Loading The Machine - Farm Aid 680 Owner's Manual

LOADING THE MACHINE:

➢ Before starting the truck make sure the mixer is empty. Zero out the scale.
➢ Empty mixer of any standing water in it by removing the drain plug. The water
can soak the hay making it mix different possibly causing the machine to bind.
Be sure that there are no tools lying on or in the mixer/truck.
Beware of bystanders, animals and, particularly children!
Always look around to make sure that it is safe before starting the engine of the
truck. It is hard to hear people with the newer quiet cabs.
➢ Do not add side board extensions to the mixer.
➢ Mixer must be rotating when feed is added to the mixer.
➢ Do not overload the mixer. Mixer capacity can be reached by weight or volume.
The maximum weight is 680 model 15,500 Pounds.
➢ Lower density commodities (hay/silage) decrease the capacity of the mixer. The
maximum height of feed in the mixer is one foot less than the top of the spiral.
Generally the highest point is above the discharge door. Overloading certain high
roughage rations may bunch up and "barrel roll" resulting in poor mixing.
➢ Do not "Dump" commodities into the mixer especially roughage. This can cause
the roughage to bind between the reel/spiral and the mixer wall. Wet or stringy
hay is more prone to this. It can damage the mixer.
➢ Load feed starting with the lightest and then the heavier commodities. Example:
Ground hay, Silage, Distillers grains, then corn. Loading corn first may result in
the mixer "kicking" it in the air. Loading hay last may result in damage to mixer.
➢ However, when adding minute supplements or medication in non liquid form load
these first in the mixer.
➢ Damage to the mixer springs will occur if Liquid feed and Corn/Distillers grains
are put in the mixer before roughage.
➢ Load from the auger side of the mixer. The top of the spiral moves from the high
side to the low side. If the loader bucket touches the spiral/reel it is less likely to
damage the spiral/reel loading from the high side. It is more likely to damage the
spiral/reel if it comes in contact with the spiral/reel if loading from the low side.
➢ Loading on the high side will result in faster/better mixing. Feed that falls out
closer to the loader will get caught in the return auger and most feed will interact
with the reel breaking up clumps. Stringy hay clumps can get caught between the
spiral/reel and binding the machine.
➢ Wet hay mixes very differently than dry hay. Wet hay bunches up. It can get
caught between the reel and the tank wedging the machine. Use caution and add
this commodity very carefully.
➢ Do not fill mixer and allow it to settle before feeding. Filling the mixer the night
before and parking the mixer may result in damage to the mixer or work for the
owner. Certain rations will settle and bind together resulting in a locked up
machine. It is not unusual to open the feed door on a mixer that has had a ration
sitting in it overnight being so bound up that it does not fall out of the mixer onto
the elevator chain.
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