Just like the unique shape of the hammerhead shark, the John Deere F310R front mower shares the same distinctive shape and more similarities than you might think with the ocean creature
The shark’s T-shaped head improves manoeuvrability and allows visibility around rocks and other potential barriers. They travel long distances, and their unique form makes them popular with marine enthusiasts and researchers alike.
If we link this back to the F310R mower (stay with me here), the distinctive shape of the F310R headstock allows enhanced visibility thanks to the shape not impeding forward visibility in spotting obstacles, it also travels long distances, in and out of dips, through humps and hollows in the paddock thanks to the pull type design, and it has plenty of other features that make machinery enthusiasts want to do further research. It’s a long bow maybe, but be thankful I didn’t start rambling about MC Hammers hit ‘90s song. Anyway, back to the mowers.
The R series mowers are John Deeres ‘up spec’d’ option (similar to the premium R series tractors), and are only available as mower conditioners. Both the front and rear are identical apart from the mounting hardware, so let’s check out the good oil.
Mower bed
Both the front and rear are 3.1m beds with 1000rpm PTO speed. The slimline design of the cutter bed allows it to cut close to the ground even in heavy, lying down crop. If you do find an old concrete post, or a “yeah sorry I forgot to mention” set of chain harrows, the spline on the sheer hub in the bar will sheer to protect the gear drive. This module can then be replaced without needing to open the bed itself. Speaking of the bed, John Deere has lubricated the internal components, claiming no oil changes are required for life.
Conditioner
Right: The conditioner offers two speeds; 755rpm or 1000rpm
The conditioner type can be either an adjustable roller or flail steel conditioner. For our Harvest Showcase, we had the latter and found that the steel tine conditioners leave the grass in a more upright position. This allows superior drying and helps reduce soil contamination when it comes to raking, as the tines don’t need to be so aggressive scraping it off the ground. There are five setting for aggression for both the front and rear mowers, plus an easy-to-change speed option (choose from either 755rpm or 1000rpm conditioner speed).
Headstock
Right: Cast steel components in the headstock offer superior wear qualities
The F310R has a hammerhead design with the main bar designed to bend upon hitting an unmovable obstacle (drain, water trough, stump, not a small rock or post) preventing damage to more expensive components. The main headstock and key components of the folding mechanism on the rear mower and the trailing design of the front mower are made from cast steel, further ensuring longevity.
Operation
The front mower requires a fixed linkage height and just one hydraulic spool for headland lifting and lowering. The same spool also doubles to pump up the hydraulic ground pressure adjustment via an accumulator, a tap and a pressure gauge for the desired setting.
For folding on the rear mower, it has a double spare ram. This means it does not need to be as long, avoiding being exposed to damage and that it doesn’t suffer power losses at the outer limits of the ram stroke.
For road transport, the rear mower folds over centre to 126°, reducing the overall transport height and transferring the bulk of the weight to the centre back of the tractor – making roading at 50km safe and stable and much less like wallowing on the Pacific Ocean (another shark reference there for the biologists).
When it comes to hitching and dismounting, the mower has a clever centre mounted storage leg which swings down and locks the pivoting knuckle of the mower in place. This allows you to reduce the pressure from the spool, and there’s no way that the head stock or the centre pivot part of the mower will be able to move. It also means there’s no pressure left on the rear hook arms of the tractor. We unhitched in a random part of the paddock to demonstrate this and had absolutely no bother taking it off or putting back on in what could be described as flat but not a smooth paddock – top marks.
Maintenance
Right: The hammerhead headstock
Both mowers’ feature quick change knives with a handy tool. For the front mower, a toolbox provides storage for the knives and other miscellaneous objects you find, while the rear mower has an integrated slide out toolbox in the main headstock.
In dripping spring grass, changing knives is not always pleasant, however, both front covers easily open allowing access to the knives. The beauty of having hydraulic ground pressure is this also acts as hydraulic breakaway for the front mower, while the rear has a separate hydraulic ram that takes care of the breakaway. For the bar to sit level on the ground during work, a small ram and accumulator (you can see it under the main pivot) ensure the desired pressure is evenly spread across the width of the bed.
Summary
Overall, we felt the John Deere mowers offered a balance of build quality, user friendliness and performed well during the testing. We ended up mowing the bulk of the plot with these mowers as the triples took the cream out and as result the contour could be described as undulating and niggly.
The hydraulic ground pressure and contour following from both mowers, but particularly the front mount, was impressive.
The 6R 215 tractor was equipped with the CommandPRO joystick which made setting headland lifting and lowering and documentation triggering through the programmable buttons very easy. There is also a triple mower rear options and with models from 8.3m – 9.9m if you like the look of the doubles but need to get some width in your operation.
Top 5 features
Adjustable Conditioning System: Five aggression settings and two-speed options. Steel flails did a fantastic job of standing the row more upright for easier harvesting.
Durability and Reliability: Built with high-quality materials and service free bed.
Hydraulic Suspension: Ensures smooth operation over varied terrain.
Cast Components: Additional strength in high-load areas of the mowers.
Clever Storage: For the rear, the storage stand locks the main pivot in place so the bed nor headstock can move, making hitching and unhitching easy.