RamRod
Guest
I have considerable experience with the 500 30ft. header in soybeans; It will work very well in even high yielding beans with the proper setup. Especially important to check is the cross auger speed. For some reason my 500 bought new in '97 had a much slower cross auger speed than the 25' I had before. They put a smaller drive sprocket on the left end rear drive shaft! By getting the same sprocket that the smaller head had, the rpm is fixed. Next, remove the channel iron that is under the cross auger and adjust the auger rearward and down so you have app. 5_8" clearance under the auger. The back cutoff strip needs to be up tight as possible. I would recommend Johnson rock guards behind the sickle guards, and get that reel as low and rearward as possible (the end spider just so it misses the auger end flighting, and the plastic reel tine ends should be up to 1" into the auger flights). Of course set the reel lowest height just so you don't cut off the tines - app. 1 to 2". If your beans aren't great as you say, you will probably do all your harvest with the reel fully down all the time. If ground conditions permit(not too wet),I usually run with the floating bar pushed quite high, allowing short beans to feed very well. The 800's I am told need different setup as the cutter bar is spaced differently from the auger, and they position the auger more foreward. Good luck with your search.