far.

parttimer-

Beans are just starting to be planted in this area and when the farmer finds something that produces well they are not willing to change. Maybe a few years down the road after we learn what we need in this area (south of Dallas)they_we will start exploring. My vote, is still out and I am going to stick to milo and corn for the spring crops but the customer wants to plant beans - I get paid if I cut them. Thanks for the info and we will keep looking for better ways. Have a great weekend!

Well said Joeman. I was cutting beans today and heard of a couple local boys that got killed in Iraq today. last week they buried a 19 year old boy that turned his truck over on a pontoon bridge over there. He was also from here. I am very thankful to have been born in the US. We take it for granted all to often IllINOIS GlEANER

it feels good to be uplifted, i,ll try to pass it on