rnh2
Well-known member
Has anyone here used a drum mower? What's the good and bad?
Drum mower
- Thread starter rnh2
- Start date
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I bought a 2 drum 6 footer maybe 10 years ago. Zero breakdowns, maintenance items. Few parts, what parts there are are husky. Blades are really cheap and easy to change. Lots of times I just take a grinder and polish off the edge.
Blades are two sided so when you wear out one side on drum A move them to drum B and wear out the other side. It will mow faster than you can stay in the seat, no clogs, no missed stems, no this and no that. Just a good cutter. If you want a taller stubble there is a 1" extension that is available, inserts between the drums and raises the top drum off the bottom 1" more. With this modification I had stubble heights of 4 ½-5" on sorghum sudan (it lays over to give you the extra length) when mowing fast. However, this doesn't cut very close on thin stems, like bermuda/millet. I recently took mine out as I am interested in a shorter cut on my horse hay patch and am up in the air as yet as to whether or not the extension will stay out.
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Cuts forward, backwards, wet or dry, in the water or out. Mine cuts 6' and fits my tractor wheel spacing and my other haying implements. A ww is produced by the blades, being 2 turning in opposite directions toward the center. My wws are such that my fat (16.9x28) tires will ride on raw ground, not on the ww (barely) and I have a nice clean edge to the uncut material for the next lap...no holidays.
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Mine weighs in at about 900#. Has 2 positions, inline to the rear for transport, or 90^ to the side for cutting....PTO shaft has to be removed to do this as the drive line is now 90 degrees from the tractor's. In the transport position (to the rear), weight is no biggie.
In the mow position with the mower off the ground there is a lot of influence to raise the left front tire (as is the case with any mower out to the side) so a good front end is necessary. 4wd and loader (which I never remove but do remove the bucket...quick attach skid steer type) on my 65 hp Branson is more than enough for reliable control with the 6' mower. In mow position the majority of the weight is sitting on the ground (tractor 3 pt part excepted).......bottom disc is independent of the drive mechanism for the top disc which contains the blades, and just scoots along the ground....no crop stubble damage noted with it doing that even though it does lay over as you pass.
An alternative and much better functionality is to replace the outer solid steel bar with a hydraulic cylinder. With that you lift the mower....still horizontal to make clearance for the inside of the inside drum and with the cylinder, suck up the outer end, much like you see done with disc mowers in the carry position. Fast, no PTO involvement, and no manual labor involved.
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Mine is made in Turkey by Agriproducts or something like that and sold by Small Farm Innovations in Caldwell, Tx. Phil, owner, is a super customer supporter. He brought mine to me, about 250 miles with some other things purchased from him at the time....reasonable shipping fee. There are others and all seem to be of the same basic, if not the same design.
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Like other mowers of the sort, they have a weighted curtain but it is of little use unless you are in tall, dense, growth....helps to block any flying objects. The forward movement of the tractor and suction produced by the blades turning inward tend to pull it back and thus exposing the blades on the outer drum which turn in toward the tractor. I have replaced my cab door glass (several years ago) and just this season the right rear cab glass, both rock strikes to the tempered safety glass of the cab.
I am currently building a shield that protrudes about a foot forward of the deflection bar-about 5' long on the mower, which extends out beyond the trajectory line of a rock coming off the tip of the outer drum. No biggie, a little 1"angle iron, box frame U bolted to the front bar and top shield of the mower covered with a piece of corrugated sheet steel like you use on roofs and sides of barns....all stuff lying around bar the hardware.
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I chose the drum over disc because when looking for an alternative to a !@#$%^&*()_+ sickle, every used DISC I saw for sale had brazed up cracks under the cutter bar, some still leaking oil, and every new one was at least twice the price and 4x the components of the drums. The drum has sealed drum bearings and the drive mechanism is on top of the mower out of harms way...very rugged, lots of oil, no leaks, no maintenance, no problem...... Additionally I preferred the accumulation of the grass (ww it makes as stated above for the reason stated above).
