Operator`s manual

SECTION 9. OPERATION
Form 169006 98 Revision D
9.11.6 Ground Speed
Ground speed should be such that the sickle can
cut crop smoothly and cleanly, while giving the
desired delivery of material to the opening.
Excessive ground speed results in "ragged"
cutting.
In tough-to-cut crops, reduce ground speed to
reduce loads on cutting components and drives.
When cutting very light crops (e.g. short
soybeans), ground speed may have to be
reduced to allow reel to pull in small and short
plants.
Start at 3.0 - 3.5 mph (4.8 - 5.8 km/h), and adjust
as required.
Higher ground speeds require heavier float settings to
prevent excessive bouncing that would result in
increased cutting component damage.
In most cases, as ground speed is increased, draper
and reel speed should be increased to handle the
extra material.
The chart below indicates the relationship between
ground speed and area cut for the six header sizes.
Example shown below: At a ground speed of
6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h) with a 25 FT header, the
area cut in one hour would be approximately 18 acres
(7.3 hectares).
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
123456789101112
miles/hour
acres/hour
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
1.6 3.2 4.8 6.4 8.0 9.7 11.3 12.9 14.5 16.1 17.7 19.3
kilometers/hour
hectares/hour
40 FT
35 FT
30 FT
25 FT
20 FT
45 FT