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  • From: Richard Taylor <richard AT angelicorganics.com>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Market-farming] drum clogging on rotovator
  • Date: Thu, 12 May 2005 14:46:07 -0500

We often work a 7' rotovator with a toothed smoothing/packing drum in a silty clay loam soil. When soil moisture is JUST A BIT more than optimal the clay will pack the drum, increasing its diameter and crowding the teeth so that they can't catch and turn the drum. When the drum starts to drag it creates a large pillow of soil that will choke the rotovator.

It has a set of scraping knives that don't seem to fit between the teeth well enough.

To some extent, we clean it by driving fast over hard ground with the implement freewheeling on the ground. This will knock the clay off somewhat.

My question: is there a better way?

could we coat the drum with wax or other type of release agent?
should we get a plastic or fiberglass drum?
should we do smoothing with some attachment besides a drum?

RJT

http://www.angelicorganics.com





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