Tar River drum mower

[Steve in Idaho]

Lookin for a little advice or in site here. I am considering retiring my ol 488 haybine and am looking at a drum mower (not a disc mower) but drum mower. I only do about 50 acres anymore so cant justify the cost of a new haybine. Does anyone here have any experience with a drum mower? If so, is it one made by Tar River? How are they for maintenance issues and reliability. I am gettin up in years a bit so would rather not have something that will need a lot of wrenching. Thanks, Steve

 

[MJMJ]

I retired my 488 for a 6 foot Tar River drum mower. I wish I did it sooner. I lost 3 feet in width, but the speed I can mow in more than makes up for it. The haybine was a nightmare in certain types of grass. The drum mower cuts anything at the same speed. I don t think they cut quite as clean as a disc mower because of the large drums, but I m really nitpicking. There is almost zero maintenance. Grease the PTO joints, check the gear lube is still in there, and go. Sharpening or changing blades takes about 3 minutes at most. For the smaller amounts of hay deal with, its worked out well.

This post was edited by MJMJ on 08/30/2023 at 02:58 pm.

 

[charlie n]

2 years ago I went from a conditioner to a drum mower. First time I used it I cut 18 acres in 5.5 hours. I got out of hay this year and got it for sale. To bad your so far away. Oh ya,it's a Tar River. Good Luck.

 

[caterpillar guy]

What is a drum mower versus a disc mower? I am guessing they are similar though different.

 

[Jim in NC]

A neighbor has one and likes it. I am strongly considering one for myself.

 

[showcrop]

I have had two. The first was a Fahr. It cut very well. It was a two drum on a 43 HP tractor which was good power wise but was a lot of weight on the tractor. The second, I don't recall the brand, was a three drum which cut very well, but was a bear to get mounted. It was a lot of weight for the 70 HP tractor that I had it on. A major advantage to them is that the gear boxes are much less vulnerable to damage that the disc mowers.

 

[MJMJ]

(quoted from post at 06:56:51 08/31/23) What is a drum mower versus a disc mower? I am guessing they are similar though different.

Very similar in how they cut, but different in how they are built. If that makes sense. Disc mowers have multiple turtles, usually a foot or foot and a half in diameter. Most have two blades each and a gear assembly in each. Drum mowers have the same blades that work the same, but mounted to what they call a drum, usually 2 to 3 foot in diameter. Most drum mowers have two drums. There's one gear assembly mounted above the drums. The gear assembly runs a belt that turns the blades. They're very simple with almost no chance of major gear damage since the drums/blades are belt driven and can slip if something major is hit. One down side is weight, though I don't think they are much more than disc mowers, if at all. The other down side is they are smaller than most disc mowers. The largest I've seen is 6 feet, 9 inches. They aren't well suited for cutting large amounts of hay.

 

[Texasmark]

I had the 6' popular cheap brand and tore it up on rough terrain after I installed the 1 OEM spacer between the discs....to get the stubble longer for haying. I replaced it with a 185 (6') Tar River and it has provided trouble free service over probably the 5 years I have had it. The problem with these units is that if you lift the 3 pt. with it off to the side (mow position) the left front tire will get light unless you have a large tractor or weight the front end. I have mine on a Ford 3910 and it does Ok with about 250# out front.

I removed the bar that extends out to the end of the mower and installed a 2 by 36 (I think it is) hydraulic cylinder so that I could raise the tip and make it more field accessible.

There are 3 blades per drum and you can wear out one side and swap to the other drum and have a new cutting service before you have to change the double sided blades.

Working alone it (as the other one) is a PIA to change from the mow to transport or back positions but you play around with what works and what doesn't and you will find out how to make it work.

There is a break-away spring loaded device that allows the tip of the drum part to move to a 45* position rather than the mow position which is 90*. Reversing the tractor in the mow position on the ground will return it to the proper position. I found that the factory setting on this spring was too loose for my usage and tightened the nut putting more pressure on the spring.

I start it rotating in the idle speed of the tractor and then slowly increase speed to PTO max reducing stress on the drive mechanisms. The 3910 has the independent PTO.

The overrun clutch allows you to cut the throttle on the tractor and allows the drums to come to a stop at a much slower rate. The clutch is noisy so when I am ready to shut off the cutter, I slowly reduce the tractor RPM which does a good job of decreasing the noise of the OC bouncing over its saw-tooth mechanism.

I live in Texas and the seller is in the Carolinas. As I recall I either bought it directly from them or a dealer over on the East Coast and had it drop shipped (freight) to the house. I unloaded it at my driveway with my FEL on another tractor. Shipping weight is about 1000#.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

The drum mower "drums" that I'm familiar with are much taller than disc mower "turtles" and are shaped like the stereotypical "Pilgrim hats" that you see at Thanksgiving.

 

[peteL]

Reese makes a towed drum mower which takes the weight off the tractor rear end.

