setting 1020 head for soybeans

[MikeO-WI]

Seem to have a problem getting the head set just right. If we speed up the reel, it does a better job of cutting the soybeans, but then we get a lot of beans popping and flying about. On the other hand if we slow down the reel, it leaves standing soybeans. Am I missing something here. My ex employee ruined my head manual with a couple of cans of mountain dew over the winter... Looking for any help you can give me.

 

[IaGary]

There is a fine line between running the reel fast enough to pick up the beans and to fast to shell them out.

Do you have hydraulic fore and aft?

Rather then speeding up the reel slide it forward if you have the fore and aft feature. Or you may want to slide it ahead mannually if not hydraulic.

Another option is to cut the beans at a differant angle.

 

[Mike Aylward]

Mike, when the reel is properly set it should do very little "batting" of the crop. It should appear as though the reel pipes (or bats) should go straight down into the beans (and not far in these dry conditions) and then travel back to the cross auger. There should be no bunching in front of the auger. The beans should just just disappear and not bunch. Also, unless your beans are down there is very little reason to have the teeth pitched other than straight down. I have seen many reels with the teeth pitched back and then the reel speed has to be increased to make the beans feed, causing shatter. Unless beans are down or leaning pretty strong you never should have to "bat" the beans into the cross auger. A properly set pipe reel should cause very little shatter and just guide the beans to the auger. Mike

 

[MikeO-WI]

Ours is a manual adjusting fore and aft but we will try that. What do you mean by cutting the beans at a different angle? Is this related to the head height or the angle of the reel fingers?

 

[MikeO-WI]

These are irrigated beans and for the most part are upright. The beans are down where another pivot overlapped with too much water and where the pivot tracks are. We will work at changing the reel angle. I do know that if I lift the reel, it leaves more standing

 

[Chris in SK]

Sounds like you just need to fine tune it. I usually find setting the reel speed about 5 - 10% above your ground speed is about right. Then adjust the reel height so you are just helping them across the knife without shattering.

 

[JDseller]

The others covered most of the things to try. I have been running the beans this year in the late evenings and early mornings. As dry as we are there is very little dew but it is enough to toughen them up a little so you don"t have so much shatter.

 

[IaGary]

Go at an angle to the rows so the beans are laying sideways instead of away from the sickel.