STUDY OF THE PERFORMANCE OF TWIN CENTRIFUGAL IMPELLER TAIL MOWER FOR FOUNDATION FARMERS AT THE HOUSEHOLD LEVEL

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to 1) study the operation of twin centrifugal impeller tail mowers and analyze their performance in agricultural areas, and 2) The twin centrifugal impeller tail mower had dimensions of 120 cm width and 140 cm length. It was equipped with a 6.3 kW 4-stroke gasoline engine that transmitted power to B-groove belts No. 47 and 48, rotating two cutting blades each measuring 42 cm in width and 6 cm in length. The blade height could be adjusted within the range of 3-26 cm. The mower's wheels had a tire size of 4.10/3.50-6, moving on a 6-inch plate. The performance test involved installing the twin centrifugal impeller tail mower with a 125-cc engine vehicle, running within 1 rai, 3 times on average, at speeds of 5-7 km per hour. The results showed an average fuel consumption of 0.86 liters per rai and an operational time of 21.52 minutes per rai, equivalent to 2.79 rai per hour. Furthermore, the twin centrifugal impeller tail mower exhibited a higher capacity than the shoulder mower by 52.18%. An engineering economic analysis revealed that the price of the twin centrifugal impeller tail mower was 29,000 baht, with a working period of 12 days per year. The break-even point was 9.09 rai per year, with a payback time of 1.8 years (1 year, 9 months, and 18 days).