Austrian manufacturer Pöttinger has enhanced the performance of its market leading Torro forage wagon.
A firm favourite with contractors and larger farming operations, the Torro range from 2009 season onwards will include the heavy-duty chopping unit as used in of Pöttinger largest Jumbo models. Maintaining its unrivalled chop length of 35mm the Torro models now benefit from the heavy-duty design features of the Jumbo system such as a market-leading, high-torque driveline allowing the highest loading efficiency even in the most difficult of crops. These heavy duty chopping units have been designed for the toughest of conditions found across the UK.
Pöttinger product specialist Shaun Groom said: “We are continuously developing the Pöttinger forage wagon range to keep pace with the demands of our customers. British & Irish forage harvesting conditions are pretty much unique in the world often seeing only one very large cut taken, this contrasts sharply with multiple cuts in Continental Europe.
“Many manufacturers build models based upon their experiences in continental Europe, the unique heavy cut conditions here in the UK leads Pöttinger to consult closely with our British & Irish end users listening to their demands and in turn developing models that can cope year in year out with all we throw at it.”
The addition of this new style chopping unit to the Torro range brings several key benefits; both in operation, but also during sharpening and maintenance. Retaining the patented Easy Move swing out knife bank system makes the Torro as with any other Pöttinger model the most straight forward wagon to maintain. The complete knife bank can be lowered hydraulically and after removing four lynch pins the whole unit can be pivoted out to the side of the wagon allowing for unparalleled access.
The dimensions of each individual knife are increased by around 20% increasing durability in difficult conditions and also enhancing the working life. These larger knives are still secured and protected via front and rear spring packs ensuring the tripping force required when encountering foreign obstacles is the same along the entire length of the blade. This system also ensures the blades move both backwards and down away from the foreign body and then returns automatically into the chopping/working position, with no manual resetting required by the operator. This automatic resetting of the blades ensures continuous chopping in the most difficult of conditions.
A completely new addition is the cleaning comb; this hinged cleaner removes short material from between the blades every time the operator hydraulically lowers the blades. This prevents the build up between the knives ensuring they are working at their optimum and removes the need to carry out this task manually. The cleaning comb can be hinged clear of the knife bank allowing full access for sharpening and maintenance. When lowering the blades hydraulically the operator simply selects the service position on the knife bank which automatically releases all the knives across the knife bank allowing each blade to be removed without the need for tools.
Overall the new chopping system brings key enhancements in performance, durability and serviceability to the Torro range of self loading forage wagons from Pöttinger, ensuring the Torro range remains firmly a favourite with farmers and contractors across the UK.
For further information visit: www.landmec.co.uk.