 

[Destroked 450]

I have no experience with Tar River mowers but mowed many acres with my Claas 8 ft trailed drum mower. It replaced my NH 451 sickle mower as my primary mower for 17 years, a Kuhn 9 ft trailed disc mower took over primary use in 2014
As for drum mowers I really like them and would have bought a new Claas if they still made them. I am not a big fan of any 3 point drum or disc mower because of the weight they place on the right side of a tractor, but that s just me

Having owned both drum and disc I can say a drum is less moving parts and cheaper to repair
If there is a down side to drum mower it is because they windrow the hay and it s best to have a tedder to spread the hay for better drying
That said we ted all of our hay no matter what it s cut with so it s a non issue for me

 

[tom upton]

Just wondering why you would want to invest in a new mower for 50 acres? I cut around 150 acres/year total assuming 2 cuts with a 479 which is pretty much the same as 488.Does your 488 have some incurable issue? I cut at around 4 or better MPH ( 3rd over on 1655 Oliver) in most conditions. You get going much faster than this you will want a pretty smooth field or maybe a new tractor with suspension to go along with your new mower! On relativly heavy hay if you drive a little slower and you have your rolls set right it does a great job of crimping hay and leaving a super nice puffy windrow that drys well without touching it.

I could never figure out why a lot of people want to cut hay at maximum speed when its one of the best jobs of haying.

 

[jlawrence]

We bought a Tar River mower to supplement/ replace an old NH 450 sickle. I love it. We mow 40 to 60 acres a year. Like other have said, typical maintenance is almost nonexistent. Blades last and are really easy to swap when the time comes. If possible, everyone ought to have a drum mower; at least as an affordable backup.

 

[MJMJ]

(quoted from post at 21:49:51 08/31/23) Just wondering why you would want to invest in a new mower for 50 acres? I cut around 150 acres/year total assuming 2 cuts with a 479 which is pretty much the same as 488.Does your 488 have some incurable issue? I cut at around 4 or better MPH ( 3rd over on 1655 Oliver) in most conditions. You get going much faster than this you will want a pretty smooth field or maybe a new tractor with suspension to go along with your new mower! On relativly heavy hay if you drive a little slower and you have your rolls set right it does a great job of crimping hay and leaving a super nice puffy windrow that drys well without touching it.
<img src=https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto162189.jpg>
I could never figure out why a lot of people want to cut hay at maximum speed when its one of the best jobs of haying.

A lot of us don t have unlimited time to sit on a tractor. We have jobs and kids that need run all over the state for non stop sports and such. When I get some time to mow hay, it needs done ASAP because there are 47 more things waiting on me to get done.

 

[Keith Molden]

I have had a Minos which is the same as a Tar River and I've had it for probably 12 years now and the only thing I have ever had to do with it is change blades from one side to the other when they get dull (takes about 5 minutes if I'm slow, just hook the tool in there and raise it up, slide the old ones out from one side and put them in the other side. If you sometimes hit a solid structure like a big rock, it will throw a blade or two, so always carry some replacement ones on the tractor. You'll know it when the mower starts vibrating. I bought another one to use when I have someone else to help mow. With a drum mower you only have 2 turtles with bearings to worry about. with a disc mower there are bearings on every one of them. Someone said they don't mow as clean as a disc, if you level it by teh top link then it will leave the field looking like a new mown lawn. I wouldn't have anything else to mow hay with. Don't try to mow brush with it cause it will not do that.

 

[Texasmark]

I like the wind row that they make and when using my swather I set it to make a wind row also, Keeps my tires off the freshly cut
material and ensures a nice clean edge on subsequent rounds. I have seen scattering devices made for drum mowers but don't have
any info currently.

Agree on the weight being a slight nuisance. Interesting that someone makes a drag type. That would surely be worth exploring as it
could make mounting nothing more than lining up the tow bar and hooking up a hydraulic hose.......I'd go for that.

On the fewer parts comment, I spent quite awhile surveying used disc mowers for sale and found problems on all of them that don't
occur with the drum; a big plus on reason to buy the drum.

On the tedder, I have irregular fields and if I am haying, the tedder is a must.....It also acts as a modified crimper. Stems need to be
crushed to aid in drying and with the tines running at a good clip, when it hits the material it whacks it multiple times before it tosses it
out and that aids drying since drums don't come with conditioners. A tedder is one of the best implements I ever purchased. The
other thing is that in scattering the material, there isn't any hidden material underneath to stay wet. The tedder scatters things in a
uniform thin layer and really speeds up uniform drying.

 

[MJMJ]

When I said they don t cut quite as clean as a disc mower, I was mosty referring to a couple specific conditions. The most common is when mowing over flattened grass, specifically tire tracks. Its just a matter if the larger drum vs a smaller disc mower turtle. Certainly not a big deal, just nitpicking. But I also like to set mine tilted back more than most people so it will leave 4 to 5 inches of stubble vs 2 to 3 inches, so that plays a part too.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Thanks everybody. I think I feel pretty confident now. I believe I will buy one come next spring. Thanks again.