HTH
Mark
Blades are two sided so when you wear out one side on drum A move them to drum B and wear out the other side. It will mow faster than you can stay in the seat, no clogs, no missed stems, no this and no that. Just a good cutter. If you want a taller stubble there is a 1" extension that is available, inserts between the drums and raises the top drum off the bottom 1" more. With this modification I had stubble heights of 4 ½-5" on sorghum sudan (it lays over to give you the extra length) when mowing fast. However, this doesn't cut very close on thin stems, like bermuda/millet. I recently took mine out as I am interested in a shorter cut on my horse hay patch and am up in the air as yet as to whether or not the extension will stay out.
-----------------
Cuts forward, backwards, wet or dry, in the water or out. Mine cuts 6' and fits my tractor wheel spacing and my other haying implements. A ww is produced by the blades, being 2 turning in opposite directions toward the center. My wws are such that my fat (16.9x28) tires will ride on raw ground, not on the ww (barely) and I have a nice clean edge to the uncut material for the next lap...no holidays.
--------------
Mine weighs in at about 900#. Has 2 positions, inline to the rear for transport, or 90^ to the side for cutting....PTO shaft has to be removed to do this as the drive line is now 90 degrees from the tractor's. In the transport position (to the rear), weight is no biggie.
In the mow position with the mower off the ground there is a lot of influence to raise the left front tire (as is the case with any mower out to the side) so a good front end is necessary. 4wd and loader (which I never remove but do remove the bucket...quick attach skid steer type) on my 65 hp Branson is more than enough for reliable control with the 6' mower. In mow position the majority of the weight is sitting on the ground (tractor 3 pt part excepted).......bottom disc is independent of the drive mechanism for the top disc which contains the blades, and just scoots along the ground....no crop stubble damage noted with it doing that even though it does lay over as you pass.
An alternative and much better functionality is to replace the outer solid steel bar with a hydraulic cylinder. With that you lift the mower....still horizontal to make clearance for the inside of the inside drum and with the cylinder, suck up the outer end, much like you see done with disc mowers in the carry position. Fast, no PTO involvement, and no manual labor involved.
----------------------
Mine is made in Turkey by Agriproducts or something like that and sold by Small Farm Innovations in Caldwell, Tx. Phil, owner, is a super customer supporter. He brought mine to me, about 250 miles with some other things purchased from him at the time....reasonable shipping fee. There are others and all seem to be of the same basic, if not the same design.
---------------------
Like other mowers of the sort, they have a weighted curtain but it is of little use unless you are in tall, dense, growth....helps to block any flying objects. The forward movement of the tractor and suction produced by the blades turning inward tend to pull it back and thus exposing the blades on the outer drum which turn in toward the tractor. I have replaced my cab door glass (several years ago) and just this season the right rear cab glass, both rock strikes to the tempered safety glass of the cab.
I am currently building a shield that protrudes about a foot forward of the deflection bar-about 5' long on the mower, which extends out beyond the trajectory line of a rock coming off the tip of the outer drum. No biggie, a little 1"angle iron, box frame U bolted to the front bar and top shield of the mower covered with a piece of corrugated sheet steel like you use on roofs and sides of barns....all stuff lying around bar the hardware.
----------
I chose the drum over disc because when looking for an alternative to a !@#$%^&*()_+ sickle, every used DISC I saw for sale had brazed up cracks under the cutter bar, some still leaking oil, and every new one was at least twice the price and 4x the components of the drums. The drum has sealed drum bearings and the drive mechanism is on top of the mower out of harms way...very rugged, lots of oil, no leaks, no maintenance, no problem...... Additionally I preferred the accumulation of the grass (ww it makes as stated above for the reason stated above).
HTH
Mark
rnh2
Well-known member
Thanks. My place has lots of rocks has been known to eat discs for breakfast. How do you like that Branson tractor? I've heard good things about them
rnh2
Well-known member
How does windrow affect drying? A fellow on another forum said his drum mower with windrow spreader dried his hay faster than a moco
callmefence
Keyboard cowboy
Texasmark":auefjzd3 said:
One of the best post I've read in some time. Thanks for the work Tex..
rnh2":19lbx2uj said:
I retired from my regular job 1 Jan. 2005. First couple of years was downsizing my farming operation also. I had accumulated 7 tractors of JD, MF, Ford badges, all open station but a 4230, restored cosmetically (3900 hrs) with a cab; 4010 had FEL, none were 4wd.
