# Hesston pt-10?



## Stitch (Jul 21, 2016)

A friend of mine wants to sell me a hesston pt-10. Id like to have a mower conditioner but dont know much about them, so i have questions. First, it needs a new belt and some cutters replaced and he wants $500 for it. Fair deal or too much? And how hard is it to replace the belt? Does it have a tensioner pulley like a vehicle would? Last, how much horsepower does it take to run it efficiently?


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

That is about what its worth. I see the drive belt on eBay for $75....I would offer him $400 and then by the time you got the belt and some knives you would then have about 5 in it. It should not take a lot of ponies to operate....probably around 45-50 hp.

Stitch, you seeing much rutting activity in the Albia area yet?

Regards, Mike


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## Stitch (Jul 21, 2016)

Its been sloooow for me but i heard somes going on. My place is just south of lovilia and west of highway 5, its been slow for the neighbors also. My buddy rattled one in and shot it last saturday west of albia 4 miles.


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## Idaho Hay (Oct 14, 2016)

many years ago I owned one of those. It was the worst piece of machinery I've ever experienced. I'm usually pretty understanding with machinery, but that thing was poorly designed and breaking constantly. In the short time that I had it, the conditioners would plug up constantly, the belt would have to be replaced at least once a year (total PITA to change), the sickle drive knuckle blew up twice, and the final straw was when the gear box went out. It now sits in the scrap pile. Granted, it was an old used machine when I got, and it's remotely possible that I just got a lemon, but I contributed most of it's problems to just being poorly designed. I'd suggest saving your $400-$500 for something else.


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

A quote from YT:

" PT-10 was built in two models. The later is by far the best. The earlier models have a sickle drive similar to a tie-rod on a car's steering mechanism. These are the models to stay away from. The later have a drive with a yoke and u-joint, these are by far the better. The two plates that move the sickle have 60 degree bevels cut into them resembling a lug nut on a car. As long as these bolts are kept tight and guards and sickle are kept in good shape this machine will run forever. They have a tendency to take the seals out of the gearbox so check lube often. I have been cutting approximately 40 acres of hay with a PT-10 I purchased seven years ago for $400 US with minimal expense. I don't think it owes me anything!"

I don't know anything about the PT-10, but I can tell you the Hesston 1120, 1110 and their CaseIH and MF painted counterparts are and were some of the very best of sickle mower conditioners. Heavy duty, most easy to service/repair/rebuild and cutting/conditioning machines.

Hope the PT-10 your looking at is of the later variety.

Good luck,
Bill


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## Idaho Hay (Oct 14, 2016)

leeave96 said:


> A quote from YT:
> 
> The earlier models have a sickle drive similar to a tie-rod on a car's steering mechanism.


 That's exactly the model that I had. I couldn't believe that Hesston engineers thought that would hold up to the high speed action of a sickle drive. After that machine, I bought an older New Holland SP, and what a difference. Granted that machine was old too, and I had to do quite a bit of work to it over the years due to it's age, but the design quality was so much better. Now I own a NH 7230 discbine.



leeave96 said:


> A quote from YT:
> 
> I don't know anything about the PT-10...


Didn't you just say that you own one???


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

Idaho Hay said:


> That's exactly the model that I had. I couldn't believe that Hesston engineers thought that would hold up to the high speed action of a sickle drive. After that machine, I bought an older New Holland SP, and what a difference. Granted that machine was old too, and I had to do quite a bit of work to it over the years due to it's age, but the design quality was so much better. Now I own a NH 7230 discbine.
> 
> Didn't you just say that you own one???


No - that was a quote from someone else who had posted it on YT. I have a Hesston 1110 - 7ft sickle mower conditioner.


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## Idaho Hay (Oct 14, 2016)

leeave96 said:


> No - that was a quote from someone else who had posted it on YT. I have a Hesston 1110 - 7ft sickle mower conditioner.


 :lol: I get it now... Sorry about that.


