Combines Tiger Jaw sickle IJIJIJIJ

We bought a 1020 flexhead 17.5ft head and we cut wheat with it and we couldn't get the Head to cut at all hardly. Also we couldn't get the reel to work right. The wheat would bunch up on the platform and it wouldn't go back until it got alot on it and it would all go back at one time. We set the reel at the lowest setting possible but we still couldn't get it to work right. But the worst part was the sickle wouldn't cut hardly dunno about the 820's but we haven't liked our 1020 head but we love the new (new to us) 2344 combine. anyone have any info would help justin

As for the feeding behind the reel problem,check the pitch of the reel tines;they may be releasing the crop mat too soon. You don't say what brand sickle you have,but check the register of the sickle to see if is traveling in the right stroke as it makes a full revolution. If it is a Tiger Jaw,it needs a tighter clearance between knife and guard than a 3". Maybe the drive belt is slipping.Just because someone used it before doesn't mean that everything works OK.Take nothing for granted if you are troubleshooting a problem on a used or even new piece of equip.Good luck.

The 1020 was not designed to cut wheat and will never be in the same league as the 1010 for that purpose. However, there are some things you can try. First, make sure the pulley driving the wobble box is 10-1_2" OD so that you are getting 500 rpm. If it is any smaller, you will not me happy. Second, the feeding problems you describe are caused by the extra distance between the auger and the knife. This distance is longer than a 1010 because of the flex feature. The way to get around this is to cut the wheat lower. I would guess about 6" lower than normal will probably work. The material has to be long enough to get back to the auger. An alternative to this, if your wheat is standing well, might be to try the hose mod described on the Gleaner page. Then, run reel low enough to brush the wheat off the hose and into the auger. This works great in short beans, but I've not tried it in wheat.

We have a 22.5' 1020 and it does a very good job in wheat, so they will work. Do you have the lock-out plates installedIJ If the bottom sheet metal is rusty, it won't feed good until it gets shined up. I don't cut wheat any lower than neccessay to get the heads since I'm no-tilling behind it and don't want any more straw. And the only time I have a feeding problem is around the edges of some fields where deer have eaten most of the grain heads, that causes the straw bunches up on top of the auger and goes in the feeder in big bunches. All else I can say is just work with your adjustments, it will work.

I once had tiger jaws on a 320 Gleaner. They worked fine for me in wheat, but in soybeans very poor. My advice is if you cut soybeans, go back to factory 3". If all you cut is wheat they should work OK. Shoup at 1-800-627-6137 should have parts at a resonable price.