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KEH
04-26-2005 16:47:34
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Re: looking at disc mowers in reply to john in ohio, 04-25-2005 16:20:39
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John, I have used disc mowers for several years and broke one knife. Replacing knives was a weekly job with sickle bar mowers. The biggest improvement, however, was that the disc mower will cut so much faster. I have used a Vicon CM240 and CM2400. Vicons use a 3 knife cutter head and supposedly this make it cut cleaner than one with 2 knives, but I couldn't tell the difference when I used a 2 knife one. The Vicon has an oil filled gear drive bar. If you put in too much oil, there may be blown seals. I worked on a Kuhn disc MoCo that was filled with oil and the cutter bar was ruined. New cutter bar, $2500. However, the oil filled cutter bars require less maintenance since the oil lubricates the bearings and gears, EXCEPT my CM2400 has one sealed bearing at the top of the gear stack. Oil in cutter bar and gear box should be changed once a season IMO. You mentioned 9 foot ones, the Vicon 9 ft. one has a different system of attaching the gearbox than the 8 ft. I use. I have worked on Kuhns and consider them to be the best of the gear drive types. They have a parking system that does not require a seperate jackstand. They have a automatic latch system for holding the blade up in transport position. They are heavier than other mowers and you have to have a large enough tractor to handle the weight. A relative has used and rebuilt a Lely. (According to my Vermeer dealer, Vermeer has bought out Lely mowers and will make them in Iowa). The Lely(and Vermeer) is a shaft drive mower, having a long piece of square key stock driving the individual cutter heads. Proper maintenance involves taking the top of the cutterhead off and putting special grease around the bevel gears. The bearings are sealed. The cutter bar is held together by a long bolt which causes the cutter heads to bind up if it gets bent. Repairs are simpler on a shaft drive, but still time consuming. The Lely also has a mechanical trip method of locking the bar up. Krone mowers are gear drive, but the cutter bar is a hollow tube instead of a clamshell arrangement. In case of repairs, the gears are fished out one end. It also stands up automatically when parked. It does not have belts, but has 2 gear boxes connected by a drive shaft. The New Holland is a shaft drive mower, but has a system of short shafts which mesh with each other. Each cutterhead has its own oil supply, complete with dipstick. The bar is held together with short bolts in each segment. Transport lock is automatic mechanical type, I think. Never operated one, but they look good. New Idea, Hesston, and Massey Fergueson are all the same mower. They are shaft drive, but I don't know much about them, except I have never had a poorly made Hesston piece of equipment. These 3, plus Krone, use a valve at the end of the hyd. cylinder to lock the blade in transport. I don't like this system since it depends on the o rings in the cylinder to hold. Buying used disc mowers is risky. I know this from experience, since I had to put a new gear box on my Vicon. Cost, $900+. I would rather have a cheaper make of mower than a used premium brand. By the way, I recently saw a new John Deere which was a Kuhn with green paint. Good luck. KEH
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