I just sold my New Idea 9' disc mower finally so now i'm in the market for a used disc mower in a little better shape. I've looked at Krone, Kuhn, and new Holland so far. Does anyone have any recommendations on which disc mowers you use or which ones you like? I really like the New Idea mowers, I'm just searching out all options at this point.
Used Disc Mowers
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jagyzf
Gold Member
If you are going to be getting machine 5 years old and newer, I don't know if any are bad machines. We have a Deere and love it, a few people I know have New Holland and like them. My wifes uncle really likes his new idea. Kuhn has a comb conditioner, the few people I have known with them did not like them.
chh
Veteran Member
New Ideas are now sold strictly as MF mowers, so don't be thrown if you can't find a newer model New Idea for sale. The only major brand I have been warned away from is Rhino(by a Rhino dealer) because of bar problems. I don't know if that has been changed on new ones, but I would be cautious about a used one. Vermeer, Fella, NH, MF(New Idea), Krone, and Kuhn(JD) are all basically good machines. Condition is king in a used mower. Vermeers specs make it look like more of a power hog than the others(the last I checked), and (I think) MF(New Idea) specs out to require a bit less than some of the other models. I am currently running 2 Krone mowers and am satisfied with them. I especially like that they use a driveline instead of belts(less maintainence).
I would really like to go back to a conditioner but i don't see very many around here for sale. Most people just use plain disc mowers. I'm starting to wish now i hadn't sold the one i had. I got a good buy on it and haven't been able to find another one that good for a price anywhere close to what i paid. So unless i can luck on to another good deal, it looks like i'm just gonna stick with another disc mower.
I used sickle bar for many years, 3-4 mph is about the fastest I could even get with a good cut under ideal condtions. We now use a disk mower at 5 - 6.5 mph and mowing time is less then 1/2. This is due to a sickle bar every bit of "down" crop or woodchuck hole would cause build up and you would have to stop and back up to clear it. Disk mower I have never had to clear a "slug/plug", you just keep going forward.
I was just at Deere.com a few weeks ago and they don't show a sickle bar machine anymore only disk mowers.
Gizmo36
Platinum Member
I still get the sickle mower out ever now and again . But the Krone is hard to beat.just make sure it don't run out of oil or you will be putting gears in it.
MFRED
Platinum Member
Sickle bar, oh man, those are surely outdated. With our Krone EC280, I mow at 8-8.5 mph. I could go faster if the field isn't rough. I think I would quit haying if I had to use a sickle bar. It's alright if you've got nothing but time, and like to backup all the time. For any kind of production, a disc mower is the way to go. They require maintenance yes, but if you take care of it, it will go a long time. Don't run anything without of oil, you'll be putting a lot of parts in any machine.
flusher
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Yeh. Disc mowers are nice.
But sicklebars have their uses.
Right now I can hear my neighbor's Hesston windrower speeding through the first of his three 10-acre alfalfa fields. That old machine has a 15-ft sicklebar that's cutting the crop like butter. Sicklebar mowers probably take more TLC than disc mowers, but I don't think they've been obsoleted by disc mowers yet, at least for the small-acreage guy.
chh
Veteran Member
According to the ad in my weekly farm magazine you can still get new sickle mowers in the Frontier line of implements from JD. I'm not sure of what sizes, models,ect....
The only sickle mower frontier are showing are 2 - 3 point models, a 5' and a 6 1/2'. These are not listed under hay equipment, but mowing, along with brush mowers. These are more for a compact tractor to use along a road side or pastures than mowing hay. Right now they do not show any sickle bar mowers that have reel on the front or a conditioner.
Dill
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I think New Holland is the only major manufactuer to make a new sickle bar mower conditioner. I know speaking with dealers from Amish areas, they are used with a powered fore cart for making hay with horses.
ddivinia
Elite Member
I bought a used Krone 323S and can not be happier. It is the only disc mower I have owned or operated, so I really don't have much experience. All geared, no belts - quality stuff.
D.
D.
scott_vt
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Good Afternoon Chuck,
We would never get any hay in being in the northeast if it wasnt for the crimping action of the conditioner ! Especially this year, with all the rain we have had ! Im certainly no expert, I just help out the local farmer, raking, bale picking etc... but the crimping action makes the whole deal doable with three dry days...
Good Afternoon JasG,
Yep I think that exactly what those sicklemowers were intended for JMO...
I ended up buying a Krone AM281S 9' disc mower. When I bought it the 3-pt mount was in pieces. I brought it home and slid it back together and put a new roll pin in it and it was ready to go. It's in better condition all around compared to my new idea. But it's a power hog. I burn twice as much fuel with it as i did with my old mower. I'll probably use this one for the rest of the season and sell it. I have to say a New Idea/Massey Ferguson is a far better mower for me. The Krone is still a nice mower though. It's just not for me. It's more expensive to run and more expensive to fix. But i also paid less for it than I sold my other mower for. So i guess it evens out for now 
chh
Veteran Member
They are rated to require more hp than some others. Fella and Vermeer are also rated to require more hp than some of the other brands(the Fella mowers we used a couple of years ago where just plain heavy). I'm not sure where the Kuhn/JD falls into the pack. Good luck with the Krone. Winter/fall, at least to me, seems to be the best time to shop for hay equipment anyway, so maybe you can find what you are looking for after season.
Yea that was my own fault. I knew they required more HP to run. I just didn't think it would affect my fuel usage as much as it did. But honestly if i had about 10 or 20 more hp it would help a lot. I really like the 3-pt mount on this mower better than my new idea. My tractor seems to handle the weight a lot better. So I guess I have to give in somewhere
ddivinia
Elite Member
My Krone mower takes more HP than anything I own. It sure seems rugged. No belts to wear out, etc. I think it is a keeper.
D.
D.
