International 990 Swather?

Any good?

Neighbor has one that he just quit using year before last, and then put a new to him Hesston in the field last year, so this one is just sitting... I think it is probably a 9 foot. Betting that IF I can get it, it will probably be pretty cheap...

I have run NH swathers/rakes/balers and some JD stuff all my life, have never run an International.

Are they good machines?
Parts?
Will my Farmall H run it?

Bryce

In their day they were a very good machine. I had one new in 1976, pulled it with a 454 IH, 45 hsp. An H won't go slow enough to power it in real heavy hay, otherwise ok....James

"All my Life", sounds funny coming from you. Wish I had that much life a head of me.

Dad had a seven footer 990 for hay when I was growing up on the farm. Aside from normal maintenance, it was a very good machine.

Okay, good to know... Would an H handle it in oats?

Hehehe, I guess you are right?!

Just an expression I suppose, but it is true!

Been quite a few years since I have run one. We used to mow a lot of hay with a 7' 990. Worked fine for us. If I remember correctly, it had one steel roll and one rubber roll. Check to see what shape they are in and they mesh correctly. Had 2 big springs on top for head flotation. Make sure these are ok to help from breaking guards and knives. Check the gears and chains as well. Also from memory they are quite tongue heavy. An H on hilly ground, I don't think would be a good idea. We ran it with a 656 gas, 784, and a 886.

Probably.I pulled a 12' Hesston in oats with a SuperM.Heavy grass,dont know.I will tell you that a 300 will boil over in heavy grass pulling 9'.He had to use the 400.The next thing is hydralic capacity.A 'belly pump probably wont put out enough pressure.

I used to have a 7 footer. Pulled it with a 666. Did a good job. What I liked was if you plugged the rolls, when you raised it, the rollers spread apart so you could clean it out.

You would want to open up the gap in the conditioner rollers. But odds are they are worn and too wide for alfalfa at present.

I use my FIL's 12-ft New Holland behind my Farmall 350 and it gives is a serious load in good oats. Second gear with an occasional pull of the TA in the heavy sections which puts it essentially at the same speed as first.

My field is mostly flat, a few rolling hills is all, nothing I would worry about...

Another thought that I had is my dads JD GM. I am not a fan of the tractor, BUT, it does have a lot of muscle, and I am sure that it would tote the swather around better, but would it have the power to run it?

Would have a wide front end on it too, which would be more up-front weight and stability.... Bryce

I pulled a 9' #990 with my 1941 JD A. No problem, was on fairly level ground in heavy alfalfa. The a still has the original low compression pistons, so about 30 hp. It did a good job cutting & crushing, but it was fairly new and in good shape.

One of the reasons I skip over most of Bryce's posts. All the years of experience at 16.

They're a simple machine, and parts availability is good. I've pulled mine with an AC D-14 in a pinch (on flat ground), so you should be alright with your H.
The bottom roller is fiber, and the top is a steel roller with bar stock welded to it. When I got mine, a few sections of bar were missing, which made it vibrate bad. The fix was easy enough though - just weld on new bar stock.
Pete

Hey now, I do have a lot of experience, and a lot to learn!

But, I know a LOT more than 99% of the other kids my age, and I know a LOT more than many adults my age!

This post was ASKING FOR ADVICE! I think that pretty clearly sums up the fact that I don't have a lot of experience?!

Just remember, you were sixteen once too.

I think we all said that at least once at that age, I know I did.

I pull my 9 foot one with an 88 Oliver. Mine has two all rubber rollers and the alfalfa dries fast here in Utah.

From what I have read the 990 sickle cutter with built in conditioner (aka haybine or moco) may be one of the few International hay tools that was well respected.

I believe the rollers spread apart when you raise the machine which can be a real nice feature for clearing plugs. A very unique feature compared to most of the other competition of the time.

I pull a Hesston model 1120 which is a 9'3" sickle based cutter with built in conditioner (aka haybine or moco) with my 1951 Farmall h. The Hesston 1120 is one heavy son of a gun with immense tongue weight. The ole Farmall h handles it in 3rd gear WOT (4.3 mph) in light to medium hay. 2nd gear WOT (3.5 mph) is needed for heavy, tough, damp hay using the h.

The farmall M handles it better and will be my primary tractor to run my moco going forward, but the h is certainly more than capable and has been used the most to do it since it is rock solid reliable. That said, I would not want anything smaller than the h on my unit so I would consider it the bare minimum morso based on weight and traction than hp.

I have also pulled the same unit with my John Deere model A. I like the Farmall h on it much better than the JD A due to the smother PTO power delivery but the A is certainly capable of running it too. 4th gear (4.5 mph) in light to medium hay and 3rd gear (3.5 mph) in heavy tough stuff.

I have one that I sold probably about ten years ago but hasn't left yet. It worked well, and you don't have to worry about damaging the rolls. I took on more ground and needed to go faster. Every time somebody asks about them on here there is nothing but good said about them. I can't imagine an H pulling one though, I think the GM would work a lot better.