ih 100 trailer type sickle mower speed

carvel minne farmer

Well-known Member
good evening all, I have a question in regard to the speed of the sickle bar (strokes per min) on a ih 100 vs nh or others running at 540 pto speed. I have seen comments here to run them at slightly slower speed say 500 pto speed? looking at the size difference of the pulley on the pto shaft and the pulley on the head box my guess is the sickle bar speed would be close to 1000. rpm/strokes per min?
 
Because all the knives cut the next bunch of entering stems, the bar needs all the momentum it can get. I have seen the mower
struggle if throttled back. I run them wide open and let is have all the inertia it can muster. On very light hay, no issue.
Jim
 
(quoted from post at 18:59:45 11/09/17) Because all the knives cut the next bunch of entering stems, the bar needs all the momentum it can get. I have seen the mower
struggle if throttled back. I run them wide open and let is have all the inertia it can muster. On very light hay, no issue.
Jim
jim a hay crop consisting of 60% plus alfalfa and 20 to 40% timothy, my case 310b (approx. 25 to 30 hp) and no live pto and hilly field it is struggling, I have recently acquired a mm m5 approx. 60 hp. depending on who's numbers your looking at, live pto, with more than enough torque to run an ih 100 sickle mower. my struggle this year was due to rain delays the first cut was as tall as the top of the hood on the 310b and thick and heavy, the second cut was lighter and went a lot better.
 
If your sickle sections are sharp and your
ledger plates are good you should be able to
run it as fast or slow as you want,
depending on your rate if forward travel.
 
Making sure you have good sharp blades and good ledger plates, is very important. The next thing is the cutter bar timed correctly. That is at the end of the stroke, is the knife point directly in line with the point of the guard. The only way that could get off is if a new pitman stick was not measured correctly. Another thing is and I'm old enough to know is forward motion about the same pace as the horses used to travel. This is important not to go too slow or fast
 
Only mowed with a wore out Oliver sickle mower a couple years. Ran wide open, 5 mph with '39 Farmall H,
used the Super M-TA once, wide open in 4th, 6-1/2 mph. Used Stage II Super H same thing, wide open 4th gear
6-1/2 mph. Plenty of power even with the '39 H. Was always good standing alfalfa hay.

No pitman arm on an IH Pitman-less mower. uses wobble box like a new combine.
 
good morning mtman, my case t-10 sickle mower is a pitman stick mower and with new sections, guards, and hold downs it do's ok, after a few lessons from an old time sickle mower driver this years cutting went pretty good with minimum stops for plugs. the reasons I'm looking at an ih-100 sickle mower is it a belt drive with wobble box not a pitman drive, and from the research i've done on this and other forums everyone says they where the best of the trailer type sickle mowers both the 100 and the 1100 series. the other main reason for buying the ih-100 is to use it for my main mower and have the t-10 as backup so if I have a problem with the 100 I can run back to the yard switch out and be back mowing again. as my dad used to say it's better to be looking at it than for it :wink:
 
on hill side ground, i have to run faster down hill than up. if i go too slow, the grass falls in front of the sickle bar and chokes the mower.

i never ran wide open throttle, while mowing. or doing anything else
 

I have mowed a LOT of hay with a Farmall H and John Deere #5 sickle bar mower. Wide open in 4th gear is standard operating procedure.
 
(quoted from post at 10:30:22 11/10/17) on hill side ground, i have to run faster down hill than up. if i go too slow, the grass falls in front of the sickle bar and chokes the mower.

i never ran wide open throttle, while mowing. or doing anything else
I'm with you on that one khouse6 I usually run about 3/4 throttle, if your sections and guards are sharp and the mower is set up right you should be able to run in the 500 to 540 range no problem, with the 10 speed tranny in the m5 I should be able to get my ground speed set so the hay is falling back behind the knife bar and as you said a little quicker on the downhill. it has been my experience running with a wide open throttle and as high a gear as you can will usually just get you into trouble quicker with a lot higher repair bill.
 
If you are looking for one this one appears to be going cheap:

https://www.purplewave.com/auction/171115/item/DC4758


But there is a few days left on it yet. If it were closer I'd be all over it.
 
Is it a balance head mower (no pitman)? On some balance head mowers (MF #41, etc.) you could shim the width of the driven pulley to change the ratio of the belt drive.
 
it is a dyna balance mower belt drive with a wobble box type sickle drive, I'm going today to barrhead about an hour north of me to pic up a ih-100 parts machine, and on Monday if everything go's right i'll be going to kindersly sask. about 6 hour drive southeast to pic up another ih-100 in real nice shape (always stored inside) looking forward to seeing how they cut compared to my case t-10 pitman drive.
 
Mowers of this type typically operate at more strokes per minute than older pitman mowers, and you will be amazed at the difference in performance over a pitman-type.

I don't know WHY you'd want to slow down the PTO RPM unless cutting really light material, or choosing to mow slow.

If you are out to get the job done, rev 'er up, shift up, and cut hay!

That's what those mowers are made for!
 
bob that is the reason I went looking for a belt drive dyna balance mower, reading here on the forum and talking to local farmers everyone has said they will outperform a pitman type the difference is night and day! went up to north of barrhead today to pic up the parts machine and other than looking rough from 50 years of sitting outside it looks really straight, nothing broke bent or busted. missing the hyd. ram, needs tires, and apperantly will only rotate about 60 degrees before it locks up? looking down the length of the cutter bar the guards are all over the place! so I'm thinking just a jammed up knife? I hope will post some pics later john
 
a couple of pics of the parts ih-100
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Must of been the early 60s we had a new balanced head side mount mower on a Farmall M with a new conditioner on the back. That was a mowing machine, I did most of the mowing and don't remember what gear I used but it knocked down hay in a hurry and was pretty trouble free from what I remember.
 
Despite what anyone tries to tell you there is no one set formula for stuff like this. You need to develop a feel for it, and run based on the equipment and conditions.

It took me a while, and several mower pluggings, to find the sweet spot where my sickle mower liked to be run. That wasn't wide open, by the way. It was a pitman mower, and at wide open throttle it just clattered too much for my liking. Backed off one notch on the throttle and it ran quiet and smooth.

If things aren't going smoothly try varying the throttle to see if a slightly different engine speed smooths things out. For all we know you may be able to go wide open, or you may not.
 
B.E. that has been exactly my experience with my t-10 pitman sickle mower, it took me last year and this year to get it dialed in after new sections, guards, and hold downs, and some lessons from my brother in law who spent many hours on one as his summer job at his uncle's farm things went well this year. I will be going through this ih-100 new sections guards hold downs etc and I'm pretty sure it will be another learning curve to get the right gear, throttle setting and feel for the machine. looking forward to doing a comparison of pitman arm to belt drive.
 
got home last night with the 2cnd. ih-100 sickle mower from kindersly sask. long trip 550 kilometers each way but sure worth it. this one has been stored inside it's entire life except when working. brian the owner had it hooked up to his kabota tractor when I got there test ran it for me and it is sure smooth and quiet compared to my case t-10 pitman style! it needs a little tlc to get it ready sections, guards, hold downs, new u-joints. still has the original tires it came with in 1967! looking forward to cutting with it this coming summer. some pics of it.
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6288.jpg
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6291.jpg
 

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