Disc mower

picassomcp · May 27, 2014

After shopping for a nice haybine (hard to find anymore!) and then looking at discbines (used hard and still lots of money) I have turned to looking at disc mowers. I'm talking about a mower that has the same cutting heads as a discbine, but no conditioning rolls behind it. 3 point hookup. My theory here is....faster cutting speed than a haybine, less maintenance, less money spent upfront. I mow about 40 acres a year of decent hayfields plus another 20 acres of some meadows and lower ground that has rocks in it, I'm thinking with the disc mower weighing less it may bounce over a rock with less damage. I understand that without the hay being conditioned it may not dry so fast, but really how much slower would it dry? and, it if the hay is not windrowed, would it really dry any slower? most of my hay is grassy with some clover, when using my haybine I cut it one day, leave it lay a full day, then rake the next morning and bale that afternoon. My hay has always been very dry, when tested it comes in at 8-12% moisture. My thinking is, if it drys slower from not being conditioned, but is left in a wider windrow, would things even out? Do you think I could be happy with a disc mower? I'm thinking I could by a new one for less than the price of a decent used discbine or even a really nice haybine?

I wish i could rent one for first crop, then I would know for sure. I'm in Central MN

I'm curious to hear any thoughts.

Anonymous-0 · May 27, 2014

how about a drum mower these are for smaller tractors (50-75hp) and are like discmowers but have a conditioner

Farmallhal · May 27, 2014

I have a NH616 disc mower which works very well after you get it on the tractor. I use it with the 3 point hitch on my Ford 5610 which is sized correctly for the mower. It is very heavy and seems to take an army to get it on the tractor. It can not be "man-handled" by any number of people and once it is on the tractor it stays until all the hay is cut for the year. After what I go through every year mounting it on the tractor I would forget a 3-point hitch machine and look for some mowing device which pins to the drawbar. The difficulty mounting it on the tractor makes extra tractors a necessity for raking, baling, etc. New Holland makes a dolly for the NH616 but looks very heavy and is very expensive I have found. I have neighbors with other brands that seem to not have the mounting issues I seem to come up against every year. We just put it on the tractor yesterday and took 3 men almost two hours to hook it up. I would certainly request a demo to mount the disc mower to your tractor before buying one so you know what you will be up against, Hal.

JMS/.MN · May 27, 2014

Disc mowed hay should dry like sickle mowed hay. Discbine header springs should be set for a given pound rating of lift to float the header over the ground.

Nathaniel Watts · May 27, 2014

I single handedly mount my NH 616 on a JD 4230 in 5 minutes most any time. Just learn how to unhook it correctly in a level spot and there is no problem. Conditioner rolls do very little or nothing to most grass crops anyway. Less investment and less to give problems. The NH is a very good mower but is also VERY heavy.

rick1 · May 27, 2014

this year i sold my ih 990 haybine and bought a newholland disc mower 6ft 8 in cut.mine has two legs that come down to set on when you unhook it.i can hook it to the tractor in just about a minuet no longer than hooking up a brushhog or any thing else.i just used it for the first time this past saturday mowed about 5 acres with it.you can mow as fast as your fields let you.if they are nice and smooth you can run pretty fast i was going about 61/2 mph but my fields arent the smoothest.RICK

samn40 · May 27, 2014

What is a sickle bar mower?.....We last Used one of them things in 1971!!!!!!!
Sam

cole in mo. · May 27, 2014

Rocks will damage blades on a disk mower faster than you can replace them. Three years ago I bought a new 2400 vicon, cuts 7ft 8 inches, gave $8300. for it.

Farmallhal · May 27, 2014

That could be part of the problem as the only place wide enough to store it undercover slopes left to right about 10 degrees or so and is level front to back. Maybe I need to build an open bay building wide and high enough to get the tractor and mower in with the mower cutting bar parallel to the floor. We certainly try and block it so as to be in correct relationship to the tractor when un-mounting it but something always gets out of place and the jacks, levers and any other moving or lifting devices come into play to muscle the heavy thing into submission. I'm afraid someone is going to get hurt one of these days and there has to be a better solution. I have three IH Farmall tractors with their 2 point fast hitches and hooking up to large, heavy and awkward implements is so easy but disc mowers came along after the shift toward the big 3 point implements.
I think a building with a level concrete floor with an unobstructed opening of around 20 feet wide and probably 10 feet or so tall might be a good start to easier hook ups for the disc mower. Thanks for your response, Hal.

Anonymous-0 · May 27, 2014

Not all have a conditioner, For drum mowers, give Hay Dr a shout out, Carter equipment, TN. Search Hay Max mowers.

Farmallhal · May 27, 2014

Rick, What is the model no. of your NH disc mower? Can you post a photo of the two legs that hold it for the next hook-up? Mine has a single removable leg in the back that always wants to pitch it forward - the leg is always at some angle to the floor other then perpendicular which might hold it in a constant position, Hal.

