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DLG Test Report 5950 F of 8

Brief description

DLG Test Report 5950 F

Claas Saulgau GmbH

Rear-mounted disc mower DISCO 3500 Contour Power consumption and quality of work

Rear-mounted disc mower with the following features:

– P.t.o.-driven disc mower with central suspension laterally mounted on the tractor's rear power lift

– Theoretical working width: 3.40 m

– P.t.o. shaft speed: 1000 rpm*

– 8 oval cutting discs with 2 cutting blades each

– Hydropneumatic suspension of the cutter bar via the tractor's hydraulic control unit; can be infinitely adjusted from the driver's seat (CLAAS Active Float)

– Mechanical break-back protection with ability to rise upwards and to the rear

– Hydraulically folds up for road transport, folding upwards over the middle of the tractor by approx. 115°

– 1 double-acting and 1 single-acting hydraulic valve needed on the tractor

Manufacturer and applicantClaas Saulgau GmbH

Zeppelinstrasse 2D-88348 Bad-Saulgau

Telephone: +49 (0)7581 203-0Fax: +49 (0)7581 203-225Internet: www.claas.com

* Note from the manufacturer: the recommended p.t.o. shaft speed will change from 1000 rpm to between 850 rpm and 1000 rpm in future.


The Claas DISCO 3500 Contour is equipped with a hydropneumatic suspension function. Required power and consequently also fuel consumption were reduced in the test by varying the relief pressure.

reducing the p.t.o. shaft speed.

The quality of work achieved by the mower was very good in all test conditions.

Hydropneumatic relief allows the user to respond flexibly to the prevailing conditions and at the same time save power. As ex-pected, the reduction in fuel con-sumption can be intensified by

The DISCO Contour series built by Claas comprises four rear-mounted disc mowers without conditioner with a working width from 2.60 to 3.80 m. With a theoretical working width of 3.40 m, the DISCO 3500 Contour is positioned within this series. The technical features of the DISCO Contour mowers include central suspension of the cutter bar and a ground pressure which can be hydropneumatically varied while driving (CLAAS Active Float). The cutter bar is connected to the tool frame via a floating (damped) central suspension and includes mechanical ride-on protection.

The cutting discs are driven via the tractor p.t.o. shaft. According to the operator manual, the manufacturer currently recommends a speed of 1000 rpm. For lowering into working

gravity towards the centre of the tractor, thus increasing stability when driving. At an angle of more than 90°, the mower is danpend via a special cylinder so that it folds up towards the frame gently and with-out damaging the machine.

position, a double-acting valve is needed on the tractor, plus a single-acting hydraulic control unit for the hydropneumatic relief function.

In transport position, the cutter bar is located in a vertical 115° position and additionally locked mechanic-ally. This displaces the centre of

Description and specifications

Test criterion Test result RatingPower consumption very low + +

Quality of work very good + +

Working speed very high + +

Rating scale: ++ / + / / – / – – ( = standard)

Summary 1: Specifications

SpecificationsPower required, tractor (kW/HP)1 51/70

Service weight (kg, with swath disc outside) 970

Theoretical working width (m)1 3.40

Practical working width (m)2 3.20

1 According to the manufacturer

2 Mean value from 3 consecutive runs. The practical working width depends on the tractor gauge, the setting of the hitch pins and the accuracy with which consecutive runs are undertaken.


In keeping with the DLG test frame-work for mowers, the DLG FocusTest "Power consumption and work quality" measured power output at the p.t.o. shaft, the tractive power required, fuel consumption, tensile, lateral and supporting forces, ground pressure on the weigh-bridge, output per unit area, the extent to which the forage is fouled and maintenance of the cutting height.

During the test runs, the p.t.o. shaft speed, ground pressure and cutting height were changed while travel-ling at different speeds.

level amounted to 22% in the grass-lands and 16.5% for the arable for-age. Both types of forage grew on sandy loam (sL) soils. Air tempera-ture during the test runs was 17 °C, with a relative humidity of 82%, a wind speed of 1 m/s and an atmos-pheric pressure of 952.8 hPa.

A CLAAS Arion 540 with 96 kW (130 HP) power rating was used as test tractor. This tractor was equipped with the modular meas-urement system used by the DLG Test Centre.

Other criteria were not tested or assessed.

Measurements were undertaken for the first cut on permanent grassland and arable forage on 21 May 2010. Yield was estimated at 397.4 dt/ha fresh weight (58 dt/ha dry weight) for the grasslands and at 416.8 dt/ha fresh weight (57.5 dt/ha dry weight) for the arable forage. The height of vegetation equalled 60 cm in grass-lands, with a high proportion of dandelion and white clover; the arable forage, a homogeneous lolium crop, was 75 cm high. The cut grass was laid out in broad swaths.

