Flex heads

4020 electrician · Oct 29, 2014

Looking to upgrade to a flex head for my gleaner F. Are the 315 or 316 Gleaners decent heads or should a guy get a bish adapter and go to another color?

JMS/.MN · Oct 29, 2014

The issue with running a flex head on an older combine is that you don"t have the electro/hyd valves that control the head. 3 Series combines are made to run the flex heads.

4020 electrician · Oct 30, 2014

I realize I still have to run it manually. What are the weak points on them ?

JMS/.MN · Oct 30, 2014

I"ve had the 315 for several years, and I don"t know any weak spots. It works extremely well. I cut at an angle to use the entire sickle, and it picks up most everything it tips over on the ends of the cutterbar. With FCB I cut in lands, to keep the drive end over the cut field, but the flex cuts fine going back and forth. Only an occasional plant not cut off.

On an F, how would you control reel speed? The flex has a self-contained hyd system, with reel speed controlled by elec switch. I suppose you could hook up a rocker switch? Reel height is by single acting hyd hose from combine, like on the F.

4020 electrician · Oct 30, 2014

Couldn't a guy just put the regular switch in and a harness and skip auto header? Guys I know that have auto header say they don't use it? I'm not using it now.

Doug Wi · Oct 30, 2014

I'm running a 313 flex on an F3 that doesn't have the control module for the auto height control. Reel speed control is there but the plug is broken so didn't hook that up. Just ran it over 60 acres with the reel speed running where it was set when I got it. I'm new to growing beans, but I didn't see any problems with a constant reel speed. If the field is smooth I had no problem w/o auto header control which you won't have with the F. Drop the head down about 1/2 way on the flex range and go. the only time I had to touch the hyd was going through a ditch. The only thing I wonder about is a 315 or 16 going to make the F nose heavy. Not as much length back there as the F2 or 3. But weight is easy to add. Good luck

paul · Oct 31, 2014

The reel,won't work for you, will have to cobble up a electric line and switch?

They work well, I put a 2 inch hose over the cutter bar so short beans tip in and feed much better, like a rock dam on other combines.

Paul

jm42 · Nov 1, 2014

Mayer farm equipment in Ohio converted many f2 machines over to electric over hydraulic controls to run the 3 series heads, not sure it could be done to an f that made the machines operate like the f3 combine.

JMS/.MN · Nov 2, 2014

The F2 already had the electric/hyd controls as standard equipment. What the dealer did was update to the 3 control module and wiring harness for the flex head, like I did on my M2.

jm42 · Nov 2, 2014

Not quoting to be an expert, but everything I have read on this forum is saying the f2 was not EOH except the golden harvest edition, m2 were. I only had a f and a f3 so not 100% sure. You have me curious now.

Flex heads

4020 electrician

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JMS/.MN

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4020 electrician

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JMS/.MN

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4020 electrician

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Doug Wi

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paul

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jm42

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JMS/.MN

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jm42

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