Water Keeps Hay From Gumming Up Forage Harvester

Water Keeps Hay From Gumming Up Forage Harvester FORAGE HARVESTERS Forage Harvesters (31F) 19-4-32 Problems with hay gumming up the fan housing on a Deere 3800 forage harvester prompted Larry McGill, Glencoe, Ontario, to mount a 55-gal. tank on the harvester and use a 12-volt pump to squirt water into the top of the fan housing. A toggle switch in the cab is used to turn the pump on or off. "It solved the problem at a cost of less than $350," says McGill. He made a steel saddle for the tank and mounted it on four 30-in. long legs made from 2 1/2-in. sq. steel tubing, then welded the legs onto the frame of the forage harvester just ahead of the fan housing. "Gummy build-up on the inside of the fan housing took a lot of extra power. Material came out of the fan so slow it barely made it to the front of the wagon. I couldn't get on much of a load," says McGill. "I keep three or four different sizes of metering orifices in the tractor cab. When I use the largest orifice a tank full of water will last for two wagon loads. However, I usually can get by using a smaller orifice. I mounted a pressure gauge and pressure regulator under the tank. I operate the continuous duty electric diaphragm pump at 30 to 40 psi." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Larry McGill, Rt. 4, Glencoe, Ontario, Canada NOL 1MO (ph 519 287-3055).

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