discbine conditioner - rollor or impeller??

Lindsey Raddatz · Feb 8, 2011

looking to get a discbine to speed up the cutting process this year. I see that discbines come with either conventional rollers, or impellers, what are the pro"s and con"s of the impeller type. Use a haybine now and the rubber rollers seem to work okay. Would the impeller type break up the hay so it would dry better? Kinda concerned that the impeller also might have a tendancy to chop up the hay, maybe not just never hear anything about them so far.

McFarmer1 · Feb 8, 2011

I was talked out of the impeller type by a district rep,he claimed too much leaf loss in alfalfa. I"m very happy with the two steel rollers on mine.

M Nut · Feb 8, 2011

I have an impeller machine, and it works fine for my grass mix hay, some of which is heavy clover. I also have a roller haybine, and often my brother and I cut in the same fields alternating passes with both machines. From what we've noticed, the roller machine seems to dry a little better in the grass type hay, but by just a few hours. When the haybine rows are dry, the discbine rows will be dry enough to bale that day too. Impeller drys the heavy, stemmy clover hay better.
As far as speed, or cutting thick heavy hay, no comparison. Discbine runs circles around the sickle haybine.

oj · Feb 8, 2011

impellers are designed to strip the waxy surface of grass leaves and they work very well at it, their downside is thay can be agressive on alfalfa, most have the ablity to change the speed of the impeller, and that can help, it also helps to cut when the alfalfa is still young. Impellers also have the advantage of being nearly imopiossible to plug up.

thurlow · Feb 8, 2011

Have owned and run both......over a lot of acres. As oj says, the impeller type just open up the surface; they don't 'break up' the hay. Mine were used primarily on sudan-cross hybrids and both worked, but the impeller was more trouble-free. Don't have much experience with alfalfa; my 'other' hay was different combinations of fescue, orchard grass, various clovers, bermuda grass, etc; normally cut them with a mower.......sickle 'til the mid-70s and disc since then.

Mike Aylward · Feb 8, 2011

I have a John Deere 946 with impellers and have mowed quite a lot of alfalfa with it. I would not own a roller machine. It is plug free and works very well in alfalfa and grass. You can set it to where it will do absolutely nothing to the alfalfa or you can set it to where it will "meal" it (which you don't want, of course), or set it anywhere between these two extremes. A common misconception is that the impellers "beat" the hay. They do not. They only feed the hay through the machine and create a suction that allows this. The actual conditioning comes from the hay rubbing on the hood over the impellers and the compression that this causes. The hay is actually compressed against itself rather than through rollers. I have seen more damage from the cutterbar than from the impellers. I am very satisfied with the impeller system. Most folks around here that try it would never go back to a roller machine. Mike

RodinNS · Feb 8, 2011

Impellars strip the waxy coating from the stem. In reality... the don't work the way most people think they do... and probably do less damage than most roller machines. The conditioning intensity is adjustable on most impellars... and you never need to worry about the rubber peeling off a pair of very expensive rollers...
I have a roll machine now and wish I didn't....

Rod

Ken Macfarlane · Feb 8, 2011

I used to use a rubber roll machine, rolls came apart, big $ to fix. Replaced with an impeller machine, seems to condition as well, rocks go through better, I don't do alfalfa though.

Mitch D · Feb 8, 2011

We have always had rollers and are satisfied with them. Some food for thought is that I know JD and maybe others went away from rollers but are now pushing them again......

kyhayman · Feb 8, 2011

I've had both, and used them in all types of hay. Overall I like the impeller type better even though I have a roller type now. Wish it was an impeller but the price was enough better on the roller type thats what I went with.

Royin UK · Feb 8, 2011

We only ever see impeller types here, mounted behind a disc mower (Also behind drum mowers but not as common as disc by a long way). Roller types pretty much came and went overnight but having said that we don't grow alfalfa. Sickle mowers are all but extinct.

MN Scott · Feb 8, 2011

General rule. Impellers for grass hay. Rolls for alfalfa or legume hay.

hayray · Feb 8, 2011

I'll second that. Had a Deere impeller machine years ago, once I had more ground into legumes had a lot more problems drying. Now have a NH 1409 with rollers and night and day difference.

tomstractorsandtoys · Feb 8, 2011

What are you trying to harvest? For alfalfa to be chopped for silage the impeller can not be beat it drys fast but if you want dry hay it takes longer than the roll machines. A neighbor who is a top-notch dairyman bught a new JD with impellers and loved it for first crop that they chopped on second cut they liked to dry bale and the hay just would not dry in a reasonable time frame. The dealer made lots of adjustments but nothing really helped. They traded for a new machine with rolls at the end of the season.

JDseller · Feb 9, 2011

I have sold impeller machines for over twenty years. They will work fine if you adjust them to the crop density EVERYTIME you change fields or cutting. The people that complain about them are the ones that set a machine once and then use it for ten years without ever looking at it. I hate to make generalities but you find alot of these that are into livestock. It seems it takes different personalities for livestock and good machinery operator/caregiving. I was on a very successful dairy farm today. The man has made very good money for years and has a top notch herd. Every piece of his equipment other than the grinder mixer was setting out side in the snow. Combine, one year old windrower, six tractors (none older than five years) lawn mower setting where they finished with it, JD ATV in a snow drift six foot tall. HE makes me a lot of money in repairs.

discbine conditioner - rollor or impeller??

Lindsey Raddatz

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McFarmer1

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M Nut

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oj

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thurlow

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Mike Aylward

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RodinNS

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Ken Macfarlane

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Mitch D

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kyhayman

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Royin UK

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MN Scott

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hayray

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tomstractorsandtoys

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JDseller

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