Reese drum Mower

[picassomcp]

a few days ago I posted above asking about disc
mowers. After some research, I think a drum mower
would fit my operation much better. After all my
research searching blogs, I have not found 1 bad
review on a drum mower I have looked (online only)
at the Haymaxx as well as the Reese. I personally
like the Reese much better. I was a bit hesitant
of a drum mower due to the limited width options,
I am cutting with a 9' haybine with a 460d
Farmall, (45 horsepower) currently. After talking
with drum mower dealers, they recommended a 6' 3"
machine. That seems a bit narrow. I understand you
can mow faster with a drum mower, but some of my
fields won't allow the 40% faster to make up for
the narrower cut. Reese offers a 8' model that
appeals to me, however they recommend a 65 hp
tractor for that width. I am wondering what your
thoughts and experiences are on the Reese mowers,
and what do you think about running an 8' model
behind my 460d?
I am pretty sold on buying one of these, just
unsure on the model. I can't believe that there
are not more of these out there being used.
Discbine speed at a 1/4 the cost. Most my hay is
grassy, so no conditioner shouldn't effect me
much.

 

[bjr]

I bought one their 2555 drum mowers last year and it's been a real workhorse. Don't be afraid of the smaller cut it'll be obvious that your production stays up after you get used to it. I did put the 1" spacers on mine to help keep the blades from hitting the dirt and dulling real fast. You won't be sorry for your purchase. bjr

 

[Anonymous-0]

My father bought a Reese drum mower a few years ago...we normally use disc mowers. The two things we learned about it were...it takes quite a bit of horsepower...we had it on a 3020JD and it was all it wanted...they are heavy too. We like the tedder attachment it seems to help hay cure. Keep the belt pretty tight if it rolls over it won't last long. My take on this subject is that the Reese drum mowers are nice since they have no gear box (which we have had issues with the disc mowers over the years), but they require horsepower...I believe the gearbox versions require less horsepower but we have never owned one. We would consider selling the drum mower mainly because it would work alot better on 4020JD 92 horsepower, but we use the 4020 to round bale with so we don't want to use the same tractor to mow with and be changing equipment all the time.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Oh, forgot to say we have the 8 foot model with tedder. 3020 is 70 horse.
Reaver

 

[RevJJ]

Had the 8 footer going on twenty years...just had to finally replace the bearings last season...we have gone through three sets of belts. They are bullet and careless help-proof...the only downside is they take power. Not so much to keep mowing, but to get those heavy discs spinning...after they get to spinning they take very little power. Set it where it is level with the ground and strap yourself in, because it can mow faster than you can rid. Fire ant mound and fencepost proof, too.

 

[showcrop]

Like I answered last time, I had big one, probably 8 ft. It mowed very well but it was a load on my case 1490. I think that it had a cylinder to lift it vertical for transport but it was still heavy. It was too big for that 70HP tractor. attaching it to the 3pt was a big project. I got a disc mower conditioner and I knew that the drum mower was never going to find its way back on the tractor so I sold it. Soon after my friend and I started haying two decades ago he bought a Fahr drum mower. It worked very well, it cut well, cut fast, but we needed to crimp so it went away. He broke one of the lift arms on the 43 HP tractor while mowing with it. Three point mowers turn a 90 degree corner into a 25 degree corner after six times around.