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 Harvest Attachments April 2000 ABM Manufacturing This Salina, Kan., firm manufactures “Flexo Guards,æ which have been around since the early 1950s. Designed for use on milo and dwarf sunflower, the Flexo Guards extend 12 inches beyond the sickle to retrieve and deliver the milo or sunflower heads to the auger. The flexible steel tines, spaced on three-inch centers, minimize grain loss and help the heads engage the sickle section for a clean cut and efficient sickle action, says ABM. The tines’ backward pitch helps ensure feeding of the crop heads toward the auger. Flexo Guards come in seven- or eight-point sections, customized to match the header on which they’re to be attached. (They can be used on nearly any conventional header.) Clip-on installation simplifies mounting, and an optional grain-saver boot attachment helps adapt them to most harvest and crop conditions. One use of the Flexo Guards is in the harvesting of high-population dwarf sunflower. These attachments have been widely utilized in milo for many years and, more recently, tested successfully on conventional row-crop sunflower, the company reports. For More Information: ABM Manufacturing (Div. of A & B Machine, Inc.), P.O. Box 863, Salina, KS 67402-0863 — Phone: (800) 252-2059; fax: (785) 827-3416. Faul Manufacturing This Harvey, N.D., firm builds the “Quick-Attach” System. The system “puts an end to the exhausting task of mounting sunflower pans to the combine,” according to Albert Faul. Rather than the pans being mounted to the combine platform, they are installed on a quick-attaching frame. Once installed, the pans remain in position for use as needed. The combine is then simply driven forward and engages the unit, which is secured to the platform by a series of chain-buckles. “These Quick-Attach systems do not come equipped with pans and dividers, but most makes of pans can be fitted to the frame,” Faul reports. The systems can be built to fit most platform models. Faul Manufacturing also builds pans, end boards, drums and draper-type headers. For More Information: Faul Manufac-turing, Inc., Hwy. 3 & 52 Bypass, Harvey, ND 58341 — Phone: (701) 324-2361. Intersteel Industries This Manitoba company has been producing sunflower headers for more than 35 years. Its standard harvest attachment features a rotating drum for consistent feeding, with straight-cutting reel bearings and drive on the drum. Nine- or 12-inch pans are mounted on the guards, welded together in groups of two or three. Intersteel sunflower harvest attachments are available for all makes of combines and various header widths. Along with the nine- and 12-inch pan widths, Intersteel also offers a 27-inch pan width option. For More Information: Intersteel Industries, Box 1451, Morden, MB R6M 1B3, Canada — Phone: (204) 822-5055. Lucke Manufacturing The Lucke sunflower attachment originally dates to 1966, with design modifications implemented within recent years. “We have a system with unmolested stalks, therefore saving the large seed on the outer diameter of the head,” reports Stewart Lucke. Nine- or 12-inch pans are available for 24- and 30-foot width systems. Lift rods also are available. The company sells direct to farmers from its Minot, N.D., location. For More Information: Lucke Manu-facturing, 305 33rd Avenue S.W., Minot, ND 58701 — Phone: (701) 839-8817. Luecke Enterprises This Hays, Kan., firm offers “CropSavr Pans” to help pick up downed crops and save head and shatter loss. Manufactured since 1985, the pans now have a simpler, sturdier and less-expensive design. These pans can be fit to any combine grain header and are adjustable to any crop height. They mount with two bolts per pan and are supported by a bar beneath the header. A push rod controls the pans’ nose height. The pans, which can float upward while running on the ground, have a trough on each side to catch crop shatter. More recently, Luecke has developed a line of low-cost “CropSavr Mini-Pans.” Fully adjustable, they are six inches wide and 20 inches long. For More Information: Luecke Enter-prises, 765 E. 41st, Hays, KS 67601 — Phone: (785) 628-1426. Midwestern Machine Midwestern Machine of Jamestown, N.D., markets the “Seed-Eater” line of sunflower pan attachments. Originally known as the “Bonco” line, the attachment comes with standard nine-inch pans, but Midwestern also has available a 12-inch pan option as well as other custom-ordered widths. The attachment, which fits most popular model combines, can be used to harvest corn in addition to sunflower, according to its manufacturer. The Seed-Eater’s 18-inch-diameter drum-style reel carries two spirals of bolt-on finger straps which can be adjusted to any row spacing. The unit’s “Easy-Tach” mounting system eliminates the need to drill holes in the platform when installing, and the optional “Uni-Mount” frame avoids the need for a bracing system. For More Information: Midwestern Machine, P.O. Box 304, Jamestown, ND 58402 — Phone: (701) 252-4275. Ray-Mac, Inc. Ray-Mac, Inc., produces