Re: Drum mower questions

Keith Molden

Well-known Member
My 5' drum mower does a fine job here in S.E. Ohio. We mow several reclaimed strip mines and they are all pretty steep hills. Mine is either mounted on a 165 or 255 Massey & they both do ok with it tho the 165 can get a little light on the front and light on power on some of the steeper hills. Sometimes you steer with the brakes LOL. I wouldn't go back to a haybine or cutter bar This pic of my neighbor on the 255 shows a little of how steep it is. We have to either bale it square or go to the top or bottom with the rounds to keep them from taking off for the woods when we kick them out LOL.
a184852.jpg
 
As with me, the tedder did the trick, but I needed it with my
sicklebar previously anyway on odd dimensional fields, especially in
spring when grass is wet and turns exceed 90 degrees.

Mark
 
You happened on the reason why I didn't buy a disc when I was
looking for something better than a sicklebar......oil leaks from
cracking of the housing.

My dealer is over 250 miles from me. I bought several things
from him at the time and he delivered it all for around $100 as I
recall...lot cheaper than I could have gone and picked up. On
parts, like blades, he ships via UPS. No big deal.

I haven't seen any around here besides mine either, but that's ok.
Most folks are custom balers and use moco's which are too big
for my current operation and is why I sold mine and bought a
drum.

Mark
 
Oil leaks seem to be pretty common - especially for the older disc mowers.

That's a great deal on shipping - what brand do you have?

There are 2 discbines close by - the rest of my neighbors and I just aren't big enough or have fields large enough to justify them.

Thanks for the reply Mark.
 
Thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for. The replies to my question have been great. I have some fields in ETN just like you do - I had my brother spear rolls one time as they came out of the roller to keep them from flying down the hill - after I let one go through a fence.....
 
Oh yeah - looking forward to some spring grass to mow. I usually always mowed in the afternoons but I started a public job this winter and I'm hoping to mow some in the mornings before work - then ted as soon as I get home - we'll see.
 
I could go outside in the cold and look it up. But it's from Turkey like pictured somewhere on here, don't remember, and I said so following the picture.

Dealer is Small Farm Innovations. They have a www. I bought the 6'.

I assume the caution I am about to mention is with the disc also as they are carried much the same way as the drum:

When in the mow position, before the bottom drums contact the earth, where they ride when mowing, there is considerable side weight that the tractor has to sustain. Left front wheel could become light unless you have adequate weight forward to counteract it.

I run mine with a 65 hp compact tractor with FEL and cab. If you had a 2wd and loader you could just put something in the loader to provide a counterbalance.

Mark
 
you did say that - sorry about that.

I bet you're right and it wouldn't be much different than a disc mower on hills.
 
What dealer sold you the Kuhn Drum mower? One of the Kuhn dealers near me will have some on the lot this week and I'm going to stop by. The other I called has never
heard of them and swears they don't make one (I guess he's never looked online). Either way its a new product here and I'd like to talk to a dealer who may be more
familiar with them.

Thanks.
 






Did you have a question? I do think there are various quality of replacement blades out there
because the replacement blades I got from A&I went away quickly. Mine were the No.4 style with the
hump and were double edged. You switch drum sides to use the other cuttling edge of the blade. bjr








e
 
I'm interested in the brand of blades that have held up also. The ones I have been using are cheap and you get what you pay for. I get about 7-8 acres and change them as it takes a lot less power to run sharp square ones. Not a big deal but if I could double the acreage and only 1/2 the cost more or something like that it would save a few bucks per season-and a little time. Drum mower still works good for me after 8 or 9 years now. And it's an off brand SIP.
 

The New Holland/Kuhn dealer pretty much didn't have time to deal with me when I mentioned the Kuhn drum mower he had on the lot still in the crate. He kept pushing towards a disc mower, even though I told him $7,600 for a new one was out of the question right now. Couldn't tell me cutting height for a drum, though I already knew it was a little shorter than I like to mow, etc... I ended up with a used Frontier sickle mower, and it works but I'm not 100% sure I wouldn't be better off to trade it in on something else.
 
