callmefence
Keyboard cowboy
Anyone used any of these inexpensive drum mowers.
Ranchrite, and tar river brands especially.
Ranchrite, and tar river brands especially.
Polish / Turkish drum mowers
- Thread starter callmefence
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
I have a Minos agri 190, which looks just about identical to what youre looking at. Bought it 6 years ago. Trouble free thus far. Easy to set up and mow with. Has held up well and blades are simple to swap out. Only consideration is i have to use a tedder after cutting with it. With your weather down there, that may not be necessary.
I bought the Turkish 190 back in 2012 and worked it pretty hard. Last year I knocked out a lower bearing on one of the drum drives. Decided to get a new one.
Shopped the www and came across and liked the Tar River because of several things different than the Turkish units, main one being the length of the sheet metal out front of the cutters. I knocked out a door and a rear window glass with rocks thrown by the 190 that I doubt would have happened with the Tar River. Nearest dealer was in Kansas, forget the name. Guy ordered it for me, price was great, mfgr. was sold out so it took about 4 weeks to get it, free shipping, drop shipped to my farm. Off loaded it with my FEL and pallet forks. Put it together, working alone with the help of a Branson 2400 and it's loader, tried it out, very happy.
Shopped the www and came across and liked the Tar River because of several things different than the Turkish units, main one being the length of the sheet metal out front of the cutters. I knocked out a door and a rear window glass with rocks thrown by the 190 that I doubt would have happened with the Tar River. Nearest dealer was in Kansas, forget the name. Guy ordered it for me, price was great, mfgr. was sold out so it took about 4 weeks to get it, free shipping, drop shipped to my farm. Off loaded it with my FEL and pallet forks. Put it together, working alone with the help of a Branson 2400 and it's loader, tried it out, very happy.
OP
OP
callmefence
Keyboard cowboy
Texasmark said:
My tar river is scheduled for delivery Wednesday. May need some advice Mark.. your cutting hybrid Sudan with yours?
OP
OP
callmefence
Keyboard cowboy
Bigfoot said:
Not at all . Thank you.
So do you have to cut with these things right on the ground.?? If so it's Gonna be a rock chunker in some of my fields.
callmefence said:
Yeah. On the cutter part, the drums are supported differently and I like that better....we'll see how they last....expecting good results. On the blades, my old blades are slightly larger than my TR but fit just fine. Both cutters have 3' drums with 3 blades per drum. I upped to 6 on my old one just to see the results and for the time/effort/cost of the (winter) project a waste of time.
On cutting Sorghum sudan hybrid, I have pictures of a crop of "Gotcha Plus" I did one year. It rained late in the season and I couldn't get on it. By the time I could it was over my cab (105" tall). Beautiful job it did, actually perfect. If I can figure out to load pictures on this site I might just post a couple this morning.
I checked this and this will work along with some supporting verbiage. Hope this doesn't violate any rules. Several entries besides mine. Tried to just get pics but didn't work. Bales, several responses down, were with my JD 375 which bales a toned down 5 x 6.....just stops at 4' diameter and my rolls weigh 7-800...JD says the baler does 1000# rolls....yeah right...sopping wet maybe. All I want my 65 hp tractor to handle.
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/haying/322492-drum-mowers-logistical-questions-2.html
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/haying/322492-drum-mowers-logistical-questions-2.html
CCCowman
Well-known member
Texasmark said:
what size tractor you use with this???
CCCowman said:
That's the 2007 Branson 6530 57 PTO hp. Power isn't a problem as it takes little to run these cutters. Problem is weight. When mowing the lower drums, free wheeling, ride on the ground. On Sorghum, stubble is 3-4" as it lays over as it's being cut giving you a couple more inches than the blades are off the ground. Plenty for rapid regrowth.
When you have it in the mow position, out to the side, and lift it off the ground for transport, weighing 900# for the 6', the left front tire is vulnerable to floating on any tractor.
This year I bought a Ford 3910, about 45 PTO hp and added about 150# of weights to the front grille guard which is ample weight to keep the left front tire on the ground solidly. More than enough power for the mower. Reason for the purchase is that my fields come off at different times and I got tired of moving equipment on and off my 6530 from cutting to baling to cutting etc. Would bet a Ford 2000 (30ish hp) with a FEL full of gravel would run it. I have the 2000 but no loader on it.
OP
OP
callmefence
Keyboard cowboy
I'll be using either a Kubota 7060
Or a jd 5085 , maybe my 2640. I think any will handle the cutter with ease.
Mark how are you going about getting it dry without crimping. It seems many people are realizing you don't have to have one for SS. I heard several different methods.
Or a jd 5085 , maybe my 2640. I think any will handle the cutter with ease.
Mark how are you going about getting it dry without crimping. It seems many people are realizing you don't have to have one for SS. I heard several different methods.
hurleyjd
Well-known member
Kuhn drum mowers. i had a PZ back in yonder years.
http://www.rhinoagrimac.com/picsMARCH15/pdfs/Drum%20Mover%20PZ%20SERIES.pdf
http://www.rhinoagrimac.com/picsMARCH15/pdfs/Drum%20Mover%20PZ%20SERIES.pdf
callmefence said:
Well that's another story. I bought probably a 1960's vintage NH (maybe it was an IH but model # is correct) 404 crimper from an old farmer for a couple hundred. Put a new TSC sprocket and chain on it, lubed it up and had a crimper.
As you can see, with 8' stalks I had a mess on my hands. The crimper wanted to jam the first time I headed into a swath so I had to rake out the outside row (all the way around the field) far enough to get at it with the crimper as the tires were 7-8' and the crop was on 6' centers. I worked the field several days and as things would dry from the sun. I'd ted and when that dried, rake it out more, as I went around the field.
Finally the first rows were dry enough to bale so I baled a row, worked the next one like the first and worked my way through it.
As it was, it turned out to be some super nice hay as you can see from the lower picture I posted showing the bales.
The reason I planted Gotcha Plus was because it was late maturing and small stems. Considering the plants were that tall with no boots, tassles, or seadheads, and stems as you see them, it was as advertised. I've been using it ever since but try to clip at 3-4'. That's manageable.
I do have a new problem that started with the regrowth of this crop and that was a Sugar Cane Aphid invasion that has occurred ever year since. Seems they made their way to Texas and hit me around 4th of July. Really make a gooey mess of the crop.....with that to consider, it really tempts me to make the first cutting count....ala put up with the tall growth to get the volume I want.
My new Tar River 6' mower was $3500 bottom line, delivered to my door. I sold the old one with the bad bearing (and the parts to fix it) for $850. For a retired, STO, getting a new mower for$2650, I can put up with a little crimping on SS crops. Most other crops I grow don't need crimping. If I was a MTO or BTO then it would be a different story.hurleyjd said:
Bigfoot said:
Nope, constant 3-4" unlike my JD 1209 swathers when I had them....who knows what the height would be with those things bouncing around, lift cylinder leaking down or set incorrectly when they didn't leak, maybe the skid plates would limit the dips on rough terrain but usually wouldn't.
I don't hog stuff because it chops up the product too short and I have too much "chaff" with my roller......but is surely helps the drying and handling time.
