using a pull behind mower conditioner?

[WTA]

Do any of you have any advice for a first time user/owner of one of these machines? Like what type of pattern to run height settings and all that.

I got a used new holland 116 and finally have it ready to go now. I'm itching for the 1st to get here when my bermuda is due to cut so I can use it.

Right now the skids are set at about a 3.5 inch cutting height. I thought it looked a little high but it's probably fine. Since I've never used one of these before, should I lower it all the way to the ground and let the skids on the header drag or do I pick it up a bit and let the springs carry it? If so I could put spacers on the lift cylinders to set them at a good height.

What type of cutting pattern do you all recommend for these types of machines.
What I was planning was make a circle clockwise around the field with it directly behind me then on the next circle, swing the machine out to my right and mow so I am not running my tractor in the uncut alfalfa. Does that sound right or is there a better way?
My new baler is an inline Hesston so I shouldn't have any problems at all following a spiraling in pattern like that that was cut with a 16 foot cutter.

 

[Mickey_Fx]

A couple things come to mind. First I don't know how dense your grass is. With real dense growth, I found using stub guards helped a lot in getting a good cut. Second thing, you've got to match ground speed and reel speed. The reel should be transporting the cut gras back to the crimp rollers and not pulling grass into the mower. Going too slow will increase needed power considerably.

My experience is on fields where 1st cutting yielded >4T/Acre, waist high or higher grass. On fields with short grass height, matching speed may not be as big of a concern that I had the deal with.

As for mowing, if you're fenced in, I mow the outer row CCW so to be able to get as close to the fence as possible. Rest of field, CW

 

[jimg]

Your set up is diff from mine b/c the tongue on your mower is center mounted. Seems this would allow both CW and CCW travel as you wish. Seems handy to me. It also seems that making neat sq corners would be easier.

The shoes on my mower are set to about 3.5-4" which I think works best for regrowth and prolonged plant health. Since you irrigate I bet it wont matter much but in my case the grass recovers quicker and doesnt heat stress if the weather turns hot/dry.

My field had spots which were very heavy and it took a good while (8.5 hrs) to mow but I didnt feel the need for stub guards. I only had a single clog in 15ac.

 

[WTA]

I hope this doesn't sound stupid but what is a stub guard? We have giant bermuda that is really thick and usually gets about 30-36 inches high when I cut every month. Also Alfalfa. I broadcast planted it and it's really thick right now too. I had a lot of problems in the bermuda with a borrowed self propelled swather before but it had trashed out cutters on it. It kept skipping rows in the grass no matter how fast or slow I went. I've got a lot more power with my tractor now and new cutters on the machine so hopefully I won't have any problems.

This mower does swing both ways hydraulically. I know I'm going to love it for corners. It also has a set of single acting lift cylinders on it.
So I take it you just run yours all the way down on the skids then? The mechanic at the dealer was trying to tell me something that didn't make much sense about adjusting the springs on it to mow. He broke one of them when he towed it to the shop but I have them all adjusted even now.

I noticed when the machine is all the way down the chute inside it is positioned so that most of the grass goes through the conditioner rollers. If it's up just a bit it doesn't look like any of it will go through.

I wasn't sure where exactly where to set the conditioner adjusting crank on it so I set it where I can pick up the top roller about an inch off the bottom one on each side with my pry bar. I hope that is about right.

 

[jimg]

Stub guards are just as the name implies...they are shorter than normal. Instead of the long 'fingers' projecting forward they are either very short or non-existent. What I wouldnt do is change what you have now before making sure the sections were good and you knew that ground speed variations didnt help. OTOH if youre primary interest is going fast at any cost then you should have gotten a disc mower. If you replaced the guards I bet it would be really expensive! I know those for my 7' MF725 are pricey.

Right, mine has a hyd cyl that lifts the head exc mine are dbl acting. I drop it right down to the skids and mow.

After you have some field time w/ your mower Id be really interested to hear how you like/dislike the center pivot tongue. So, Id appreciate a report back when you have a chance.

My mower sounds a bit diff from yours b/c when its mostly down all the crop will run thru the conditioning rollers. The only other way out is over them and I can see that from the seat.

As for adjustments the manual will explain it all. My mower has a couple conditioner adjustments: roller clearance and tension. I have the clearance set to about 1/16" and the tension is tightest (for grass).

 

[WTA]

I wish I had gotten a manual with mine. It's on order though. Most of the mechanical things that needed fixing were simple, shimming pulleys so chains and belts run true and stuff like that. The guard I was talking about is just the cover on the left side over the pulleys. It's no big deal as long as people stay away from it when it's running. I have to carry my pistol with me when I used it I just figured out too. My dogs are just plain stupid. They are so used to following me everywhere I go on the horse or the tractor so they can get rabbits I scare up.
I'll keep my pistol loaded with plastic bullets and pop them in the butt when they get too close to the swather. I broke them from eating chickens with those things and they get their attention real good without hurting them.

