The blades appear to be common and cheap. The blade bolts not quite so common. All the more reason to use them until they are un-usable.
Haybine vs small disc mower
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
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I don’t what I was doing wrong but I kept finding the ones for after my serial number. I will call them tomorrow and see what all they have
The reason the manual says to change after 5 times is the lock feacture is wore out. I'm sure you noticed on new the bolts came with a locking compound on them or uses a style of lock nut. I have run mine way longer than I should. If concerned put a little blue locktite on them when switching knives.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.
Everybody seems to be answering your question like you were asking about going to a 9' discbine, but you're asking about going to a 9' haybine.
So the answer is it all depends...how many acres/hr do you mow with the disc mower right now? I mow about 3-4 acre/hr with a haybine. I'm mowing 5 mph. If sickle bar is set up properly with all the guard ledgers adjusted correctly, this will prevent premature wear on the wobble box. And as long as your belts are good and properly tensioned, and the rollers are good, they can be reliable machines that don't don't require a lot of maintenance beyond regular greasing and checking the critical parts. My NH488 is probably the most hassle free equipment I own, and it hums like a sewing machine.
I'm only mowing 40 acres with it. Once you start going beyond this your efficiency will be better served with a discbine.
So the answer is it all depends...how many acres/hr do you mow with the disc mower right now? I mow about 3-4 acre/hr with a haybine. I'm mowing 5 mph. If sickle bar is set up properly with all the guard ledgers adjusted correctly, this will prevent premature wear on the wobble box. And as long as your belts are good and properly tensioned, and the rollers are good, they can be reliable machines that don't don't require a lot of maintenance beyond regular greasing and checking the critical parts. My NH488 is probably the most hassle free equipment I own, and it hums like a sewing machine.
I'm only mowing 40 acres with it. Once you start going beyond this your efficiency will be better served with a discbine.
I was also thinking what Hayjosh stated above. Most are discussing discbine.
If you need the conditioning, you would obviously benefit from the haybine.
If you are just mowing grass, I would absolutely stay with the disc mower. The bolts and nuts you're talking about are not replaced very often, if ever. I put on new sets of blades when needed like after I get into some rocks. Otherwise I just sharpen them with a angle grinder just like your lawn mower. That's it.
If you switch to a haybine, you still have to replace sections and guards. Those are not cheap. You also cannot sharpen the sections. (Or at least easily.) You also have to keep an eye on rollers.
When I was running my New Holland 488, I could not run faster than about 2-3 ac/hr. I guess @Hayjosh has his adjusted better than I did. I switched to a 9 ft disc mower and can mow 5+ if the ground is smooth enough.
No one has mentioned the mobility either. If you mow lots of small fields and have to move into and out of gates etc., the disc mower folds straight up vs the haybine still being 14 ft wide. Doesn't sound like that big of a deal but I assure you, it makes a big difference.
If you need the conditioning, you would obviously benefit from the haybine.
If you are just mowing grass, I would absolutely stay with the disc mower. The bolts and nuts you're talking about are not replaced very often, if ever. I put on new sets of blades when needed like after I get into some rocks. Otherwise I just sharpen them with a angle grinder just like your lawn mower. That's it.
If you switch to a haybine, you still have to replace sections and guards. Those are not cheap. You also cannot sharpen the sections. (Or at least easily.) You also have to keep an eye on rollers.
When I was running my New Holland 488, I could not run faster than about 2-3 ac/hr. I guess @Hayjosh has his adjusted better than I did. I switched to a 9 ft disc mower and can mow 5+ if the ground is smooth enough.
No one has mentioned the mobility either. If you mow lots of small fields and have to move into and out of gates etc., the disc mower folds straight up vs the haybine still being 14 ft wide. Doesn't sound like that big of a deal but I assure you, it makes a big difference.
I run stub guards on my 488 and that helps a lot with the speed. Though sickle sections and guards really aren't that expensive, I never have to replace guards and the sickle sections are top serrated so they're self sharpening. I only replace sections when they have serrations broken off them.I was also thinking what Hayjosh stated above. Most are discussing discbine.
If you need the conditioning, you would obviously benefit from the haybine.
If you are just mowing grass, I would absolutely stay with the disc mower. The bolts and nuts you're talking about are not replaced very often, if ever. I put on new sets of blades when needed like after I get into some rocks. Otherwise I just sharpen them with a angle grinder just like your lawn mower. That's it.
If you switch to a haybine, you still have to replace sections and guards. Those are not cheap. You also cannot sharpen the sections. (Or at least easily.) You also have to keep an eye on rollers.
When I was running my New Holland 488, I could not run faster than about 2-3 ac/hr. I guess @Hayjosh has his adjusted better than I did. I switched to a 9 ft disc mower and can mow 5+ if the ground is smooth enough.
No one has mentioned the mobility either. If you mow lots of small fields and have to move into and out of gates etc., the disc mower folds straight up vs the haybine still being 14 ft wide. Doesn't sound like that big of a deal but I assure you, it makes a big difference.
Hayjosh I've seen some of your videos and you have a really nice 488. And it sounds good when its mowing. But it does sound like a wash so we will probably run the disc mower this year and plan an upgrade next year
Perfectly tuned haybine runs very nice but we found they took a lot of maintenance. We had to change a lot of sickles sections which is a pain. Belts would burn up randomly too. Conditioner roller delaminated. Drive head would shear off every so often. I wouldn't go back to one although have thought about trying a straight sickle bar mower for fun.
I have a 7' NH haybine with stub guards and adjustable hold downs and it runs well. But, it's a an old machine and I've basically rebuilt the entire drive system. Now it needs new bearings on the conditioning rollers, which is going to be a real project that I'm not looking forward to.
I would love to have a disc mower but it's hard with my small acreage to justify the cost at the moment, because I can never be sure if I'm going to get extra acerage to hay each season or not.
So as others have said - unless you have clover or alfalfa to cut and need the conditioning to save on drying time, I'd suggest sticking with the disc mower.
I would love to have a disc mower but it's hard with my small acreage to justify the cost at the moment, because I can never be sure if I'm going to get extra acerage to hay each season or not.
So as others have said - unless you have clover or alfalfa to cut and need the conditioning to save on drying time, I'd suggest sticking with the disc mower.
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