Bob seND · May 27, 2014

I have a Vicon disc mower. It takes two handiman jacks, a 6 foot prybar, multiple blocks and over an hour to hook up to the 3pt. It also stays on all season once hooked up.
It cuts well though, limitied in speed by the roughness of the field. I plan on one extra hot day of drying for lack of a crimper in alfalfa, but do have a separate crimper for spring cutting.

Pair-a-dice farm · May 27, 2014

I've got a NH HM236 disc mower that I mow about 200 acres a year. It's pretty easy to hook up to, it usually only takes 4-5 minutes. You can get a caddy that holds the disc mower and it makes it a lot easier to hook up but they run several thousand $. My next disc mower will be a Vermeer trailed disc mower. They are considerably higher but a neighbor has one and it is nice. As far as conditioning the hay, have you considered a tedder? I use one all the time and it will let you bale at least a day sooner and helps a V wheel rake do a better job.

WCS · May 27, 2014

My Vermeer disc mower takes 5 minutes or less to attach or detach. It is a 3 point hitch, Model 7030. Put it on this morning, mowed a little, Then took it off. And no special tools required.

Hay hay hay · May 27, 2014

I have a Reese drum mower, not as wide but has a hay spreader attachment. easy to hook up and use.
Sold my old disc mower for the drum, glad I did.

Anonymous-0 · May 27, 2014

I have cut with a Vicon CM240 for twenty years. I can hook it to the Deere 2630 in 10 minutes or less. I have never broke a blade but do not have rocks.
Before the Vicon I used a Deutz drum mower. A very good mower but the hay is wind rowed and takes longer to dry than the Vicon.
The Vicon has been less maintenance than the Deutz.
Vicon is now owned by Kubota.

picassomcp · May 27, 2014

I've been researching these disc mowers since I posted. I really like the New Holland HM236 or the H6750. I've searched TractorHouse for prices, the H6750 can be bought for $7-8k used or about $10k for new. The HM236 is about $2,000 less. I feel that is pretty decent, given that I can't hardly find a useable discbine used for that. Heck even a 9' 1465 Haybine in decent shape will bring that. I might go to the dealer this week for a closer look. As for drying goes, think the only time I may have a problem would be in 1st cutting, but if I hit it early maybe I can get away from any trouble, or worst case I could rake the first cutting 2X if I had too. I think I might keep the old haybine around though for those rocky areas. I just cant see spending $10-15k for a used discbine that will need repairs. Or $6-10k for a haybine that cuts slow and has lots of wear parts.

For me, this disc mower could be the answer. I looking forward to learning more and possibly trying one out. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks for your insight.

showcrop · May 27, 2014

Disc mowers are great for what they are, but here in the northeast we can't dry grass hay down fast enough to beat the next rain without both crimping it and tedding twice.

Bob · May 27, 2014

My friend has a Kuhn disc mower and thought it was the best thing next to sliced bread 'til the series of gears in the cutterbar annihilated themselves, for no apparent reason... he was fastidious about checking the oil, and was mowing a light crop of alfalfa when the death occurred.

PROBABLY. an isolated incident, but not worth repairing!

gfs · May 27, 2014

I/we have had jd, nh, Kuhn, caseih/Hesston, krone,vicon, and Vermeer. Each has their good and bad, the early krone was a pain in the butt to hook, the Kuhn a pain to unhook not a good enough level spot, the Vermeer was the easiest to hook to the tractor or unhook, my 80 year old dad hooks the Vermeer by himself, the vicon mows the best, three blades always cut better, I didn't like the fingers on the deere discbine but that is personnel. The vicon lost a deck since it is solid and runs in oil throughout the cutterbar. Personally I would buy what I have the best dealer support and where you can get the best deal. remember you have to unhook and hook it up make the dealer show you how they would do it and it should be that simple or difficult when you get it home. Good luck.

ih_bug · May 28, 2014

buy a reese drum mower. easy to hook up, few moving parts,cheap and easy to change blades.any mower is going to have issues with rocks but the reese has no gearboxes. if you hit a rock and ding blades 5 to ten minutes later your cutting hay again.

cannonball · May 28, 2014

Why don't you get a trailer disc mower...draw bar pin, hyd hose, and pto shaft to unhook

T in NE · May 28, 2014

How much difference does crimping make?
Back in Pennsylvania, we got a 15 ft CIH with steel rolls, and kept the NH492 with rubber rolls. Used the NH a couple times that summer and sold it, you could tell when it came time to bale where the rubber rolls had done the conditioning, it took another 1-3 days to dry the hay.

495man · Jun 2, 2014

I run an HM235. 5 disc, 236 is 6 disc. Works great, no issues with it once I got it set up properly on the tractor.

Goes on and off 5 mins top. Mower tractor is baler tractor so it comes on and off all the time.

Disc mower

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