Mini-Mixers Great For Smaller Farms

Mini-Mixers Great For Smaller Farms LIVESTOCK Feeding Equipment In 1980 Ivan Rissler was a 25-year-old dairy farmer who figured there had to be a better way to feed dairy cows than scooping grain from a feed cart with a shovel So he invented a self-propelled grain cart and built more than 2 000 of them over the next 30 years “A few years ago I had people asking me to build a small TMR cart that would mix dry hay and baleage and work in a dairy barn ” says Rissler He took the idea and ran with it developing what he calls the Rissler TMR Mini-Mixer He has two models of the new self-propelled machine that he likes to call “a dairyman’s best hired man” The main selling features of the Mini-Mixers are their maneuverability and small size which allows the operator to drive them inside a barn and under the typical 6-ft height of a stainless steel milk pipeline “More and more dairy farms are moving to baleage for their main roughage and this machine is made to tear apart those bales and mix it into a TMR ration that can be fed inside a stanchion or freestall barn ” Rissler says The new Mini-Mixer has stainless steel mixing chambers with 2 stainless steel augers 24 in in diameter Each auger has a 14-in wide serrated cutting knife attached to the top and bottom fin to thoroughly cut up baleage and dry hay The augers have 8-in dia pipes to prevent loose hay from wrapping as the machine operates Rissler built two sizes of the self-contained mixer both powered by a 24 hp motor One has tanks that are 42 in wide at the bottom and 48 in wide at the top The smaller unit’s tanks are 32 in wide at the bottom and 38 in at the top Both of them are 4 ft tall The mixing chambers are made of 3/8-in thick stainless steel A chute at the bottom with a side discharge deposits the TMR mix right in front of the cattle no shovels or forks needed The Mini-Mixers ride on 16-in 10-ply tires with lugs The larger machine is about 110 in long and 48 in wide and the smaller one is 100 in long and 38 in wide “I know there’s a demand for carts like these ” Ivan says “because we’ve had people tell us they’re making 10 to 15 trips a day with a regular feed cart That’s a lot of hand work and a lot of time for just feeding ” Rissler says his “new hired man” will be just the ticket for stanchion and tie-stall barns A single hydraulic motor drives both augers on the machines connected by 2 large 20-in diameter sprockets Auger speed which is about 50 rpm’s is regulated by the engine throttle which ranges from 1 000 to 3 600 rpm’s Two small hydraulic motors power the wheels controlled by a joystick that regulates the valves “The augers and wheel drives are direct link no cables or chains ” Ivan says “The operator stands on a platform and rides along as the mixer moves through the barn ” The Mini-Mixers are built on a sturdy steel frame and weigh about 2 000 lbs Ivan says they’re built strong to withstand everyday use for many years Prices will be in the $13 000 range for the small one and $15 000 range for the larger model Both of them will have electronic scales as standard equipment “We’ll build all of the Mini-Mixers ourselves ” Ivan says “just like we did with the 2 000 or more powered feed wagons in the past 30 years ” Those were sold in the U S Canada and also shipped to England Ivan says “We’re a family business that builds everything in our own shop and we take great pride in what we do These new mixers will be manufactured and sold the same way ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Ivan Rissler I H Rissler Manufacturing 448 Orchard Rd Mohnton Penn 19540 ph 717 484-0551

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