Small Farm Innovations sells (did last time I ordered) blades for their cutters at $25 for a box of 100. Yours looks a lot like theirs
which is made by some company in Turkey and I see a lot of them around in different colors with other's names on them so the
blades may fit yours. They are heat treated rectangular, one hole, sharp on both sides so you can move to the other drum and use
the other side.

You know you hear a lot of folks griping about the windrow that these babies produce, but just look at the clean ground the tractor
tires are running in as compared to stomping on the cut hay without a WW and the sharp edge, clearly visible where the cut and
uncut hay merge, making for a nice clean cut the next round.

If you want to make that cutter easily transported, replace that outer brace with a hydraulic cylinder. Go to the SFI site and you can
see how easily they can be used for transporting the mower. Just remember to lift the 3 pt before you draw in the cylinder shaft so
that the near drum has room to clear the ground as the far end comes up.
 
Impressive!!!!!!

What is the hay you are cutting and what make and model is your drum mower?

Thanks,
Bill
 
I had a cylinder handy that was long enough to extend just beyond the length of the current bar and was short enough to raise the tip
to about 80 degrees vertical before it was fully closed. You need to remember to lift the 3 pt first to get the discs up in the air before
you pull in (can't use the word $uck on here for some reason) the cylinder to give the inner disc room to pivot and clear the ground.

I'm in for today. Probably can get a pic tomorrow for you, not busy, after lunch some time.
 
Hay is "Gotcha Plus" Suday-Sorghum Grass Hybrid. Grown and bagged by MBS Seeds, Inc. Denton, TX. I bought it where I got my bulk fertilizer last year. It's qualities are what you see: Late maturing (guess you noticed no heads, not even boots), small stems (obvious too), and very efficient from the fertilization standpoint. I had a soil test and told the guy at the store what I wanted to grow and how much per acre yield and he mixed it up for me and sold me the seed. Cost was $32 a bag and I like to use 50# per acre as the seed is the size of milo and not that many to the pound and planting close helps to ensure small stems like you see.

The cutter is SFI model DM 3575, 6'. Small Farm Innovations in Caldwell, TX. has a www and lists his prices. The mower is Turkish built and built very well. If you go with him, the normal drums come from the factory to cut 2" off the ground. He can install a spacer (for a fee or you do it) that raises the drum up another inch. That's as high as the mfgr. says you can go. With the 3" spacing, on this crop my stubble was running 4-5" and was plenty for regrowth. The bar on the front pushes the plant over before it gets cut, like a swather so when it gets cut it's longer which is what I wanted. If you want it short, don't use the spacer and cut the crop before it gets to the bar.

Phil is the owner and delivered me that cutter and several other things for a very reasonable delivery fee. I couldn't have gone down there and picked it up for twice what he charged. In all honesty, I have seen the same cutter under different local names and colors. Seems there is a wide distribution network setup.

He has a cylinder kit for them if you don't want to do it yourself. Some people don't like moving the cutter from stow to transport (without the cylinder....the cutter moves around directly behind the tractor and sticks straight out the back. My answer to them is get the cylinder, or learn how to move it around with minimal trouble. Other thing is that by using the cylinder you can move from mow to transport position without doing anything but moving 2 hydraulic levers in your tractor.

Phil sells a box of 100 blades for $25, or did last time I bought some. They are heat treated and double sided. You can take them off one drum and put on the opposite drum and cut with the other side. Duration depends on your crop and soil condition including bumps that could put the blades into contact with the soil and rocks that would dull them. Takes all of about 30 seconds per blade to change. Blades are not a problem and certainly NOT a SICKLE BAR......UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH! You'll never go back.

He has some videos showing it will cut as fast as you can stay in the seat and it cuts wet or dry, in or out of the water....course in the water it does throw water all over your tractor.

Oh one last thing. These mowers have few moving parts. If you notice they do make a windrow but even with this heavy crop I still had a place for my tractor's tires to run without stomping on cut crop and you have a well defined lead into the uncut crop, uncluttered. Well built and well worth the money. Oh, I don't have any relationship with Phil. I don't care where you get one, just DO IT!!!!! Grin. Doubt you'll regret it.

