Combines home made johnson bean saver

right behind the cutter bar there is that little hump. place it right on top of that hump. 1 1_2 thick walled pvc and cut it into 4 or 5 ft. sections so the head still flex's. have ran this set-up for about 6 years and have alot of neighbors doing it also for about the same amount of time

Go to the Gleaner page and then click on Hyper Mods in Topics and you'll find a picture an instructions for making a Johnson type rock guard out of a suction hose. CIH header should be similar.

chadh Have you ever had anything hit the pipe and dislodge itIJ How many places do you have each 4 or 5 foot section held down, and do you use conduit clamps to hold it downIJ I am considering adding this to my head but many of my fields have crawdad mounds (essentially a pile of mud from 6 to 12 inches tall). I am afraid that these could dislodge the pipe and send it into the auger with predictable results. Maybe no damage but definitly a good wad to unchoke especially about dark. Sorry for all the questions, but if you've run this setup for 6 years I assume you've seen any potential problems. Thanks, Billy

I think we used 4" electrical counduit clamps and 3" plastic hose. The hose was black and had ribs on the outside for strength. Because the hose is nice and flexible, it can be one peice. I can't imagine tearing in loose from the header without hitting something hard enough to cause other damage. A crawdad mound wouldn't be a problem, and you'll probably find that a lot less dirt ends up in the machine (unless the mound flips over the hose like a bean stem).

How far apart did you space the the conduit clamps on the cutterbarIJ Every two feet, or more oftenIJ I have thought about doing this for several years, mostly for short soybeans, but every time I get ready I still have some misgivings about how it will work on my farms, so I don't do it. Thanks for your help. Billy

on our 4 ft sections we have 2 conduit straps. only had one ever break and that was a big rock at dusk going into the sun, it did more than just break the pvc.

I think they are about every 2 feet. That would be a good distance to shoot for, or a little wider would be just fine. I don't think you will regret it, especially if your beans are short. You can set the reel down so that it just scrapes the hose and tosses the beans into the auger.

Has anyone experienced problems with this sort of set-upIJ How does it work in tall and thick tangled beans, or is it primarily useful only in short beansIJ Do you run the reel farther forward than withoutIJ Should would be a cheap, easy alternative to an air reel. Thanks for your ideas!

The Hose Mod should work fine for any standing crop. The shorter the crop, the more of an improvement it will make in feeding. You will want to bring the reel "aft" or backwards untill it continuously clears the crop from the cutter bar as soon as it is cut off. When the crop is taller, the primary benefit to the hose will be to block loose beans from rolling out the front of the header. For crops that are lodged and flat on the ground, such as wheat with too much nitrogen, you need the reel moved forward to stand the crop up before the cutter bar cuts it off. In this case, it is better to remove the hose. This will help minimize the bunching behind the cutter bar. Since you can't have the reel in two places at once (fore and aft) the hose fails to help when you need the reel in the forward position. luckily, it only takes a few minutes to remove or reinstall the hose, so setting the header up for the crop conditions is quick and easy.