Tedders, Pöttinger's innovative solutions
The Austrian company Pöttinger has extended its range of tedders with a trailed model - HIT 16.18 T - with 16 rotors designed for large farms (working width up to 17 metres).
The machine's great strength is Dynatech technology, which uses oversized toothed wheels and bearings to improve implement stability. The HIT 16.18 T is equipped with rotors with a diameter of 1.42 metres and six curved tine holders, which guarantee maximum cleaning of the forage and ensure even spreading thanks to an optimum working angle. The tines, which are guided by a trailing beam and have different sized shafts, pick up the crop in a particularly gentle and even manner, while the two carriage wheels - positioned right next to the tines - act as contact wheels for the rotors (so that the tedder can adapt to uneven ground).
The new HIT 16.18 T is also equipped with Liftmatic Plus technology, which allows the rotors to be lifted at the headland thanks to the combined action of a double cylinder and a slider link that prevents the tines from getting stuck or scraping the ground. Liftmatic Plus can significantly reduce not only forage contamination but also the stresses placed on the tines, which contributes to the longevity of the implement. For headland work, both outer right-hand rotors are hydraulically swivelled backwards by 15° (controlled directly from the driver's seat) into an oblique position, distributing the forage evenly over the area worked without forming a swath.
The TOP 842 C rake from Pöttinger with central swath deposit is also new. The Austrian manufacturer's model with working widths of 7.7 to 8.4 metres has been fitted with an innovative sliding block called Flowtast. Designed to replace the rotor carriage with a feeler wheel, the skid plate, available on request, is able to scan the ground near the tines, working easily on problematic terrain.
The device made by the Austrian manufacturer had been presented at the 2019 edition of Agritechnica, but it was a prototype; today, however, Flowtast makes its real market debut, allowing the functional limitations of the impeller carriage to be overcome. On wet and marshy soils with deep tracks, forage with uneven turf or damaged soils, explains the manufacturer in a technical note, wheels and tines can come into contact with the ground, jeopardising forage quality.
On the other hand, Flowtast allows the rake to glide over the most challenging areas of the field (the large support surface improves bearing capacity on this type of terrain), while a hydraulic cylinder cushions the rotor of the TOP 842 C, thus limiting the support pressure (about 200 kilos). The technology developed by the Austrian company reduces wear and tear and the tractive load on the chassis, thus cutting both maintenance costs and downtime.