The test was carried out in very damp conditions. The soil moisture

Ground pressure

The ground pressure of the DISCO 3500 Contour can be infinitely var-ied via a single-acting hydraulic cy-linder on the mower without leav-ing the driver's seat. This allows the driver to actively respond to uneven ground, changing soil conditions or water holes in the crop, as well as to undertake a "floating" cut for mowing borders.

The recommended relief pressure setting is between 90 and 120 bar. The basic setting for "normal mow-ing conditions" is 100 bar.

to 850 rpm and the cutting height was set to 4 cm. On average for all test versions, this setting reduced the power output of the p.t.o. shaft by 23%, the total required power by 17% and fuel consumption by the CLAAS Arion by 15%. In add-ition to a customary travel speed of 12 km/h, these test runs were also undertaken at a very high speed of 20 km/h. Here too, the reduction in p.t.o. shaft speed resulted in a very low specific power requirement of less than 10 kW/m (Tables 4 and 5).

Relieving the mower while simul-taneously maintaining the travel speed also yielded a tangible re-duction in required power. On average, the power output of the p.t.o. shaft decreased by 2% in the test, total required power decreasing by 8% and fuel consumption by 2.5%. One striking point is that the differences are less pronounced in the case of arable forage. This is due to the homogeneous nature of the crop and the levelness of the field soil. The cutting height was set to 4 cm (Tables 6 and 7).

Before starting the test runs, the ground pressure was measured on a weighbridge at different relief pressure settings. As shown in Table 1, the ground pressure decreases with increasing relief pressure.

Power requirement, p.t.o. shaft power output and fuel consumption

Performance and consumption values were measured at 3 working speeds (12, 15 and 18 km/h), as well as at the optimum relief pres-sure setting of 120 bar for this test (wet conditions). The cutting height was set to 6 cm.

The required power and fuel con-sumption both declined with de-creasing travel speed. The specific power requirement must be consid-ered very low with a maximum value of 9.9 kW/m working width. For both types of forage, the DISCO 3500 Contour remained within this low range up to a speed of 18 km/h (Tables 2 and 3).

In one test version, the p.t.o. shaft speed was reduced from 1000 rpm

Test content and execution

Test results

Table 1: Measurement of ground pressure on the weighbridge

Relief (bar) Ground pressure (kg)

80 290

100 240

120 210

140 170

180 20


Table 3: Performance and consumption in arable forage

Travel speed P.t.o. shaft speed

Tractive power

P.t.o. shaftpower output

Total power output

Specific power required

Fuel consumption

(km/h) (rpm) (kW) (kW) (kW) (kW/m) (kg/h)

12 1000 3.4 21.8 25.8 7.6 12.3

15 1000 4.7 22.8 27.6 8.1 13.2

18 1000 6.1 24.8 30.6 8.9 15.0

Table 4: Performance and consumption at reduced p.t.o. shaft speed in grasslands


Tractive power


Total power output


Fuel consumption


12 1000 4.9 21.9 26.8 7.8 13.2

20 1000 9.5 29.0 38.6 11.4 16.1

12 850 4.9 15.7 20.6 6.0 11.1

20 850 10.5 23.1 33.6 9.9 13.9

Table 5: Performance and consumption at reduced p.t.o. shaft speed in arable forage


Tractive power


Total power output


Fuel consumption


12 1000 4.1 22.9 27.0 7.9 12.4

20 1000 8.2 26.5 34.7 10.2 16.8

12 850 4.3 17.0 21.2 6.2 10.8

20 850 9.0 21.4 30.4 8.9 15.7

Table 6: Performance and consumption when changing the relief pressure in grasslands

Travel speed Relief pressure

Tractive power


Total power output


Fuel consumption

(km/h) (bar) (kW) (kW) (kW) (kW/m) (kg/h)

15 100 8.0 23.1 31.0 9.1 15.1

15 120 6.6 22.4 29.1 8.6 14.9

15 140 2.0 21.4 23.4 6.9 14.2

Table 2: Performance and consumption in grasslands


Tractive power


Total power output


Fuel consumption


12 1000 4.1 20.7 25.6 7.5 12.8

15 1000 5.1 23.0 28.7 8.4 14.3

18 1000 7.0 26.6 33.8 9.9 16.6


Hillside tests

To establish the effect of hydro-pneumatic suspension on the trac-tor's driving stability, hillside tests (runs at right angles to the slope) were also undertaken with the DISCO 3500 Contour. The hillside had a gradient of approx. 15° (30%). Tests were carried out with the mower facing uphill as well as downhill (see Figures 2 and 3).

