Conveyor added to centre pivot mower for increased forage harvester output
The new FC 3160 TCD RA retains the features of Kuhn’s standard centre pivot mower conditioner, the FC 3160 TCD, but the conveyor also forms two rows of grass into a single, layered swath that can be picked up by balers or loader wagons with narrower pick-up widths.
The hydraulically driven grouper belt on the new mower is powered by a pump mounted on the machine’s gyrodine swivelling headstock, and can deliver the cut and conditioned crop to either side of the machine.
The speed of the conveyor belt can be instantly increased or decreased to take account of the amount of crop being cut, or to alter the width of the finished swath when working on sloping terrain.
The latest grouper version can also be used in conjunction with a front mounted mower conditioner such as the FC 3125 DF for increased work output, with the centre pivoting design allowing the rearward unit to operate to either the left or right of the front mower.
It is a machine aimed at larger-scale farmers and grassland contractors.
“The addition of a belt conveyor to KUHN’s tried and tested centre pivot mower conditioner saves times and fuel by reducing the number of subsequent passes needed with a grass rake or forage harvester,” says Duncan McLeish of Kuhn.
“It also reduces leaf losses and prevents soil or foreign materials being incorporated into the swath during raking.
“Their ability to operate on either side of the tractor enables centre pivot machines to work across the field rather than setting it out at the headlands. This can reduce the working time for each field by as much as 15%, by virtually eliminating the dead time spent travelling at the headlands.
“It also reduces traffic on headlands thereby preventing headland swaths from being flattened or contaminated by soil from the tractor’s wheels, and reduces soil compaction.”