and markets the “3-Way Row-Crop Header,” originally known as the “Lee Way” attachment. The unit’s name comes from its ability to harvest corn and milo as well as sunflower. The Ray-Mac attachment uses floating contoured snouts to direct sunflower stalks into positive-feed augers. Seed loss due to shattering under dry conditions is virtually eliminated, according to the manufacturer. Gathering angle and cutting height can be adjusted hydraulically from the combine cab. Also, the adjustable snout point’s angle matches that of the overall snout for positive on-ground float, thus facilitating the lifting and harvesting of downed plants. A hydrostatic variable-speed control lets the operator match the unit to harvest conditions. A simple hookup design allows a single individual to connect or disconnect the 3-Way Header in about five minutes. Models are available in 20-, 22-, 24-, 30-, 36-, 38- and 40-inch row spacings — and, depending upon the spacing, in six-, eight-, 10-, 12- or 14-row sizes. For More Information: Ray-Mac, Inc., P.O. Box 457, Gwinner, ND 58040 — Phone: (800) 542-4416; (701) 678-2452; or (701) 724-3879. The company’s web site address is www.ray-mac.com . Shield Industries Headquartered in Hutchinson, Kan., Shield Industries manufactures and sells the “Britten Crop Saver,” which was originally developed by a Colorado farmer. This nonmechanical crop-saving attachment fits all direct-cut grain headers, including 0.2-inch cutting systems. Initially designed for milo, it also works well in sunflower. Shield Industries has redesigned the Britten system to utilize longer polyurethane pans and wider collection gaps between each section. These changes allow for more positive transportation of sunflower plants through the cutting area. The patented Britten Crop Saver units consist of polyurethane pans, six points to each three-foot section, with each section held in place with three bolts and supported by a steel framework. The units work in any row width and will fit any size header. Seed loss is minimized by the longer pan fingers, and the system alleviates the need to purchase a sunflower header. For More Information: Shield Indus-tries, Box 687, Hutchinson, KS 67504 — Phone: (800) 798-1968 or (316) 662-7221. Sonnrise Mfg. Fleming, Colo., sunflower producer Dean Sonnenberg is the man behind the “Sonnrise Sunflower Harvest System,” which he has had on the market for more than a decade. Sonnrise’s six-foot-long pans are available on 12-, 15- or 30-inch centers, with the system featuring a shielded three-bat reel. Stock sizes fit 20-, 24/25- and 30-foot headers. For sunflower in 30-inch rows, pan widths of nine,12 or 27 inches are recommended. The nine- or 12-inch pans can be used on any row width as well as with drilled sunflower. Other pan widths can be custom ordered. Each Sonnrise pan is carried on its own frame beneath the grain platform for easy attachment and removal. The shield effectively stretches out the sunflower stalks, thereby reducing foreign material. Sonnrise recently has added a flexing corn row-style snout between rows for lifting sunflower stalks. It also offers a bolt-on flexing stalk lifter for rescue operations. For More Information: Sonnrise Manufacturing, 37744 Road 34, Fleming, CO 80728 — Phone: (970) 265-4325. SSR Pump SSR Pump of Michigan, N.D., has been manufacturing a floating-pan attachment since the 1970s. Designed to be particularly effective on lodged or down sunflower, the SSR unit features a beaked hood which fits in front of three-foot-long catch pans. Geared for 30-inch rows, the floating pans fit any combine, according to SSR. SSR’s “Quick-Tach” pan attachment system is available with nine- or 12-inch straight pans. Pans can be attached or removed in less than 20 minutes. A 2x4-inch support bar and 3/16-inch mounts for sickle guards are used, as are two angles per pen for support purposes. Fall shields cover the bearings and drive. For More Information: SSR Pump Company, P.O. Box 149, Michigan, ND 58259 — Phone: (701) 259-2331. Westward Products Westward introduced the high-capacity “Sunmaster 1095” head in 1995 as the “only true complete header designed principally for sunflower.” The attachment also can be used for dryland corn. Sunmaster is designed to fit all major line combines. “Drive into the header, hook up the power shaft, and you are ready to harvest,” advises Westward Products’ Scott Waldie. The attachment is available in eight- and 12-row units with row spacings of 20 to 30 inches. The Sunmaster has been used in solid-seeded sunflower fields as well. Sunmaster has a four-blade rotary cutter at the rear end of the gathering chain, so the plant stalk is cut right at the platform. Vibrating pans catch seeds from any shattering that may occur, thereby minimizing seed loss. For More Information: Westward Products, Inc., Airport Road, P.O. Box 2062, Jamestown, ND 58402 — Phone: (701) 251-2182.  Back to Equipment Stories Back to Archive Categories
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