Galfre Drum Mower Performance

[Jerry/MT]

I recently purchased a Galfre drum mower (Model FR/G 190) and just completed haying. This is a first for me, never having done my own haying before. But that's another story.

There have been many comments about the requirement for a tedder to spread the cut grass out after mowing it with a drum mower. The implication was that if you buy a drum mower you need to also have a tedder to ted the cut grass. The Galfre has what they call their "Black Hole" conditioning system. It consists of some steel plates above the drum blade carrier that spin with the drum. It spreads the cut forage out behind the mower. Here's a picture below. All I needed to do was to rake this up and bale it, which I did. Some of the bales are in the background. I have to say that we are in the midst of a drought and my problem was the hay dried "too quickly". I had to bale in the early part of the day to have some moisture in the bale. So it's not a good test of whether the conditioning system speeds drying.

My conclusion is that the Galfre 190 with the "Black Hole" conditioning system does not require a tedder. (I have no personal connection to Galfre or Galfre dealers.)

 

[blaze 57]

With the hay spread out like that in Western Montana you don't need to ted. Just rake and you are good to go. Best time for me is to bale when the dew is coming off....or at night. If your tires get wet then quit baling...moisture meter helps. I'm in Eastern Washington and imagine weather is similar. Our problem is the weather can cause the hay to dry too fast when its spread out. Sometimes I cut early in the morning. Rake afternoon and I'm baling in the evening. Hay moisture is around 14%. Makes for some beautiful GREEN hay.

 

[Jerry/MT]

With the hay spread out like that in Western Montana you don't need to ted. Just rake and you are good to go. Best time for me is to bale when the dew is coming off....or at night. If your tires get wet then quit baling...moisture meter helps. I'm in Eastern Washington and imagine weather is similar. Our problem is the weather can cause the hay to dry too fast when its spread out. Sometimes I cut early in the morning. Rake afternoon and I'm baling in the evening. Hay moisture is around 14%. Makes for some beautiful GREEN hay.

That was my point exactly. This drum mower does not require tedding because of the way it spreads out the cutting.

We are abnormally dry this year. In a normal year, most folks cut with moco's, then wait for a day, and rake and bale on the third day. Not this year! It so dry that people were baling the day after thy cut. It's so dry that there hardly any dew in the hay fields but the relative humidity is higher early in the morning. I like to bale so that I'm between 15- 20% moisture content but the hay in the windrows was more like 8-10%. The hay in the picture was cut the night before and mostly baled the next day.

 

[powerscol]

How well did it condition? Also which tractor did you use to cut. I am wondering if their HP requirement is conservative or not.

 

[Jerry/MT]

How well did it condition? Also which tractor did you use to cut. I am wondering if their HP requirement is conservative or not.

From my original post:
"... Some of the bales are in the background. I have to say that we are in the midst of a drought and my problem was the hay dried "too quickly". I had to bale in the early part of the day to have some moisture in the bale. So it's not a good test of whether the conditioning system speeds drying. "


I used a Ford 4610 which is rated at 46 pto hp @1800 rpm and I operated @ 1600 rpm in 5th gear which I estimate as ~35-37 hp and about 4.5 mph. The engine rpm did not significantly droop in the heaviest grass down in the swales. The dealer said you could mow at the speed that would allow you to keep your seat and 4.5 mph was about my limit.

 

[BobTreeFarmer]

That was my point exactly. This drum mower does not require tedding because of the way it spreads out the cutting.

We are abnormally dry this year. In a normal year, most folks cut with moco's, then wait for a day, and rake and bale on the third day. Not this year! It so dry that people were baling the day after thy cut. It's so dry that there hardly any dew in the hay fields but the relative humidity is higher early in the morning. I like to bale so that I'm between 15- 20% moisture content but the hay in the windrows was more like 8-10%. The hay in the picture was cut the night before and mostly baled the next day.

I found this older discussion when I did a Google search on drum mowers. I'm also interested in a Galfre G190 for my 30 ac of grass hay near Spokane. Like you, I prefer the "Black Hole" feature with no wind row. Are you still positive about the mower performance after 2 haying seasons?

I emailed the factory in Italy to inquire about a local dealer; none outside the Midwest. Giovanni of Galfre Italy says he can ship reasonably right out of Italy, but I don't have a price yet.

 

[powerscol]

I found this older discussion when I did a Google search on drum mowers. I'm also interested in a Galfre G190 for my 30 ac of grass hay near Spokane. Like you, I prefer the "Black Hole" feature with no wind row. Are you still positive about the mower performance after 2 haying seasons?

I emailed the factory in Italy to inquire about a local dealer; none outside the Midwest. Giovanni of Galfre Italy says he can ship reasonably right out of Italy, but I don't have a price yet.

Just to offer an opinion here. After several year of having a PZ170 drum mower and a 9' IH 1300 sickle mower, when conditions are right the sickle is better as it lays the grass flat for drying. However if the clover or alfalfa get thick the drum mower is better. I need to teed the day after cutting if I use the drum mower for best drying,
Just my 02 here

 

[Jerry/MT]

I found this older discussion when I did a Google search on drum mowers. I'm also interested in a Galfre G190 for my 30 ac of grass hay near Spokane. Like you, I prefer the "Black Hole" feature with no wind row. Are you still positive about the mower performance after 2 haying seasons?

I emailed the factory in Italy to inquire about a local dealer; none outside the Midwest. Giovanni of Galfre Italy says he can ship reasonably right out of Italy, but I don't have a price yet.

I bought mine from Tractor Tools Direct (tractortoolsdirect.com) in Indiana and had to have it shipped here and I assembled it myself. It's a heavy machine and well made. Yes I am still positive about the Galfre 190 performance and this year was my third season with it.

I'm about three and a half hours from you so if you want to see the 190 up close let me know. Contact Tractor Tools Direct and see what they have available. I think they have other brands available and they are the parts source for Galfre.

 

[Texasmark]

I ted for 2 reasons: I have a 190, different brand made in Turkey. It's a 2 drum 6' cutter and my tractor is setup on 6'. The WW keeps the cut hay on the previous round out from under my tractor's tires and gives me a clean view of the edge to be cut for the next pass.

Second reason is that my fields are highly irregular. In the spring with spring grasses, wet clumps are everywhere and would cause me a serious problem if I didn't come back and scatter everything out. To not have to put up with a sickle, nor shell out for a disc moco, I'll take the tedder hands down.

 

[CDennyRun]

I'm glad to see you're still enjoying the drum mower. I too have one, but without the conditioner. I really don't mind getting the tedder out, it goes pretty quick. Being that I live in Western WA, most of the time I really need to ted the hay anyway.