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Central Kansas | The 499 is a proven machine for many years. The rollo-reel bothers some operators but does a great job of feeding heavy crops (sudan grass) into the conditioner rolls. I have had one for many years and have done very little repair work on the reel or any other part of the machine. Sickle machine...but cuts less than 12' so the overlapping sickles are fairly short and the drive mechanism (dog bone-type) gives them lots of power.
Like all sickle machines....the reel adjustment, angle of guards, condition of guards and sickle sections...all improve the performance but can be a PITA to deal with. Having said that....I rarely have an in-field failure of the cutting system worse than a broken tip off a sickle section.
The conditioner is nearly as wide as the cutting head so the forming shield can be moved to lay out a very wide swath of hay...desirable for drying in some areas. The tongue is not as long as some pivot tongue swathers, so it runs closer to the tractor....and....the transport width town busy county roads is narrower than most other pivot tongues....a plus for me.
The movement is away from sickle machines for the sake of speed and maintenance. The 499 will eat grass hay that is lodged pretty well...with no auger to plug....but wet, down hay will cause problems. For me, I just wait until the hay is dry enough to cut but others like to 'git 'er done'.
This are excellent sickle machines...and if in good condition, should do the job for you. The back lash on the conditioner rolls exists in these machines, but shouldn't be real sloppy. Setting the rolls' clearance requires shims...but isn't that big of deal and should be done on occasion. | |
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499 NH haybine
