[Coniberty Acres]

Would a 9’ moco or haybine be a step up from a 6’9” disc mower? We have the small disc mower and wonder if the bigger cut and conditioner would be an upgrade over the small disc mower? I would probably look New Holland or a Hesston but I’m open to suggestions

 

[Trillium Farm]

Would a 9’ moco or haybine be a step up from a 6’9” disc mower? We have the small disc mower and wonder if the bigger cut and conditioner would be an upgrade over the small disc mower? I would probably look New Holland or a Hesston but I’m open to suggestions

Disc mower is fast, but the discbine even if slightly slower due to conditioning rolls is 2'3" wider so it will cut more in the same time frame, if it has flails it won't be slower at all.
Be aware the a 9 footer DM will w/roll conditioners will need quite a few more hp than a plain 6' DM.
if of recent manufacturing my nod would go to Hesston especially it has the razor edge cutter bar 1300 series.

 

[mstuck21]

If you cut or plan to cut alfalfa roll conditioners seem to be the way to go.. flails are highly recommended in grass (I’ve never run flail machine just read a lot).. agree need more tractor to run a conditioner machine.. rule of thumb is 10 hp for ft of discbine.. new holland in my area is hard to beat with dealer support.. my dad/grandpa wear green underwear and I looked hard at a JD and new holland.. bought the new holland and that will be my choice from here on.. a lot of hay has been made with the NH 1411 era machines.

 

[Sterling6.7]

I haven’t drank the discbine kool-aid yet and have heard that the best quality alfalfa and grass hay is cut with a sickle, but requires more time to cut. I grew up on haybines and purchased an used 9’ model last year. Conditioners are a must have in my book but best of luck finding a new haybine, they have been discontinued. Not sure about the other brands.

I am a firm believer in yellow and green tractors and yellow and red hay equipment, but my Hesston inline runs great.

 

[8350HiTech]

If you need conditioning it’s obviously a step up. If you don’t it’s probably roughly a wash.

 

[Coniberty Acres]

Thank you. I didn’t know if it would be an upgrade or not. I would be looking at a sickle type we don’t have the pockets or ponies for a discbine. My son has the little disc mower and it needs new knives and man it’s going to be $500 to put new knives on it so I didn’t know if it was worth going to a haybine if the disc mower was going to be $500 every year on knives

 

[Ox76]

Try discmowerdoctor.com. It's where I get all my parts for the NH 1431 when needed and if available. You can get the 14 degree knives which helps stand up the crop better than the stock 7 degree. Free shipping if over $300 if I remember correctly. Check them out - great prices as compared to dealers.

 

[Coniberty Acres]

Thank you I will. So far Messick is the only place i found them. The dang bolts are $17 a piece. The washers are like $7 getting new blades and hardware was $48 a blade so basically $100 a disc times 5 adds up quick

 

[8350HiTech]

Thank you I will. So far Messick is the only place i found them. The dang bolts are $17 a piece. The washers are like $7 getting new blades and hardware was $48 a blade so basically $100 a disc times 5 adds up quick

There are all kinds of aftermarket options for this stuff. And if your bolts aren’t worn out you don’t need to change them. Rough guess, $100 should do the whole thing.

 

[Coniberty Acres]

I’ve been looking everywhere going to start calling places this week. I’ve had no luck finding them. I was going to try new blades and run the bolts. $7 for a washer is nuts. But it needs new blades bad so that will be the first step

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

You need to shop around and find an aftermarket solution. I swap 16 knives on my mower for less than 50 bucks total. Reuse the bolts, nuts, washers until they either get lost or the bolt heads round off.

 

[MTB98]

The nuts and bolts have went way up in cost. I just bought new blades and hardware for mine last week, the nuts and bolts were ≈$6/each set. I change the nuts and bolts when changing the blades. The blades I turn over. Normally use one set of blades and one set of nuts and bolts for the season.
Is your mower made by Kuhn? I think it might use the same parts as mine.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Why change the nuts and bolts with each blade change?

I run over 600-1000 acres a year and often change blades once a season. The majority of the bolts and nuts on my mower are probably 5 or 6 years old.

 

[Aaroncboo]

I don't do nearly as much acres as most of you guys but I changed out all my nuts and bolts and Blades once just to make sure everything was new and now I change my blades once every other year but at least I knew the bolts were brand new. my nuts and bolts came from Tractor Supply

 

[MTB98]

Why change the nuts and bolts with each blade change?

I run over 600-1000 acres a year and often change blades once a season. The majority of the bolts and nuts on my mower are probably 5 or 6 years old.

A few years ago new nuts and bolts were ≈$1 per set. The operators manual says to replace them when ever they’ve been removed five times. Now that they’re significantly more expensive I’ll go the full five times at least as long as they pass a visual inspection. I have the smallest disc mower made too so there aren’t very many of them.

 

[ttazzman]

To the original question....I will quit haying before I go back to any form of sickle mower......

 

[Coniberty Acres]

Why change the nuts and bolts with each blade change?

I run over 600-1000 acres a year and often change blades once a season. The majority of the bolts and nuts on my mower are probably 5 or 6 years old.

I was just going off the manual and since the mower was bought used I don’t know the history of the bolts but I’m all for replacing just the blades. Even at $7 apiece it isn’t terrible but I’d love to find some $3 blades for sure

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

To the original question....I will quit haying before I go back to any form of sickle mower......

X2. I'd go get a town job before I went back to a sickle cutter or a twine baler.

For the op what mower do you have?

 

[Coniberty Acres]

It’s a New Holland HM235. It’s made for them buy another outfit I can’t remember off the top of my head. It’s the economy model

 

[8350HiTech]

I was just going off the manual and since the mower was bought used I don’t know the history of the bolts but I’m all for replacing just the blades. Even at $7 apiece it isn’t terrible but I’d love to find some $3 blades for sure

Sometimes things just call for a quick google search “New Holland hm235 blades” results in plenty of $3 blades. Shoup has them for $2.79. They would have the bolts too.