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| I too have “read” all the discussions on how the Deere 9XX are far superior to the IH 1020’s. But, my experience of running a 920 JD and a 30’ 1020 in identical conditions has yet to authenticate any of those statements.
There is not much difference between the two headers in cutting quality. I am sorry I do not have any pictures of our soybean harvests to post. But, they would show that when we finish a field, the only way to tell where each combine ran is to look at the tire tracks or swath width of the header.
I rank the IH above the JD in terms of feeding. The JD has a longer throw from the sickle to cross-auger and short no-tilled beans tend to bunch in front of the auger. And, yes I have ground the auger-flighting square on both headers. I think the advantage of the IH comes mostly from the fore-aft adjustment on the reel (an option we do not have on the Deere). Additionally, the infinite finger pitch adjustment on the IH helps some as opposed to the 4 positions on the JD reel. I have no experience with an air-reel so I cannot comment on how it affects the performance of the headers.
I do not like the 920’s divider snouts. They are too long and wide. That leads to knocking down a lot of beans when cutting around a curve. And, sometimes the snouts on the JD tend to push a little.
I do not like cutting rowed beans with the JD. My reason is a JD 920 is a 20’ platform…right? Well not quite. It is actually 19’ 6” or something like that. When cutting no-tilled double-crop beans there is a little strip of wheat stubble left between two adjacent passes. It is of no concern, but it makes the field look like crap after cutting it. Plus, the “rounded up” cutterbar width makes it a challenge to squeeze 8-rows into the header when the planter spacing is a little wide. I do not start cursing aloud, however, until I have to take 7-rows.
The JD was purchased new and we have not had any trouble with it. The IH, however, was acquired at a time when a new header was not an option…so we ended up with a used one. The first year we had to address a lot of “previous owner issues,” but we have not had any more trouble with it. Well, I guess we did have a little trouble last year. With only 1 ac of beans left to conclude fall harvest, the header (and combine) ingested a rock. The damage to the header was a broken shaft inside the cross-auger. But, come on IH…can you not design a header with the capability to devour a 20 lb rock…give me a break! ;-)
Anyway, that concludes my thoughts between the two platforms. Well, two more thoughts. The JD accumulates a lot of dirt and debris around the runners (which is not much fun to clean) and you have to remove a plug and screw in a grease zerk to grease the damn thing. Other than the things I listed above, there is not much difference between the two.
Mav
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Need advice about flex head