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## PaulN (Mar 4, 2014)

My dad bought a PT-10 in the early 70's. We ran that thing until 1997 when one of the conditioner rolls disintegrated. I can only remember having to change the belt one time. It does have a spring loaded tensioner on it like autos. I think $500 is reasonable, but it never hurts to try for less.


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

This may be a bit late for your purchasing decision but may help if you have bought it, or for any others contemplating a pt10.

The belts should run for a very long time. I bought a machine with an old cracked belt and have cut around 120 acres with it. The belt is available on eBay and various other sites on the net. Part number is 855122. I bought one for circa $63.00 US this year.

It is a "power band" i.e. 4 vee belts with a common flat back belt. Some try to run 4 vee belts but they do not work successfully even if "matched" belts, so buy the right one first up. Local AGCO dealer wants north of $300 for one. WE may be Downunde but that is over the top in my view.

The belt is tensioned by a spring loaded idler pulley which has some adjustment via the eye bolt that holds the spring but a little known adjustment that may be necessary as a belt stretches is the front idler pulley (it sits highest on the machine) and has 3 alternative mounting positions.

I ran 3 of these machines some years ago but quit them and went NH 1411 discbine but now winding down to retirement I have reverted to a MF 54 which is identical to the PT10 both made by Hay and Forage Industries in Kansas. Owned a total of 6 of these machines over the years.

They are relatively simple machines with many minor variations through the years. Eg the knife drive, and the roller tension as screw and locknut or a grease actioned hydraulic cylinder.

I have an operators handbook and parts book for the PT10 (the PT7 was a narrow variant).

Things to check:

MOST IMPORTANT turn the machine by hand, by hand pressure on the counterbalance on the crank on the 4-sheave lower pulley. If you find that it is impossible to turn then the knife needs to be freed up either by straightening the knife bar or by ensuring all knife guards are the same profile and alignment. Different brands of knife guard do not all match and the knife drive becomes too heavy after some years of knife guard changes with a variety of brands. If the knife drive is too difficult, the crank pin may break, the universal joint on the pitman arm is overloaded and fails or the connection between the bell crank and the ball sockets and the knife drive fails.

The sickle drive is essentially the same across the range with some variations on the drive end.

Turn the machine by hand and check that the knife drive transition from one direction to the other is smooth with minimal pause at the change. If there is a notable delay in the change if direction then the drive system needs an overhaul otherwise very expensive damage will occur. There are potential loose connections at: fafnir bearings, the pitman universal, the bell crank bearing, the knife drive socket and ball and the 4 bolts that connect the pitman u-joint and the knife drive ball. These bolts and the further 2 on the bell crank counterweight are countersunk top and on the nut side (1/2 inch UNF) and all clamp the bell crank plates and must be tight and not in elongated holes.

If there is a pause the drive in the other direction picks up speed and then hits the knife connections like a sledge hammer. Smooth transition is the aim.

The register is very important. Ie the knife sections at the end of travel should align EXACTLY under the knife guard points. This ensures there is an even load on the knife drive in each direction. If the knife section points are somewhere other than under the knife guard points at the end of travel there is inefficient cutting action which tends to overload the knife drive.

The register is adjusted by changing the length of the pitman arm which entails the removal of the fafnir bearing on the crank arm. A tedious process but essential.

A more difficult and seldom checked adjustment is the bell crank positioning for sickle head alignment which is adjusted by loosening the bell crank pivot mounting bolts.

Do not try to over condition hay as that causes excessive belt wear.

The reel has 2 alternative drive sprockets, one in use and the other stored on a bolt under the cover on the reel drive side. Reel speed should be about 25% faster than ground speed, EXCEPT when trying to cut lodged crops and then you may want to have ground speed exceed reel speed to avoid having the crop enter the rollers before the sickle cuts it.

This machine is regarded as a 540 pto rpm but the gearbox can be inverted to make it a 1000 rpm pto machine. The dipstick/filler plug has to be moved to the new topside if the gearbox is inverted.

Set up properly these machines will run for a long time and sound a bit like a sewing machine with no appreciable vibration.

Another warning: Do not run the pro unless the machine is opened to one of the 3 working positions otherwise there may be damage to the drive line universals.


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