Rotary scythe?

New Idea model 272 was sold under the name of cutditioner. Basically it is a heavy duty flail type mower where the flails sorta condition the hay as it also minces it into little pieces. Definitely not the best choice for leafy type hay where leaf loss will be high, but many people like them okay for grassy type hays.

The cutditioner is typically noted as a horsepower hog - or in other words takes lots of tractor hp to run them compared to other type cutters.

Lots of reading in the archives of this site. Some people love em and some people hate em.
 
I don't want to be "that guy",but they didn't chop the hay in to little pieces. I used a 270 to cut all of my hay for 13 years. Alfalfa and alfalfa grass mix. They kinked the stem to speed drying. Did a good job as long as the paddles were sharp,but they were hard to keep that way. Cut ragged most of the time because of it.
The 272 was a 7 foot cut. Best to have 50 horses or more on the front of it in good alfalfa.
 
No offense taken on my part for being "that guy". Real world experience like yours is always much better than an opinion.

When I first started my masochistic hobby hay operation a few years ago, I at first thought a cutditioner sounded like the ideal tool for my low budget operation. However the more that I read about them the more that I became convinced that they were not for me. I have zero regrets for not going that route and this coming from a person who started cutting with a bushog so my standards were none too high to say the least. My decision was based on many people opinions some of which may have been wrong.

Of course I made the same decision to go with a Hesston 1120 as my cutter based on some peoples strong positive opinions of Hesston. Of course there were naysayers who always said anything Hesston was junk. Regardless I also used my own eyes to evaluate the full merits of the implement I was considering and used my own eyes that to make the final tiebreaker decision. No regrets for this decision.
 
Thanks for the replies, I've never seen one before. What would one be worth in field ready condition at auction?
 
Way back in the 1960's Howards made a similar thing called the "Haytimer". It was not in production very long and I know why! We had one for about 2 seasons before we traded it in for a Fahr drum mower. Believe me, cutting hay with a flail mower is NOT a good idea, especially if it rains after the hay was cut. I seem to remember my dad calling it "The hay destroyer".
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Good choice. I bought an 1120 new in 1994. It's still as quiet as it was the day I brought it home.
 
They're gaining value again as the popularity of baling corn stalks increases. I was looking for one a few years ago and couldn't find one at any price. I finally paid $600 for an actual M-C Rotary Scythe,a 7 footer,same as that 272 Cutditioner. The 272 was a belt drive and a better machine in my humble opinion. I'd say $500-750 around here. Might be different where you live.
 
I use a 272 CudDitioner for all my hay making, I have two. The
negatives are that it leaves a rougher cut, and also used a LOT of
power.
That being said, it is a very simple machine, and after multiple
years of fighting with sickle bar style mower conditioners, the
reliability of the Cutditioner was very nice. It basically has one
belt, no chains...keep the blades sharp and it does the job. I
haven't noticed any real difference in the condition of the hay as
a finished product, but I'm only doing grass hay, no alfalfa.
All in all, I am very happy with the machine..otherwise I wouldn't
have bought another!
 
we have used both cutditioner and rotary scythe the 9 ft rotary we used behind a case 930 which seamed to be enough horsepower. We felt that with the stems left on the plant we where losing 5 to 10 percent in the field. 2 years ago we switched to a 9' sickle haybine that we can cuts much cleaner and seems to come back quicker although I do beleive the drying time is longer.
 

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