Front Press

[Tarw Coch]

I’m looking for a front press and after a quick look around the internet I’m now completely unsure what I’m looking for. They come in many different formats, large packer rollers like on a power harrow, gutter rollers, flexi coils and straight rings that I have seen…………as well as a variety of tones in the front of some.
So what are the pros and cons of the various types?
As far as use is concerned, a large proportion of the work will involve grass ground, either on furrows coming out of grass or on fields going back to grass, so I’m guessing tines might not be best for me.
Consolidation is important though, be it a firm seedbed for grass or pushing down turned over turf so it doesn’t get pulled back up so do I want a heavy press or is the type of press more important?
Thoughts and experiences please.

 

[robbie]

Lynx's DD packer.
I assume your on heavy ground????
If not then a full width Flexi coil.

 

[Tarw Coch]

Lynx's DD packer.
I assume your on heavy ground????
If not then a full width Flexi coil.

No, not heavy

 

[robbie]

What sort of ground??? If it's wet a Flexi will bung up.....if it's very dry and powdery a Flexi will also bung up but they do, in my opinion, give good consolidation on light land.
If you go for a ring press it sounds like you want a wide ring rather than a thin razor ring.

Would a sumo type tyre press be an option????

With ploughed in grass I'd avoid leading tines.

 

[ProDrive]

These make a great job.

 

[Tarw Coch]

What sort of ground??? If it's wet a Flexi will bung up.....if it's very dry and powdery a Flexi will also bung up but they do, in my opinion, give good consolidation on light land.
If you go for a ring press it sounds like you want a wide ring rather than a thin razor ring.

Would a sumo type tyre press be an option????

With ploughed in grass I'd avoid leading tines.

Not wet, fairly light leith a bit of stone

 

[APJ]

You want a something like a farm force front press on 45 degree rings, not 30 degree or it will sink on your ground, or if your willing to spend more a gutler front press works well also.

 

[KB6930]

These make a great job.

This we're on our second one now and they do a good job on light land and an OK job on heavy stuff

 

[Bramble]

3m Quivogne available. Good sharp rings, cleaning chains PM if you’re interested

 

[Tarw Coch]

You want a something like a farm force front press on 45 degree rings, not 30 degree or it will sink on your ground, or if your willing to spend more a gutler front press works well also.

How do you tell the difference in 30 and 45 rings? See a few advertised for sale but no mention of ring type. Presume it’s just a sharper ring

 

[Alistair Nelson]

Made a few front presses in a previous life. A coil is brilliant on sandy light land from not bulldozing or sinking and packing the surface but anything with anybody less than ideal. Rings sharp 30deg ones good for cutting up heavy tough ground, 45 deg rings good all round attentive but can still sink and bulldoze on the really light stuff. DD / shouldered rings next stage on from a 45 degree ring but if you have stones they can get jammed in the disc type rings and in the same way if spoked cast rings can fill with soil if wet and sticky. Guttlers very good alternative but pricey and don't steer. Giant packer rollers good alternative as long as the teeth aren't worn to generate the drive and you can vary the weight by filling with water so good alternative but you have scrapers that need adjusting. So lots of options and pros and cons with all of them,

Tine wise with grass sods involved possibly best avoided so you don't hook into anything and pull it up.but levelling paddles may be a good option but you would need to be careful as you can soon bulldoze a lot of soil if you got a sod stuck in front or a stone.

If its a 3m rig you're running on a decent sized tractor an outside bet would be just a 1.5m sumo type lorry tyre packer between the wheels. def squash that area down and plenty knocking about s/h so cheap, but lacks steering and some days can be too heavy and obviously only does between the wheels leaving the tractor wheels running on unfirmed land

 

[Alistair Nelson]

How do you tell the difference in 30 and 45 rings? See a few advertised for sale but no mention of ring type. Presume it’s just a sharper ring

It is yes it is the angle of the point of the ring and then the weight 30 deg 38kg per ring 45 deg 48 kg per ring

 

[ollie989898]

As others have said depends on your soil and what implements will follow behind.

For lighter soils, the 45 degree press rings are for lighter soils and not supposed to sink in as readily whereas the narrow rings are for stiffer land.

Whether you should have tines or paddles or anything else involved on a front press will very much depend on what you can try out and what will work for you on your dirt and in your system. If you just want to make the ground better to travel over and do some of the powerharrows work for it a ring press will be useful. Guttlers look very good but I have never tried one myself.

