Crary air reel

[Bleeding RED]

Has anyone had any experience with a Crary air reel?  What are the maintenance  issues?  What about a Crary wind system instead of the whole air reel?  Thanks in advance for the help.  By the way, this will go on a 20 or 25' full finger flex head.  Thanks again.

[bbls682644]

I've had one for 4 years and wouldn't go without one. In short beans the loss is zero but the best part is that shattered beans will blow blow in off the sickle instead of dribbling back off the front. I saw a study that claimed up to a 1 1/2 bu more out of the field. Some places I think we do that, other times not, depending on conditions. No real maintaince issues other than taking cap off the end of the air tube opposite the fan every 4th day or so and blowing out the dust so you don't plug air tubes. 

[jonnd]

I have had the Crary air reel on the last two headers I have owned.  Will not order another header with out an air system.  I am going to update my header this winter and it will have either the air reel (my first choice) or the air system that is in fornt of the reel.

Maintance is not a problem with them.  As stated in another reply you should clean the dead end of the air delivery tube two or three times per year.  I usually clean mine every 500 acres just to be sure I don't block the end air tubes.  Keep the rollers adjusted on the reel itself, their reel is quite heavy and the rollers keep it from binding.  The plastic bushings that attach the reel pipes to the spiders can break on occasion, I keep a couple sets in the combine just so I don't have to go to dealer during the day to get one if they break.  This only happened to me with the first head I had and I think it was just a issue of being older and being outside.

The draw back, if you can call it that, is that on calm days the debris from the header will build up on the feeder house of the combine.  You may have to clean off the top of the feeder house a couple time a day to get the pile off it.  It can build up high enough to interfer with the lifting of the feeder house by wedging between the feeder house and the bottom of the cab.