Mower conditioner behind 350U

My small time hay operation is getting bigger, and I am looking to upgrade to a mower conditioner. I have two 350U"s and a 300U that are my working tractors. What would be a good match to use behind these tractors? Currently using a couple of sickle bars nd the neighbors drum mower behind his Kubota.
 
My 350 utility is rated at just 30 horsepower. www.external_link

That is OK for a sickle but I don't believe it would run a mower/conditioner.
 
I run a 9' haybine with my 300U in timothy and it handles it OK. Wouldn't want to try it using a smaller tractor.
 
The 350 has more like 40 hp at the PTO. I've run my FIL's 12-ft New Holland mower/conditioner with my 350 row-crop in oats. It gave it a good load and wasn't fast but it worked. A 7- or 9-ft mower/conditioner would be a good match.
 

Dad had a New Idea 9' mower/conditioner and pulled it with a 460 which is only 5 hp more than a 350... had no problem handling it.
 
I ran a 9' haybine for a few years behind my H and this year am going to pull it with a 300 if I can get the 300 to stop breaking down every other minute. The H had plenty of power in 1st gear even going up steep hills, and on the flat or shallow slopes I could easily pull it in 3rd as long as the sickle didn't plug.
Zach
 
You should be just fine with a 9 or 9.5ft haybine/mower conditioner. We have used a New Holland 469 9ft haybine behind a John Deere 1010 for 16 years or so. If you are in really heavy alfalfa you might need a little more power but you could make do. The 1010 is rated for 36hp or so.
 
external_link is wrong, I can't find the 350 specs, but the 300 develops 39 drawbar/43 PTO with less cu. in.
 
we use a 9foot three blade bush hog style mwer behind a 350U in weeds taller than the radiator and thick enough to lay 8 inches deep behind the mower in second direct and it is fine. Jim
 
Of course crop type and crop yield are a factor. I would think your 350's and 300's would handle 9' sickle cutter with built in crimper (aka haybine or mower conditioner) in most crops and most average yield conditions. If your fields are super dense with super high yields then you could drop down to 7'. (If you have lots of narrow gates to go through then the 7' is also a better choice. Otherwise, I prefer the 9' as they are more plentiful in finding used parts and you will cover more acres faster when mowing and most claim the 9' does not pull much harder than a 7' so you are indirectly more fuel efficient too with with the 9').

FWIW: I have a Hesston 1120 mower conditioner that is 9' cut. I have ran it with a 1950 John Deere model A and a 1951 Farmall h. Either of these tractors is less hp than yours. My owners manual recommends 30 hp as minimum PTO requirement for it. My h is a bit shy of that but it did all my cutting in 3rd gear.

As you already know from using a plain ole sickle cutter, there is a such thing as going too slow and of course too fast with them. While a plain sickle will clog if you go too slow, the haybine reel does help with going slower if absolutely have too because the reel will help clear the sickle and prevent clogging. That all said I always try to keep my speed between 3.0 and 5.0 mph for best cutting with any sickle type cutter.
 
I pulled it a 9 foot JD haybine with a 400, not a problem. Grandpa used the 300 on our 489 NH a few times when nothing else was handy. I would imagine that roading it up and down hills would be more of a concern with the 300 than anything in the field.
 
I pull a 9' 1090 Hesston mo-co with dads H. Handles it just fine, but its a bit more stout than most H's! Can mow in 2nd or 3rd all day, depending on conditions. Live power would sure be nice though. Would think your 300 or 350 would do just fine.
 

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