Haybine Math

Bill VA

Well-known Member
Cut a little jag of hay yesterday with the Hesston 1110. This is Timothy that I drilled in one direction and then drilled again 90 degrees to it. The stand is very thick. So far I've been able to cut in 3rd gear which is 3.6 mph. Still using the sickle sections and guards that came on the mower as I see what we've got, but they are far from new condition.

The hay was thick enough that I had a plug. Not a plug in the rollers or knife clogged, but a wad of hay was big enough that it got mashed between the reel and the back of the machine as it sweeps the grass up into the rollers. Cleared out - no problem. Went down a gear to 2nd gear which is 2.8 mph. The machine cut beautifully - no more problems.

I've been pondering a 9 ft haybine for one reason - to get finished quicker as time is limited with a day job.

7 vs 9 ft cut and for me 2.8 mph, 2nd gear and 3.6, 3rd gear.

If I go 3.6 mph with a 7 ft cut, if I maintain the same speed with a 9 ft cut, it would the same as driving 4.63 mph with a 7 ft-er.

If I go 2.8 mph with a 7ft cut, if I maintain the same speed with a 9 ft cut, it would be the same as driving 3.6 mph with a 7 ft-er.

So when I geared down yesterday, had been using a 9 ft haybine, I'd have still made good time as compared to a 7ft.

TMI.....

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!!!!!

Bill
 
Around here a 7ft Janine is worth scrap price for the reason you calculated. They are just too slow when conditions are less than optimal. When I relied solely on one sickle machine I went to a 14ft so that in bad conditions I still had the efficiency of atleast a nine footer.
 
I cut 3rd gear always on the farmall M with the Hesston 1120 which is 4.3 mph. I could go faster I do believe but I run without a cylinder so no way to raise or easily slow down for the corners. 4.3 mph is as fast as I want to go on a 90 degree turn and is perfect.

Now I have used my Farmall h sometimes it will do 3rd gear (4.3 mph) in lighter hay and even heavier if the cutting conditions are optimum. That said the ole h is happiest in 2nd gear (3.5) due to lack of tractor hp. I have even cut in the rain before with the ole h and did not have to go below 2nd gear (3.5 mph).

I have a hodgepodge of 5 different guard types, but relatively new sections. I replace a few sections each hay cutting with hay sales proceeds (shoe string operation for me).

I would say your cutting bar needs some attention if you struggling with 3 to 3.5 mph travel speeds.

I choose 9 foot for reasons you pointed out as they are more common so used parts more plentiful, require no more horsepower to run, save time, and in a way make the old dinosaur tractors I use more fuel efficient. Burn same amount of fuel running either one so might as well have 9' cut.
 
sounds like its time to get a disc mower of some sort,,,if time is that improtant,,you will easily mow faster thatn you ever could with a 9ft mower
 
Actually the nine foot will be faster than just the mathematical ratio because the nine foot can turn as fast as the seven foot machine and the nine will be cutting while the seven is turning. My nephew taught this as he is an engineer and uses his twelve row planter to plant the point rows while his hired driver runs the six row.
 
If you really want to save time get a discbine.Makes cutting hay a breeze cause you"ll feel it on your face traveling at warp speed.LOL
 
That disk bine will not cut anymore per hour when you have to travel at same speeds because of ground conditions and even if you could travel faster without needing bigger tractor you do not want to be turning on a downhill slope too fast and roll the tractor. And then for the extra width of a 9' over a 7' getting down a road to field or having to go around the other was several miles because you could not get across a bridge you loose all you gain with the wider cut. And you might just be able to meet and pass oncomming traffic on a narrow road instead of one of you having to back up a mile to where you can pass. You guys out in the big wide open space do not have to think about things but I know roads here in Ohio that pavement is probably not even 14' wide with a bank on one side with big drop on other and road lined with trees on both sides. Luckey for 2 cars to pass.
 
I pull a 10 foot discbine down the road behind pickup without any width issues...trails directly behind truck or tractor.In heavy hay cuts much faster than a cycle machine,I have both so I know.You gotta have the horsepower with a discbine though.I've cut small fields(less than 2 acres) with discbine and IH 686 and it works great.
 
Is that total width of machine or just width of cut? My unit was a Heston muilt Case and was 9' cut but needed a 14' door to get it in. So would need a 14'+ road lane to get down, a 7' unit could have gotten down a 12' lane, when you only have a 10' lane it is a lot easier to find a place to be able to pull off the side of the road than with a 2' wider implement. The one road I know of it looks to me like if they would want to move something over 10' wide they would have to send a vehical down both ways to block off the road so there could be no one comming at you before you pulled the implement onto the road. I would not like to live in that area but there are plenty of places like that around. So figuring all factors a smaller unit that you can easly transport will get you more done in same time as something you have trouble transporting.
 
All good provided you don't have to go through many gates. I'd have had to rebuild every gate on the place if I had a 9 foot 'bine instead of the 7 footer I got.
 
Bill I run a NH 488-9' cut. I have 1 field for the neighbor that I can't get the 488 into because of a limestone cliff on 1 side of the lane and a crick on the other side. I have a 7 ' 3 point mower for that field. Boy is it slow and time consuming to use it. I am going to see if he will let me work it up and seed it to pollinator stuff this fall.
 
Pretty sure with our 14' Hesston hydra swing, it's only about 15 1/2 - 16' wide total, so not much worse for the wear. Our other machine is a new idea 290 (9' cut) and I think it might be around 12-13 ft wide. Both have their jobs and a purpose.

Donovan from Wisconsin
 

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