This machine has the normal length fingers on it. I don't thing they will be a problem though on anything I have. Except maybe the alfalfa since I haven't baled it before.
We'll see. I always do all my mowing and baling pretty slow. Horse walking speed is what I'm used to and I go about the same speed with the tractor. When I first learned how to do hay we did it all with horses. I'm harness training mine now just in case fuel gets any more expensive.

 

[WTA]

Well, I just went out and tested it and I despite the problem that came up I did do some good. I cut one row of my bermuda hay and right when I got to the end of the row it started to rain. We really needed that. It's about a quarter inch so far.

Also when I got to the end of the row another big chunk came out of the conditioner roller on the bottom. It had the upper roller jumping up and down and made enough noise to bring my wife out of the house to investigate. Nothing damaged though.

I knew the rollers were messed up when I got it and planned to replace them sometime myself. I have a question about that though. My only experience working on these things is with Geihl brand mower conditioners. At that dealer sometimes we put on new ones and sometimes we had them recovered. I never paid attention to cost on them much but does anyone know how much that would cost to replace them on average? I hope it's not too ugly.

 

[CATMAN]

My dad has a old Hesston 1014 Hydro-swing. (Looks similair to yours) We run it in the hyd. "float" position always. You adjust the skids/little wheel assemblies for your height. That big clump of grass that mentioned may have come from grass that gets drug along at the ends of the sickle (usually on the side that running in the tall uncut grass).

One needs to keep an eye on those ends running up against the uncut areas. If you see it balling up a little, stop, and back up a little with the header down, and the reel will usually feed it inward when you come forward a bit, and you never have to leave the seat of the tractor. Lots of times, this happens because of muddy gohfer mounds that get dirt above the sickle area.​

I'm glad to hear that you have a manual on order, I seem to remember that we had to use a weigh scale at the front bar(each side) then properly adjust the spring tension for the header while the tractor is in the hyd. float position. This is an important adjustment, because you want the sickle/header to mostly float over dirt mounds, rocks, etc. BUT not bounce up and down if you had too much spring tension.

As far as cutting pattern, we usually go totally around the field 4 times, then we drive in straight lines back and forth, and totally swing the mower at each end(slow down). He doesn't bale, he chops everything into Harvestore silos(Blue ones).We do run over those end rows, but lots of times he will try and cut all end rows (4 rounds) on all the fields, and chop them ,before he mows the inner portions. Always depends on the weather​

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Well, I just went out and tested it and I despite the problem that came up I did do some good. I cut one row of my bermuda hay and right when I got to the end of the row it started to rain. We really needed that. It's about a quarter inch so far.

Also when I got to the end of the row another big chunk came out of the conditioner roller on the bottom. It had the upper roller jumping up and down and made enough noise to bring my wife out of the house to investigate. Nothing damaged though.

I knew the rollers were messed up when I got it and planned to replace them sometime myself. I have a question about that though. My only experience working on these things is with Geihl brand mower conditioners. At that dealer sometimes we put on new ones and sometimes we had them recovered. I never paid attention to cost on them much but does anyone know how much that would cost to replace them on average? I hope it's not too ugly.

Well, what is your idea of "too ugly"? I can't recall if the rollers are $1100 each or for both. I am thinking it is each but I can't remember for sure. New bearings from CNH will cost around $50 each and you will want to change them when you do this so there is a couple hundred more.

Go to Messick Equipment - New Holland - Kubota - Case IH - Tractor Parts, Sales & Service and look at the New Holland parts diagrams. You can see what you have, need and what they will cost. Neil's prices are good and they don't rape you so even if you don't buy from them you will get a good idea what it is going to cost.

I had a NH 489 haybine that the rubber was coming off the rolls and it was going to cost more then the machine was worth just to replace the rollers so I opted to buy a Gehl discbine with the laminated rollers (I feel it is a better design). The cutter cost me $8100 but it is so much faster then the haybine and is basically trouble free it was well worth it for me.

 

[WTA]

the top roller is still mostly intact but the rubber is coming off the steel and it's only a matter of time.
The bottom one has about a 3 foot section of rubber missing in the middle.

Thanks for providing that link to messicks. I had forgotten all about them. That price they have listed for rollers should be for both as they were sold as a matched pair on the other brand I worked on. I would assume NH is the same but I'll call and find out. That will be a good project for my kid this summer it looks like.

On a side note, I was just reading a bunch of articles written by university professors on cutting height in alfalfa. They were saying mostly that research has shown a reduced cutting height to be benneficial on all but the last cutting. Down to an inch to 2 inches is most often recommended. If any of you bale alfalfa on your farm can you tell me what you normally do for cutting height. I do think I am going to go down a hole in the skid shoes on this machine. When I cut that one row of bermuda yesterday, it cut perfectly even and it all ran through just fine but it cut it at 4 inches height.

That row I cut is completely underwater now BTW. When the flood water subsides, I'll have my kid suit up against the mosquitoes and go hand toss it into the truck and give it to the goats.

At least I know what to do now when we need some rain in the future.