New Disc Mower

[Soggy Bottom Outdoors]

I'm shopping for a new 8 foot 3 point hitch disc mower. Not a heavy duty model just a regular one. I have Case/IH, New Holland, Deere, Frontier, Kuhn, Vermeer, Kubota/Vicon, Enrossi, MF/Hesston/Agco, Farm King dealers all within 50 miles. What would be your choice and why? Some may be the same just different colors.

 

[Farmer495]

I've been running a New Holland HM235, bought it new in 09. It's a "regular" duty mower, not the "heavy duty"

NH still sells it new, the HM236 is the 6 disc "8 foot" version. I believe Sitrex makes it for NH and CaseIH did sell them as the MDX41 etc.

I have no real complaints with it, been a good mower. Local NH dealer has all service items I've needed. I'd buy another one.

If I were to buy new today, I'd consider Kubota, mainly due to local dealer.

When I was shopping I considered NH, CaseIH, MF & Kuhn, all had similar mowers and pricing at the time in the "regular" category, bought NH since it was on the lot, rest had to be ordered in at the time.

 

[Soggy Bottom Outdoors]

Good to here from you "495".I hope this post finds you warm, dry and well fed. I have heard good things about the modern NH mowers but my local NH dealer is less than great parts and service but my CNH dealer is exceptional. Do you know who makes the Kubota mowers?

 

[Soggy Bottom Outdoors]

Well just wondering if there are any folks blessed with better then average math skills? How much more hay(in acres) would I have cut between a 7-8-or 9ft disc mower in a 10 hr day? All things being equal, same tractor, same ground speed/rpm, same field. Need someone to double check my math. So if in my little puddle jumper I cut at 3.5mph. That's 18480 ft in an hour, times a 7 ft mower is 129360 sq ft or ABOUT 3 acres per hour. For a 8 ft it's ABOUT 3.4, and 9 ft is ABOUT 3.8 acres an hour. So is my math on or did I miss a variable?

 

[Farmer495]

Good to here from you "495".I hope this post finds you warm, dry and well fed. I have heard good things about the modern NH mowers but my local NH dealer is less than great parts and service but my CNH dealer is exceptional. Do you know who makes the Kubota mowers?

NH & CIH are the same mower, so if service is better at one, easy choice, keep in mind parts are the same

Kubota makes their own mowers via their Kverneland factories. Plain Disc Mowers | Kubota Canada

 

[Farmer495]

Well just wondering if there are any folks blessed with better then average math skills? How much more hay(in acres) would I have cut between a 7-8-or 9ft disc mower in a 10 hr day? All things being equal, same tractor, same ground speed/rpm, same field. Need someone to double check my math. So if in my little puddle jumper I cut at 3.5mph. That's 18480 ft in an hour, times a 7 ft mower is 129360 sq ft or ABOUT 3 acres per hour. For a 8 ft it's ABOUT 3.4, and 9 ft is ABOUT 3.8 acres an hour. So is my math on or did I miss a variable?

Keep in mind you have less productive mowing time with a smaller mower if you have to make lots of turns where you have the cutter bar out of standing crop. (does not apply if you can drive in a big circle and never stop mowing)

You can also mow around 5 MPH easy enough, 3.5 would be slow! I've mowed 8 MPH, tractor and mower will do it, but I like reaction time if the cutter bar kicks back.

I only do small amounts at a time, usually 10-12 acres, with most fields being small & irregular shapes to make up the total acreage. "7 footer" mows fast enough, I plan for 3 actual acres an hour mowing at 5 MPH in my scneario.

I have enough tractor to run a 9 footer easily, but time savings not worth the upgrade when I have a perfectly good one user mower in the shed.

Other factor is how many acres do you need to cut at a time versus what you want to spend. Bigger mower = bigger money.

 

[Farmer495]

You can price mowers on CaseIH to get an idea if bigger is worth it.

My prices are List in CDN $$$$ so your numbers should be lower, but it's base price $12929 MDX21 (4 disc) $14339 MDX31 (5 disc) and $16003 MDX41 (6 disc)

$1410 or $1664 for an extra disc.

 

[Soggy Bottom Outdoors]

I appreciate your response, "495" but considering my Kentucky hillside hayfields and the sinkholes, gullies, stumps, and trees and odd shaped fields I mow around I'm okay with 3.5 MPH. I am one of those people who don't "pickup" to make a turn and mow the "corners" at the end. I do "pickup" to move from one odd spot to another. Looks like I would gain about a hour to hour and half between a 7 ft and 8 ft mower. Not much gain.

 

[Farmer495]

I appreciate your response, "495" but considering my Kentucky hillside hayfields and the sinkholes, gullies, stumps, and trees and odd shaped fields I mow around I'm okay with 3.5 MPH. I am one of those people who don't "pickup" to make a turn and mow the "corners" at the end. I do "pickup" to move from one odd spot to another. Looks like I would gain about a hour to hour and half between a 7 ft and 8 ft mower. Not much gain.

I agree you might save an hour or so with a bigger mower, that is what my math was too.

I will mow real rough and tight areas are 3 MPH or so, especially if I have to make left hand turns.

Other thing going 3.5 MPH, you are then able to make perfect 90 degree corners and not miss a blade of grass, so won't have to cut corners out later either.

I used to do that to open fields up when I ran it on the smaller nimble 2wd tractor years ago. Harder to do at faster speeds with a larger 4wd utility.

 

[Soggy Bottom Outdoors]

Good conversation. Let me ask you this. Some disc mower models I've seen have height chains with them. A short chain running from the tractor end of top link pin to one of the mower hitch pins. The purpose is for the chain to carry the weight of the mower while mowing and not the actual 3 point hitch. Have you used one? Ever thought you needed it?