For the hillside tests, the relief pres-sure was varied while driving. Cor-responding adjustment of the relief pressure while driving reduces the mower's lateral pull on the tractor – this can help to reduce the down-ward drift when working on slopes. Lateral pull correlates well with the positive and negative traction forces on the lower links of the tractor. A balanced relationship between the traction force acting on the left and right-hand lower links is desirable.

The supporting forces acting on the right and left-hand lower links can also be influenced by adjusting the relief cylinder; when set correctly, this can have a positive effect on the hillside stability of the tractor-trailer combination. Information concerning the adjustment can be found in the manufacturer's operat-ing instructions.

The total supporting force does not change significantly, so that the front axle is not relieved additionally (steerability).

Table 7: Performance and consumption when changing the relief pressure in arable forage

Travel speed Relief pressure

Tractive power


Total power output


Fuel consumption

(km/h) (bar) (kW) (kW) (kW) (kW/m) (kg/h)

15 100 6.8 22.7 29.4 8.6 13.3

15 120 5.9 22.3 28.2 8.3 13.0

15 140 5.1 22.6* 27.7 8.1 13.1*

Table 8: Theoretical output per unit area at different travel speeds

Travel speed Theoretical output per unit area* (km/h) (ha/h)

12 3.8

15 4.8

18 5.8

20 6.4

*Turning times at the headlands are not included

* The elevated values are attributable to unfavourable crop conditions at the measuring point.

Figure 2: Traction forces on the left and right-hand lower links, mower facing uphill, when increasing the balancing pressure

Figure 3: Traction forces on the left and right-hand lower links, mower facing downhill, when decreasing the balancing pressure


Table 9: Crude ash content of the various versions

Travel speed Relief pressure P.t.o. shaft speed Cutting height Type of forage Crude ash

(km/h) (bar) (rpm) (cm) (% dry mass*)

15 100 1000 4 Grassland 11.7

15 120 1000 4 Grassland 10.0

15 140 1000 4 Grassland 10.0

15 100 1000 4 Arable forage 9.2

15 120 1000 4 Arable forage 8.6

15 140 1000 4 Arable forage 8.1

* Average from 3 repeats in each case

Quality of work

Fouling of the forage

To determine the extent to which the forage is fouled, 5 separate samples were taken from the win-drow and combined into a hybrid sample. These forage samples were analysed by LUFA Nord-West. To make the test conditions more diffi-cult, the cutting height was set to 4 cm.

With a crude ash content of less than 9%, an assessment is impos-sible since the natural content in unfouled forage equals approx. 9%. In grasslands, the crude ash content increases with the increasing con-centration of legumes and herbs; in addition, the soil is usually less level than on tilled fields, with the result that crude ash contents above and beyond the natural fouling can-not be established here. In both types of forage, no more than a ten-dency towards lower fouling can therefore be detected when the re-lief pressure is increased.

Figure 4: Broad swaths of cut grass in grasslands

Figure 5: Broad swaths of cut grass in arable forage


Figure 6: The relief pressure is indicated on a pressure gauge on the mounting block of the mower which can be read off by the driver without leav-ing his seat. However, the driver must turn through 180° for this purpose. The red area represents the recommended range.

Figure 7: When riding onto an obstacle, the ride-on protection is tripped and the cutter bar swings up to the rear. It is returned to its original position and locked in place by briefly and sharply reversing the tractor.

Figure 8: The cutter bar is aligned via the lift-ing gear of the tractor so that the tip of the red arrow is lined up and level with the recess on the oppo-site flat bar. These can be seen from the cab.

Figure 9: The DISCO 3500 Contour is equipped with a quick-change system for cutter blades as standard. The mounting lever of the mower is inserted between the cutting disc and knife holder. The knife is released by pressing the mounting lever down and can then be replaced.

Handling

ENTAM – European Network for Testing of Agricultural Machines, is a network of European test agencies. ENTAM's object is to publicize the results of tests throughout Europe for farmers, agricultural machinery dealers and manufacturers.For further information about the network, visit www.entam.com or send a mail to: [email protected]

DLG e.V. – Testzentrum Technik und Betriebsmittel

Max-Eyth-Weg 1, D-64823 Gross-Umstadt, Telephone: 069 24788-600, Fax: 069 24788-6 9 0Email: [email protected], Internet: www.dlg-test.de

All DLG Test Reports can be downloaded free of charge here: www.dlg-test.de!


Test

10-371August 2010© DLG

The test was carried out on 21.5.2010.

Author of the report

M. Sc.agr. Dagmar Brehm

Test carried out by

DLG e.V., Testzentrum Technik und Betriebsmittel(Test Centre Technology and Equipment), Max-Eyth-Weg 1, 64823 Gross-Umstadt

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