In the market for a new Hay Mower.

Good day all,

 

I am possibly in the market for a new Hay Mower or Hay Mower / conditioner. I currently have a John Deere 1470 which was a decent machine in its time but not any more.  I have been looking at a lot of the manufacturers out there and there is a lot of new technology out there but wanted to get a customer perspective on it, Dealers feel free to chime in if you have truly valid information but sales pitches are not welcome, only proven data & information please. 

 

The products that I have been looking at lately are Drum & Disc mowers & Mower / Conditioners. Manufactures like Krone, Caas, Kuhn, Lely, New Holland, Vermeer, Zetor, Vicon * JD. below I have listed questions for each and things I like & dislike about each of them. Please let me know if you have some of this equipment and how it performs.

 

About my planned uses. 

We currently harvest our own hay at this time, will be looking into getting into full operation once I have more reliable equipment. Grass types in our area are Bermuda, KR Bluestem, Gordo Bluestem, Johnson Grass sometimes this type gets vines in them under certain conditions.  As to tractor size we currently have 140 hp available in a reliable JD green tractor. The soil types on my property & many in area is Blackland Gumbo.

 

What I have experienced.

We started out with Sickle Mower conditioners, the old NH brands,  reliable but pain with ant mounds in our soil types. We sold it to a neighbor & it is still going at this time. We purchased a JD 1460 Mower conditioner and were relying on that for quite a while until the grenade went off in the cutter bar gearbox. Purchased a JD 1470 & 1460 from a neighbor that wasn't in use any more for cheap and refurbished the 1470 with parts from all of them. this cutter has been in use for about 5 years now, minor issues with the Cutter Bar Gearbox until this past weekend when another grenade went off in the Cutter bar Gearbox. My main issues with these cutters is the dive side & end side big bonnets. they create so much vibration that they shear bolts, & break skid plates & weldments causing the bonnet to come in contact with the next nearest bonnets. I am tired of this issue as you could probably agree. This type of gear box was designed by Kuhn and are meant for the scrap pile from my experience.  which has me considering moving to a replacement for next hay season. We have finished out last cut for the year and will possibly make a purchase in the off season.

 

Disc Cutters.

 

I have been researching a lot of these. My main concern is of coarse the Cutter Gear Box & drive type ( Means of power transfer between Cutter Heads)

 

Lely / Vermeer Cutters

I have never seen one of these cutters in person. I have been looking at them on the net and watching videos. I am somewhat keen on the power transfer of these cutters as they use a shaft and not a gear mechanism to transfer power to cutting heads. It looks robust however a shaft would seem to be vurnable to twisting off easily. They every mention it about being the safety factor, are there multi shafts or 1 single shaft that goes through the entire bar. How easily is the shaft to change once broken. Second feature I liked what the cutter bonnet safety shears. however they do not lift the bonnet clear of the others and there can still be a collision. How do these skid plates hold up? What is the cost of replacement bonnets modules, shear rings & Bar Drives Shafts? I also like how these units run Grease in seals modules in the cutter bar vs gear oil. Let me know you experiences.

 

Krone Cutters

These cutters look like they will work really well. I really like the driveline to the cutterbar being all gears and the design of the cutter bar with the bul gears being the primary source of power transfer instead of being a series setup like the Kuhn & JD but it still has gears in the Cutterbar and with past history I am skeptical about going back to same old style. I do like the Inertial disconnect system that lifts the damaged bonnet from the path of other bonnets. How easy are these to repairs, what is the cost of repairs for the gears & bonnets. Is the cutter bar built sturdier that others of similar design? 

 

 

Cass Cutters

do not know if I like the two piece design cutter bar, how does it hold up. Is there a safety for the bonnets to be lifted up out of bonnet path when a failure happens and it shears the safety link?

 

Drum Mowers

 

Anyone that has use one for a while, how does the upper frame which carries the drums hold up. has there ever been any Broken welds on you units or frame damage. Has anyone ever had to change out a drum unit. I am thinking about buying an old PZ 5'6" unit to try out and see how it works out then maybe going to a larger Reese Mower is I don't decide on a Disc cutter.

 

I know this post is long winded but wanted to get it all out there and thank you for taking the time to read and reply. Your replies will be read & thought through.

 

 

In the market for a new Hay Mower.