Self-Propelled 42-Ft. Hydrostatic Swather

Self-Propelled 42-Ft. Hydrostatic Swather SWATHERS Swathers 21-5-8 Randy Muhs, Langdon, N. Dak., traded his 25-ft. pull-type swather for a 42-ft. used header, then built his own hydrostatic "tractor" for it. It's powered by a Deutz 5-cyl. air-cooled diesel engine. Muhs built a frame from rectangular steel tubing and fitted it with a hydrostatic drive, radiator, oil cooler, and operator platform from the Versatile 5000 combine. The 20.8 by 38 front tires are off an old Case tractor and the 11.25 by 24 caster rear tires are off a Deere 65 pull-type combine. The swather has two hydrostatic pumps - one to power the hydraulic lift and the other to operate four hydraulic motors. The motors are used to drive the sickle, reel, and both canvases. A 30-gal. hydraulic reservoir is mounted on the side of the swather. "I had been using a 25-ft. pull-type swather that made a swath that matched my Deere 7700 combine. Then I traded the 7700 combine for a bigger 8820 model so I needed a bigger swather. At the time I built it a new 42-ft. Coop 742 hydrostatic self-propelled swather listed for $75,000. I paid only about one fourth that much for the header and traction unit. I bought two junked-out 5000 Versatile combines for parts. "I started out using the combine's Ford 360 gas engine, but it used too much fuel so I replaced it two years ago with the Deutz diesel engine which came out of a 1-ton Du-ally pickup. It's fuel efficient but pulls pretty hard when going up hills or on soft ground. Since I installed it we've had two very wet years with hard pulling conditions, yet it has used only about 3 gallons of diesel per hour compared to almost 12 gallons of gas per hour used by the Ford engine. "I mounted a 100-lb. propane bottle on back to boost the power. A draft tube sucks a small amount of propane into the air stream going into the cylinders, making the engine burn the diesel fuel more completely and therefore boosting power. It also reduces oil contamination. I don't know how much power it adds, but it's enough that I can tell when it's not on. I wanted to buy a 6-cyl. diesel turbocharged engine with 125 to 150 horsepower, but it would have been too expensive. "I mounted a 60-gal. gas tank on each side of the swather which allows me to cut for a long time without stopping. Using 3 gallons of fuel per hour and cutting 20 acres per hour I can cut up to 600 acres before I have to refuel." He used sheet metal to build the 30-gal. hydraulic oil reservoir. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Randy Muhs, Rt. 1, Box 63, Langdon, N. Dak. 58249 (ph 701 256-3108 or 256-3214).

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