JD 5255 and CCM T-190 Drum mower review...

[beefmaster]

Hollowcd,
Or anyone familiar with the ccm drum mowers.I purchased a used t-190 drum mower a short while back from an individual.He gave me his owners manual and i cannot find in there about how to set the mower for mowing other than the statement to adjust the 3 point arms so it will be level when lifting the mower.The prior owner told me a few things but i don't have much confidence in what he told me as he had the wrong blades on the mower.He was using a humpback blade and the blade for a t-190 is a straight blade.I found a similiar drum mower of another brand and they said to run the mower with about a 1 inch gap at the top in the slot of your lift bar that the big spring rides in.Just curious what you were told.Appreciate any tips on how to set this thing up for mowing.

 

[hollowcd]

Beef, the setup of the T-190 can be a head scratcher no doubt. My brother and I spent a couple of hours trying to make everything level, while at the same time having the spring pin ride in the middle of the slot as the manual suggests. Best that we could do is make the mower pickup level while having the spring pin float near the top of the slot. To try to make the pin float in the middle of the slot caused the mower to sit no where near level. Where we have it now makes us have the left 3 point arm to be adjusted low and the right 3 point arm adjusted high. The little bit of play that is in the 3 point hitch setups effects the level of the mower a ton so you have to set it up so that it is level when it is in mowing position and not really care about level when its in transport position. My new 5525 has about as many adjustments as you can get on a 3 point and it still sucked setting it up. What really sucks is unhooking which makes me lower the right 3 point arm, and rehooking which needs to be done on level ground and re-adjusting the right 3 point arm to get you back to level. I will say once you get it figured out and adjusted to your tractor it is a mowing machine, but it isnt always easy getting her ready. The blades are super cheap and easy to change, they only run $1.25 each. We mowed 75 acres with our first set before they needed changed. Any more questions let me know..
hollow

 

[ddivinia]

Beef, the setup of the T-190 can be a head scratcher no doubt. My brother and I spent a couple of hours trying to make everything level, while at the same time having the spring pin ride in the middle of the slot as the manual suggests. Best that we could do is make the mower pickup level while having the spring pin float near the top of the slot. To try to make the pin float in the middle of the slot caused the mower to sit no where near level. Where we have it now makes us have the left 3 point arm to be adjusted low and the right 3 point arm adjusted high. The little bit of play that is in the 3 point hitch setups effects the level of the mower a ton so you have to set it up so that it is level when it is in mowing position and not really care about level when its in transport position. My new 5525 has about as many adjustments as you can get on a 3 point and it still sucked setting it up. What really sucks is unhooking which makes me lower the right 3 point arm, and rehooking which needs to be done on level ground and re-adjusting the right 3 point arm to get you back to level. I will say once you get it figured out and adjusted to your tractor it is a mowing machine, but it isnt always easy getting her ready. The blades are super cheap and easy to change, they only run $1.25 each. We mowed 75 acres with our first set before they needed changed. Any more questions let me know..
hollow

Buy a mower caddy.

D.

 

[beefmaster]

Hollowcd,

Sorry i have been away from the computer for a few days.I appreciate your information very much on the setup for this mower.I have only used it once on a small field down the road from me for a fellow that does not have any hay equipment.It was a lot of overgrown mixed clover,vetch etc and you are right it is a mowing dude.I was fiddling with it most of the time never really knowing if i had everything set ok or not but it did the job.Last time i attempted this field with my old sickle mower it was a nightmare,stayed balled up most of the time.

Ddivinia,

I am not sure you could put one of these on a caddy like a regular disc mower.But you are right in that on a disc mower you are going to be hooking and unhooking very often the caddy would be worth it.