Impellor conditioner vs roller conditioner?

   / Impellor conditioner vs roller conditioner? #1  

AKfish

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JD 5115M; JD 110 TLB; JD 4720; Ford 9N; JD X300R
Many of the new/newer models of MoCo's have an impeller conditioner system. It escapes me how they could be as good a system as the roller type.

They look like a flail mower with disc cutter blades... Are they better suited for a wetter or a drier hay environment than the roller type conditioner?

Thanks.

AKfish
 
   / Impellor conditioner vs roller conditioner? #2  
This will be like the average thread on the oils & lubes page; there are differing views. In general, flail conditioners rub the waxy coating from stems and leaves, allowing moisture to evaporate from the entire length. Roll conditioners tend to crack the stem and to a lesser extent, the leaves, allowing moisture to exit at the site of the stem/leaf damage. Flail conditioners are more well suited for grass crops, while roll condioioners are said to be gentler on legume crops' leaves. Either system can be used successfully on any crop type if adjusted and operated properly. A flail system will aid cut quality in short, thin crops while a roll conditioner will hinder cut quality in the same conditions. This is due to the differering airflow the systems create in the cutting bed area.
 
   / Impellor conditioner vs roller conditioner? #3  
My understanding is that each is used for different type crops. The impeller for grasses and the roller for legumes. The roller will gently crush the stems of legumes leaving the leaves intact. they don't work as well on grasses. As said above the impeller will "scratch" the grasses allowing them to dry faster. If used on say alfalfa, you probably wouldn't have any crop left.
 
   / Impellor conditioner vs roller conditioner? #4  
I'll chide in here but both posts above are right on with what happens with the different crops.

The fingers are for grasses and the rolls are for legumes like alfalfa. People are using both for the other crops although there are losses from the machines designs and functions when crossing over.

An article that was in Successful Farming a few years back stated that a disc type cutter over a cutter bar would loss two percent of the leaves alone on legumes! To have a properly adjusted finger machine would loose an other two percent! Mind you that is a perfectly adjusted machine.

To look on the ground after a finger machine has been through an alfalfa field will further show the loss! Don't bother looking at the stem as some salesmen might show you.

One of the best roll machines out there is the new CaseIH design with the steel rolls for crimping the stems and not removing the leaves. The best rubber on rubber are lathe turned and look like tire segments as they don't chunk out with stones like the molded rubber rolls.


Any five year old roll machine needs or should have the rolls adjusted for tension and gap or even a finger machine might show an advantage on drying.

It's tough enough to make money in the dairy business today much less when you choose to leave the crop in the field that cost enough to be put there. Not wise to leave the leaves and then have to buy protein from a grain dealer!
 
   / Impellor conditioner vs roller conditioner?
  • Thread Starter
#5  
This will be like the average thread on the oils & lubes page; there are differing views.

The fingers are for grasses and the rolls are for legumes like alfalfa. People are using both for the other crops although there are losses from the machines designs and functions when crossing over.

It's tough enough to make money in the dairy business today much less when you choose to leave the crop in the field that cost enough to be put there. Not wise to leave the leaves and then have to buy protein from a grain dealer!

LOL! :D I don't want to start a "type" war on MoCo's! Bad enough with "Dino vs Synthetic"..

Great info! Yep.. it's hard to get alot of farming to "pencil out" these days.

Thanks again.

AKfish
 
   / Impellor conditioner vs roller conditioner? #6  
We have used a impeller machine for 5 seasons now. If you set the impeller up properly we don't see a difference in leaf loss Vs our older NH 469 mower. The sicklebar and reel even if you have your ground speed and PTO speed perfect it did damage leaf crops to some degree. Drying is about the same. In grass the impeller does seem to work better. We have not tried a diskbine with rollers enough to see if it would be better (less leaf loss).

One thing we did notice when we did try a diskbine with rollers vs our with an impeller. The impeller seems to create a "suction" that helps pick up down crop a little better. Both machines were similar models with the cutter bars adjusted about the same angle.

Kuhn made a comb/impeller that the fingers lined up with "grooves" in the conditioning hood. From what I have been told that was a grass only model, it would strip leaves off.

Each Mfg has there own system, some V-tine, some straight, some free swing, some fixed. Each works a little different.
 
 
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