Swather Dries Grain Swaths Fast

Swather dries grain swaths fast COMBINES Conversions 14-2-7 George Kulyk, Wadena, Sask., removed the reel from an abandoned 1972 CCIL self-propelled swather and mounted a junked-out 1966 Melroe steel-belted pickup on the header, allowing him to lift barley swaths and move them onto dry ground for faster drying. The 10-ft. wide pickup, originally de-signed for mounting on a combine header, is bolted to the swather's original 18-ft. wide header and is powered by the same drive system that powered the swather reel. "After I swathed my barley last fall it rained every few days, making it virtually impossible to combine," says Kulyk. "The wet swaths settled down into the stubble and started to sprout. Even after some good drying weather, the swaths never got below 20% moisture so I decided to try to turn them over. Side delivery rakes can be used to turn swaths but they tear the swath apart and leave grain heads lying on the ground where they can sprout. My swather-mounted pickup fluffs up the swath before dropping it on the header canvas which moves the swath over 2 ft. and turns it 180?. Four or five days after I turned the swaths they had a moisture content of 14.6% compared to 18.9% for the unturned swaths. It's also easier for the combine to pick up turned swaths. It works so well I wouldn't be afraid to mount my pickup on a new swather. Removing the pickup is only a 2-hour job" Kulyk mounted the pickup at the center of the swather header opening, but says if he could do it over he'd mount it off center. "I have to pick the swath up along the left edge of the pickup inorder to drop the entire swath onto the table canvas," says Kulyk. "If I'd have mounted the pickup off center, I could pick up the swath at the center of the pickup." Kulyk converted the reel drive 16-tooth sprocket to a 36-tooth sprocket which speeds up the pickup, allowing him to drive faster (up to 6 mph). "By traveling slightly faster than the pickup can lift the swath, I can fluff up the swath before it drops onto the header," notes Kulyk, who added about 500 lbs. of weights to the back of the swather to counter balance the weight of the pickup. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, George Kulyk, Box 996, Wadena, Sask., Canada SOA 4J0 (ph 306 338-2614).

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