Good luck,
Mark
 
I just got cited with some honey do's for tomorrow and the picture is only worth so much as there are things to talk about.

As I said, the Turks made lots of these in different colors and sold them to different vendors who may have used different numbers
like Phil did with mine. Mine is made by Agromaster (www.agromaster.com) and is model DM 3075. So yes odds are they are the
same and even if they're not you get the idea and take it from there.

Since I was plowing uncharted ground I did not sacrifice my OEM bar for adapter plates. I used some 2 1/2" x5 x1/2 stock I had
lying around and made 2 adapters. The hole centers are 1" from either end and as you can see on your equipment, are of different
diameters. I have a 1" drill and drilled out the holes for the cylinder pins. You could do that, torch a hole, or find a reducer to use a
smaller bolt through the ends of your cylinder having to drill a smaller hole.

My cylinder is a 3 x 12" stroke (the closest one I had on hand) but a 2 x 12 will do just as good and actually fit with more clearance
to the top of the cutter. ASC has them for $63 (PN 46866). You are only lifting probably 300# of the 485# the thing weighs.

So you need 3 parts, 2 you can make from the strap that was there initially and the other the hydraulic cylinder and hoses which just
lie across the top of the machine and go to the remotes....smoothe as silk but I did put some water hose around the hyd hoses to
prevent any possible chafing at the sharp corners of the machine. Obviously the fixed end mounts towards the tractor for
convenience and better fit and function.

The reason it only lifts to about 80 degrees of vertical is that you have to also consider the distance when in the cutting position and
the cylinder is fully extended. You want a little slack in the cylinder so that the discs the drums sit on are both squarely on the
ground and not cocked up on the outer end. If you make the cylinder shorter it will go to 90 but will be too short for the mow
position. But 80 is fine and hopefully will work for you.

Take this and run. If you need further help I can take a pic day after tomorrow or provide more info.

Good luck,
Mark
 
That's a real impressive mower, good price too. Curious as to how well the crop dries
in the windrow without the crimper. Do you lose what time you gain in mowing by
having to tedder it out a few times? Not sure I'd be able to get mine cured in time
around here..even with a moco and a tedder the windows can be darn short.

Would be nice to actually be able to make some time mowing though...the old 469 is
reliable, but slow.
 
Well here comes the bad news. I had no intention of letting this crop get this high as I figured as you said that it would be a mess to get thinned out so I could bale it. Problem was that last spring, not as bad as this year, but none the less, it rained and rained and couldn't get in to get it harvested. Neat thing was that it was true to the supplier's word that it is small stemmed and late maturing. Both saved the day on this crop.

I tried my IH 404 crimper on it and it just got jammed up as there was just too much product.

So, I had to work it in sections with a lot of teddering and swapping equipment around my tractors to get her done and the weather finally turned in my favor and it dried out and got hot. It made 2 1/2 tons per acre on the one cutting and the bales are in the other picture I posted here on the subject. That's just too much material to have to deal with.

Since then, I got out my welder and a 3 pt rack from an old blade scraper I never used, unbolted the wheel framing and all and changed my 404 from a drag to a 3 pt so I can selectively lift and drop as desired. Also, I will use it on my Ford that has Live PTO rather than on the one with tranny driven PTO so when I get in tough stuff I can stop and lift till it clears out. Both would have made a tremendous difference.

On windrows or not, some like them and some don't. I like them as I want a clean edge going into the next round so that I can ensure I am cutting all I can cut without missing anything, and like a place for my tractor tires to run on the previous round so that I don't stomp on the hay and grind it into the stubble and the ground. I had a JD 1209 swather before this and I had it setup for windrows also.

On price, that, fewer parts, minimum gearing, belt drive, and looking at used disc mowers and all the patching on the under side of the main structure are the reasons I checked out and liked the drum. The 6 ft drum is just right for me as most all my equipment now is setup for 6' and everything fits except for a couple of exceptions....a disc one way which is ok and the 14 shank JD cultivator that I posted a picture of the other day....and that's ok too.
 

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