Portal cutter

Portal mowers are frequently the more appropriate machine type in alpine agriculture. In conjunction with a suitably motorized drive mower, the portal has become a mowing standard due to its reliability, high cutting performance and flexible applicability. As with all mowers the portal mower features must be adapted to the requirements. What capacity a portal mower should have in terms of motor, cutting width and other aspects must be determined by the buyer of such a mower. The portal mower mowing features depend on a on a number of parameters. In addition to the measurable values such as weight, cutting width, motor power and fuel consumption, there are also properties which are harder to determining such as the portal mower pitching when mowing uphill and turning are relevant purchasing criteria. Strong pitching can make mowing with a portal mower a very exhausting task. How a power mower behaves in this respect can not be expressed in figures, but must be estimated using the equipment properties. First indications of pitching tendency are provided by the weight of the mower, its design and the type of tires. Spiked rollers are necessary equipment in many situations. The reduced slipping with spiked rollers has a significant impact on the slope suitability of the portal mower. Since the actual mowing properties of a portal mower can not be determined entirely based on the performance values, but can only be determined through actual mowing in very different terrains, trade magazines provide test reports which often provide useful information with regard to the purchase decision. Reports from the Federal Institute of Agricultural Engineering can provide reliable information for choosing a portal mower. High quality portal mowers from the so-called “premier class” differ from middle-class mowers due to comprehensive hydraulic equipment, higher motor capacity, a larger cutting system width and an optimized centre of gravity that allows mowing on extremely steep slopes. The higher weight of the entire mower must be taken into account. This may be relevant for ground with low bearing capacity.