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SW North Dakota | Got a different combine (lexion 590R) a while back at an auction and ended up getting a 42ft honeybee head for what I thought was a good price. Didnt do much research before hand but got some time now and it seems that not to many people like these heads. Mine is just the standard grain belt header, 2001 SP42 double sickle drive with the offset intake. We run 936D Deere drapers now and they work great. Is the honeybee comparable? One of my concerns is how it will feed in heavy wheat. That offset leaves alot for one draper to handle. Any problems here? Is this a decent header? If so then what are some key maintenance items to check in the off season? Thanks |
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Southwest ND | I had a 40' 2007 NH (honeybee) that I thought was not as good as the Deere or MD. Would stop the hydraulic drive drapers. Drapers were hard to get to trac correctly. Seems like the Canadians like them. If it's not wore out there is no reason that it won't work for you. |
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East Saskatchewan | We had 2 different 36' honey bees and hated both of them. 1 on an 8010 the other 1 came with a 580r when we traded combines. Drapers had to be as tight as possible to keep moving, knife would plug lots but was a single drive, would wrap at the adapter when it got tough, had a horrible problem with flipping crop once in a while and then feeding a pile in and plugging the adapter or feeder house, feeder drum hangers would destroy themselves and had to rebuild all the hardware on them. When it did plug up we would have to drop it off the combine 9 times out of 10 to unplug the adapter or feedchain. Got a 40' Macdon now and can't believe how much smoother, quieter and trouble free it was, 0 worries all harvest. Sorry, not what you want to hear but that was our experience, will never have another HB. |
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Leeds, North Dakota | Personally, they worked okay, support, good luck, had to many issues, have to deal with Saskatoon if I am correct, folks were good to work with, but customer needs head working now, I was a tech for NH, was able to get service manuals, when they worked they worked , when they didn't p'ssed of customer and tech, Scott. |
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NWIL | My experience with Honeybees, in very rocky small grains country.
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Solid as can be, I think one could mow down trees and not bend the frame. I've seen one take out a telephone pole and once the power company showed up and got the lines off the machine the guy drove off, hammered back two bats, and started cutting again.
Feed well for the most part, sometimes they plug but usually thats caused by an issue started earlier in the process, not the feed drum.
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Leaf spring floatation sucks, much prefer the coils on MDs. When running side by side, the HBs sure scoop a lot more dirt and bust up more sections since there is no spring back.
In later years the hydraulic systems were crap, at least after dual drives started being used. Stalling knives was out of hand, new sections, relief valves, oil, you name it, nothing helped. You should be ok with a 2001 model year, the single drives were a lot better.
SCH cutterbar gave a lot more trouble and seemed much higher maintenance then the MD cutterbar. Combines carried a LOT of spare parts on them. Knife splices were bought by the dozen.
MD cutterbar, even with the rigid models, will get down on the ground much better. Sure can cut peas and lodged wheat with a MD much cleaner.
I prefer the MD flip over reel over the UII that HB uses. The latter really can start throwing straw around at times and doesn't control lodged stuff going over the knife nearly as well.
Now the past few years you hardly see any HBs out there at all.
Edited by j.p 1/8/2014 18:25
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Schochoh Ky | Have a small one on deere swather, it's cut about 3000 acres in two years with only one small break down, the square key in the hydronic drive motor shaft wore out. About a buck for the key and 30 minuets to replace. |
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SW North Dakota | Thanks for the responses guys. I want to install a slow speed transport kit on it but hate to put the money in and then trade it if it sucks. I might just try it for this year and see how it goes. It was a fraction of the price of a macdon and with the lower grain markets Ill probably just deal with it for this harvest. Is there anything I should know about as far as regular maintenance goes? |
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SC Kansas | We have 2- 2008 SP30's with double sickle drive. We love em. Cut soybeans & wheat. Will cut soybeans as close as our old 1020 Case header and feeds super |
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Are Honeybee headers any good?