Even a 3m press can be surprisingly heavy and quite a lot of machine on the road but your neck will thank you for it because of the smoother ride in in work and you'll get better results behind your powerharrow.

 

[Tarw Coch]

As others have said depends on your soil and what implements will follow behind.

For lighter soils, the 45 degree press rings are for lighter soils and not supposed to sink in as readily whereas the narrow rings are for stiffer land.

Whether you should have tines or paddles or anything else involved on a front press will very much depend on what you can try out and what will work for you on your dirt and in your system. If you just want to make the ground better to travel over and do some of the powerharrows work for it a ring press will be useful. Guttlers look very good but I have never tried one myself.

Even a 3m press can be surprisingly heavy and quite a lot of machine on the road but your neck will thank you for it because of the smoother ride in in work and you'll get better results behind your powerharrow.

Soil is fairly loose, consolidation is what I’m after. In most circumstances a tickle with the power harrow will produce a fine tilth.
It’s very easy to put wheelings in with the first pass that the power harrow won’t take out in one go so subsequent working is needed for a grass ley if ploughed just to get it smooth.
I do sometimes disk stubbles for reseeds which is ok with a short stubble and leaves a firmer seedbed but causes trouble with my grass harrow mounted seeder if there’s a bit of trash as it drags on the tines. It hasn’t been an ideal year combining this year and I’ve got more stubble and trash to bury.

contractor drilled my spring wholecrop this year after grass and I noticed that he fetched up less turf with the power harrow/drill than I do with my power harrow which I put down to him having a front press.

 

[ollie989898]

Soil is fairly loose, consolidation is what I’m after. In most circumstances a tickle with the power harrow will produce a fine tilth.
It’s very easy to put wheelings in with the first pass that the power harrow won’t take out in one go so subsequent working is needed for a grass ley if ploughed just to get it smooth.
I do sometimes disk stubbles for reseeds which is ok with a short stubble and leaves a firmer seedbed but causes trouble with my grass harrow mounted seeder if there’s a bit of trash as it drags on the tines. It hasn’t been an ideal year combining this year and I’ve got more stubble and trash to bury.

contractor drilled my spring wholecrop this year after grass and I noticed that he fetched up less turf with the power harrow/drill than I do with my power harrow which I put down to him having a front press.

Hmmmm. Given what you have said I wonder if you wouldn't be best off having a play with whatever front tools you can get your hands on locally or from a contractor and trying them. We used to use a front press to work down ploughed land ahead of the next machine so wanted to break up clods primarily. By the sounds of it that is a bit different to what you want and I wonder if a big crumbler, DD type or just a tyre press might not be a better bet. The only experience I have the simba type DD press rings are trailed on behind something else so not the situation you are envisaging. I should think these will all float and consolidate a lot better than rings alone.

 

[Dcol]

Looking at a 5m front press to go on front of a t7.235, will have a 5m kv power harrow behind. Current front runners are a dalbo levelflex with 80cm rings, or a guttler duplex, both with a set of leading tines. They'll both be in around 2.5t, the power harrow is 3.5t, am I mad to try carry that much weight around?

 

[benny6910]

I would say you’ll overload the front axle on the tractor. I know someone who had a 7.270 and ran 1800kg on the front and water in front wheels and the diff failed.

 

[Farma Parma]

Guttler simples !
i run the twin roller one
Tines are usefull on the front but just get in the way for the benefits.
10yrs still going fine here
Duplex 56cm rings, bomb proof. 950kg weight
3 staggered row of tines stick out another 1.2metres been off mine last 5yr.
You could go with the close mounted paddles mind.

Front Press Range for Cultivation and Grassland management

Providing cultivation machinery for arable and grassland management. UK Guttler suppliers for the UK based in the North East of England.

www.woxagriservices.co.uk

 

[Speedstar]

Guttler simples !
i run the twin roller one
Tines are usefull on the front but just get in the way for the benefits.
10yrs still going fine here
Duplex 56cm rings, bomb proof. 950kg weight
3 staggered row of tines stick out another 1.2metres been off mine last 5yr.
You could go with the close mounted paddles mind.

Front Press Range for Cultivation and Grassland management

Providing cultivation machinery for arable and grassland management. UK Guttler suppliers for the UK based in the North East of England.

www.woxagriservices.co.uk

Are you on his Christmas card list ?

 

[Farma Parma]

Are you on his Christmas card list ?

Not a chance but i genuinly like the product & you cant buy a new one anywhere else.