Air-Powered "Vacuum" Header For Cotton Pickers

Air-Powered "Vacuum" Header For Cotton Pickers MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 29-3-43 "We recently introduced a new vacuum-powered replacement head for cotton pickers that's causing a lot of excitement in the industry. It has far fewer moving parts than the heads on conventional cotton pickers, which results in much lower maintenance costs and much higher quality cotton," says Randy Thompson, Sycamore, Ga. The patented "Harvac" header is equipped with four rotating drums with vacuum ports strategically placed along their length. A specially designed fan sucks cotton lint off the plant and then blows it through a large tube to a storage hopper on back. The rotating drums are pto-powered. "The only thing that touches the cotton is air. The gentle handling results in a better grade of cotton going to market," says Thompson. "Conventional cotton pickers use metal spindles which rotate at a high rate of speed. The harsh treatment can damage the cotton, and there are many moving parts. My header has only four moving parts. I think it will put $100 more per acre in the farmer's pocket. Conventional cotton pickers require $1,000 to $2,000 per row every year just for maintenance. They also require a major overhaul every four to five hours at a cost of about $10,000 per row. "My system also weighs less than a conventional row head, allowing you to mount four rows on a two-row cotton picker. A big advantage is that you can use the row head on your existing cotton picker instead of having to buy a whole new machine," notes Thompson. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Randy Thompson, 8794 Denham Rd., Sycamore, Ga. 31790 (ph 229 831-4795; email: dianet28@msn.com).

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