SP Swathers/windrowers ??

[boarderbloke]

would anyone share advice on SP swathers, any known problems or lemon machines? looking at late models 30'CaseIH WDX1202... any weak areas on this model that should be checked and examined ?
any other preferred models or brands? and why?? what about split reel or knife on a 30', are they necessary? any help or advice would be appreciated. thanks.

[Hopperbin]

I would get a split real if you can. A 30 foot non split real will likely be worth nothing in 10 to 15 years. A split one in my opinion if serviced properly will last much longer if not forever. As for split knife there will be less shake and therefore longer life to your unit. Plus less headache with knife head breakage. I was told that the Honey Bee head has more clearance than the the Mcdon, I am not sure of that yet just something to check. The macdon real is better than the U2 in my opinion. Be sure to get plastic real tines instead of steal. The plastic you can run lower without worry of the steal ones touching your knife and causing headaches.

[wade]

Why is the split reel better?

Have had split knife Hesstons, very good cutters but knife would sometimes go out of time (vibrations) and needed special knife sections for centre where it overlaps.

[boarderbloke]

Hopperbin, i too wonder about the advantage of a split reel? i had a 36' Honeybee with a split reel on my 2388(before my current Macdon), we had problems with the universal connection in the middle, some real headaches, and lost time that wasn't necessary. i can certainly agree a split knife would reduce stress on the knife, especially if your cutting green flax straw, barley or maybe lodged crop. i also like the Macdon reel over the UII, the longer Macdon teeth really pick nice vs. the UII teeth(both plastic) what do you feel is needed for horse power in a 30'?

[cris]

I like the split reel, it seems to have more drive. I like both the macdon and the UII reeels but prefer the Macdon.

The swather we have is a 108 hp and mostly we wanted it because of the 2 speed. The turbo Macdon then, came with bigger tires and is quite a bit faster on the road than the 80hp single speed.

Our 972 header seems to have quite a bit more drive on the knife than our honeybee headers (all are 30'). We have had trouble in the past where you would continue to jam the knife on the Honeybees but the Macdon would still cut. I have never ran a newer header with dual knife drives but understand they work quite a bit better than the old Hestons.

[Hopperbin]

The split real gets rid of the bounce and stress in the center of real. Perhaps the new ones are built better. I just purchased a used 972 last year at auction with a split real in rough shape fixed it up and it ran trouble free. My other U2 broke the main tubing in the center, welded it and still working fine and straight. Chriss do you run your macdons with honey bee or madcon knife? I have been running Honey Bee just think they run more freely, less power.

[cris]

we have a 30' 972 on a swather with a MacDon split reel. we have 30' honeybee headers 2 with UIIs and 1 with a HartCarter reel.

The honeybee does have a smooth knife drive but it doesn't seem to cut in the really tough conditions as well. 97% of the time they work flawlessly.

We seldom get into trouble straight cutting peas because when the peas get tough the knife drive stops. Same thing with 2 row barley.