Power Pack Puts PTO Power Up Front

Power Pack Puts PTO Power Up Front POWER TAKE OFFS (PTO'S) Power Take Offs (PTO's) 8-6-21 That new-style auger mower we told you about in the last issue of FARM SHOW has lead to the development of a new hydraulic "power pack" that lets you put the revolutionary mower ù and other types of 3 pt. equipment ù on the front of conventional tractors without a front pto or front 3-pt. hitch. It all started with the augerless Dualrower ù one of the first sold in the nation ù which Dale and Lane Kugler, a father-son partnership near Cozad, Neb., bought last summer. They mounted the 14 ft. header mower on their 6650 Hesston self-propelled swather mower. "We liked the mower but the hydrostatic drive on our Hesston didn't have the power to handle it," says Lane. He got together with Henry Orthman, president of Orthman Mfg., at Lexington, Neb.; Glen Wagner, sales manager of Port Huron Machine and Supply, Lincoln, Nebraska distributors of the auger-type Dualrower; and engineers from the Lundahl Division, General Implement Co., Salt Lake City, Utah, manufacturers of the machine. The group came up with a pto-driven hydraulic power pack which the Kuglers mounted on the back of their Case 2590 tractor, and an Orthman 3-pt. Ram Hitch up front to carry the auger mower. The power pack worked out so well that Orthman's engineers and the Kuglers went to work on an improved model that is now in production and will be marketed commercially early next year. It has a pto-driven, variable displacement pump which drives a single hydraulic motor capable of deliverying up to 70 hp. It requires only a 15 gal. reservoir, which mounts on the side of the tractor. "The operator can adjust speed of the hydraulic motor right from the cab without changing speed of the tractor engine," explains Lane. Used in conjunction with a front 3-pt. hitch, it allows you to front-mount a-16 ft. wide Dualrower ù or other 3 pt. equipment, such as a snowblower ùon the front of a relatively small (125 to 130 hp) tractor. Lane is so enthused about the new auger mower, and the new variable speed power pack which allows it to be front mounted on tractors with rear-only pto power, that he's taken on the dealership for both. "I was skeptical when they came out to demonstrate the new auger mower last summer. The demonstration was impressive but I seriously doubted if there would be any regrowth. I'm now convinced that it has absolutely no negative effect whatsoever on regrowth of the mowed crop at any cutting stage. We mow alfalfa with it at 8.2 miles per hour. Even used it this fall to mow and windrow corn stalks for baling. Corn-pared to conventional sickle-type mowers, the Dualrower only has two moving parts so there's virtually no maintenance," Lane points out. He notes that Deere, Owatonna (OMC) and New Holland self-propelled mower-swathers are direct drive and can handle 14 or 16 ft. Dualrower headers. It's also available in 12, 14 and 16 ft. 3-pt. hitch models for hooking onto the rear of tractors with a minimum of 56, 62 or 70 draw-bar hp, respectively. Why go to the expense of putting a 3-pt. hitch model up front on a conventional tractor if the mower can be mounted in the rear and driven off the rear pto? "For dryland farmers, the rear hookup is much simpler and cheaper," explains Lane. "The tractor drives over the standing crop but æduck fingers' mounted on the front of the mower raise it back up so the wheel tracks mow clean. However, on irrigated or other soft ground, the tractor wheels sink down and flatten the crop more severely. Consequently, the æfingers' can't raise it up and the driven-over tracks don't mow cleanly. To solve the problem, we mount the unit up front and power it with the hydarulic power pack that's driven off the rear pto. With the power pack, one size fits all. It'll be much simpler to market than trying to supply under-the-tractor extensions from the rear pto to fit all makes of tractors." For more information, on both the Dualrower, and the new variable drive hydraulic power pack, contact: Lane Kugler, Kugler Co., Rt. 2, Box 118, Cozad, Neb. 6913

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