Why isnt my drum mower giving a clean cut?

[PROFarms]

Hi guys,
So I have just been out and cut my first field of the year with my KM22 drum mower and for some reason it's giving a really rough cut. The first few of rounds it cut perfectly well then after I started going up and down it seemed to be cutting really rough. I can only think of 2 things that it could have been: firstly that one of the blades broke off? Secondly I went up a gear so could it be That I was going to fast once I started the straight lines?
Help will be much appreciated as I would like to get it sorted before the weather clears up and I get the next field cut!

 

[zzvyb6]

YouTube videos of your mower show large tractors running it at a pretty fast speed. These heavy machines don't bounce very much and leave a smooth cut baseline. You can check for bent or broken blades. Have you checked for belt slipping ? I would thing your tractor could benefit from some added weight to keep it from hopping around, but that doesn't explain why the first few rounds were good. So, I'd look first at the mechanicals: gears, pulleys, belt(s).

 

[ronchp]

I agree with che checking the blade condition first and then the belt condition and tension adjustments.

 

[whis]

you don't mow straight lines you mow clockwise around the field.

 

[stuckmotor]

I think I'd go back to mowing the way I mowed when it cut well. If this solved the problem, I'd change one thing at a time until it cut rough again. This should tell what's causing the problem.

 

[DT86]

Pretty easy to check for problems with the blades???

Almost every time I hear about a drum mower it is mentioned that you can mow as fast as you can drive.

you don't mow straight lines you mow clockwise around the field.

Why not?

 

[Tx Jim]

Why not?

Because IMHO it takes too much time turning around on the ends:thumbdown:

 

[flusher]

Hi guys,
So I have just been out and cut my first field of the year with my KM22 drum mower and for some reason it's giving a really rough cut. The first few of rounds it cut perfectly well then after I started going up and down it seemed to be cutting really rough. I can only think of 2 things that it could have been: firstly that one of the blades broke off? Secondly I went up a gear so could it be That I was going to fast once I started the straight lines?
Help will be much appreciated as I would like to get it sorted before the weather clears up and I get the next field cut!

Assuming the blades and belts are OK, I'd suspect it has something to do with not holding pto rpm constant while you mow in straight lines. Do you drive with the foot throttle or with the hand throttle? Seems like you can get more constant rpm with the hand throttle.

Good luck

 

[DT86]

Because IMHO it takes too much time turning around on the ends:thumbdown:

You must do something different than we do.

But is there a actual reason, with a drum mower, they shouldn't be? I can not imagine what it would be.

 

[Tx Jim]

You must do something different than we do.

But is there a actual reason, with a drum mower, they shouldn't be? I can not imagine what it would be.

I do cut different as I go round-n-round then disc cutter is nearly always cutting uncut crop until field is completed. Grass mashed down by tractor tires doesn't cut as clean as untouched grass.