Getting up in years I decided that a smaller tractor with a cab is what it'd have to be, FEL was a must and for the first time in my life, 4wd would be on the list. Shopped spring of 2007 at all the popular color dealerships. Found nothing that took my breath away and passed on the idea of a new tractor.
In Sept. I was driving down the interstate and a long line of red tractors caught my eye at a retailer that was also a trailer dealer. His largest offering was the 6530C, 65 hp Cummins 4 cyl, direct injected (licensed to Komatsu heavy equipment in Japan) with the rest of it coming from Kukje in S. Korea. It had all the bells and whistles I felt I'd need and the icing on the cake was that the dealer wanted 3 of my tractors in trade: Ford 3000D rebuilt engine and new paint, MF 35, Perkins 3 cyl diesel, and the JD 4010 which PO had gone through and "gave" to me for cash to settle an IRS dispute...his loss my gain. The dealer brought the buyer by to look at them and he had them sold before the ink was dry on the purchase order for the Branson. Plus it was the end of Sept. and Branson had a $1k discount fixing to terminate. It still came to $37k with hay fork and med duty 6' cutter.
It has been a very good investment and pretty much problem free: 2 glass breakages and I messed up the front wheel bearings one day when I was in a big hurry plowing up a field and had the loader full of gravel for a smooth ride and it was just too bumpy. Couple of things learned: I am retired and the field is not a race track so I can afford to slow down, especially while rolling hard clay and the Branson rep said that 85w-140 was now recommended for the front axle....gear lube like lube one finds in gearboxes....since it "is" a gear train.
I wanted a little guy to help me with farm chores and in Jan 2016 went for the smallest Branson, the 2400,with the Cummins 3 cyl swirl chamber from Kukje (who are now a licensed Cummins supplier) and with the stock 4wd and FEL. I didn't shop. Just called the dealer and said I wanted one. Didn't have any in stock (sold out) so I had to wait a few days for a new truck load.....it comes with 80W-90 in the front axle, the fill plug has it marked on it, and the operators manual makes it well known.
In short, that's my story. Lot of hammering dealers on the www. I didn't need a local dealer for repairs since all I needs is a parts supplier when in need. The door glass was UPS delivered in 3 days from Plainview, TX. and the back window in about 9 from Sulphur Springs.
On the front end repair, some parts got here in about 3 day (enough to get me going on the reassembly) and the last thing, the large O ring that seals the whole assy., about 3 weeks But I didn't need it, put it on the list as a "just in case" and was back in the field way before then...seems it was not a commonly used item so it's not locally stocked. The dealer in SS said that he would go out of his way to supply me with anything I needed. Has 3 stores in the area.
So sir, to answer your question, the purchase of the 2400 pretty much sums it up.
HTH
callmefence":28w11mjk said:
Thank you sir. Lots of disinformation on the www and when guy is thinking about buying a piece of farm equipment he/she doesn't need it. Cold hard facts, telling the whole story, like it or not, is what is requested, even if you have to "show your cards"....tearing my front end up due to stupidity. But that's the way I'd expect an answer and "Do unto your............
rnh2":2bz47nr9 said:
My hay patches are highly irregular with every corner a different dimensioned turn, some being in excess of 90 degrees. I have to tedd regardless. What it does is to give you an even distribution of crop and something nobody ever addresses is that the "whacking" of the stems by the tedder cracks them and aids in getting the moisture there to evaporate much closer to the short time it takes the leaves to dry out.
Another thought on the above (using a tedder) is pretty much the elimination of wads of wet product that can wind up in a bale down inside the stack whereby it can overheat and cause a fire. I had that in round bales that I'd stack end to end right after coming off the field in the spring, when it's the hardest to get good drying. Now I ted and I give the bales about a week to dry out, testing each (with my hand) before stacking.
