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Self propelled mower conditioner questions???

J

JOCCO

Well-known Member
Any one use them? years back there were a few around but not many. Seemed like a good idea what is the good and the bad of them. Have seen case and hesston modles.
 
Many acres of alfalfa to cut in this area so self propelled swathers are common. New Holland and Hesston would be most common in this area. A bad thing is higher cost but it is much better looking ahead and down than looking back at a pull type.
 
I run a MacDon 7000, 14' cut. Pete is right- way nicer to watch in front of you than be looking over your shoulder. Being at the center of the cut makes it easier to watch, too. Very little time lost turning at the end of the field - they'll turn in their own length and head back the other way. Couple of things against them are higher price, and having to maintain another engine.
 
Fields have gotten too far apart. It seemed like it took all day to drive our Hesston 6400 2 miles.
Most guys in our area got small patches of hay here and there. Alot easier to chase around with a tractor. Leave tractor and haybine in field, bring baler back with the pickup truck. Move on to the next patch. When my neighbors hay tractor leaves home in June, it usually don't come back till Nov. Just keeps hopping from patch to patch.
 
I cut with a NH 1495 SP haybine and don't think I'll ever to go back to a trailer mower, although I still have one as a backup. Next mower will be a SP disc mower setup.

I can mow all day and really never have to look behind me, which is great for the neck. Get to the field ends and just spin right around like a skid steer. Even though it is a 12' mower I can mow small odd shaped fields much easier than before.
 
I got to run a MacDon in canola until the rain slicked up the field to the point that I couldn't get traction on the hills, so had to quit. Sure seemed a lot more efficient than a tractor and a tow-behind, but need to do a lot of acreage to justify the cost.
 
I had an IH 275. It was 10 foot wide, so the wind rows didn't get too heavy. The conditioner worked great as far as breaking the stems so the hay could dry faster. I had plenty of power. I only had 20 acres in timothyclover mix.
 
Just like anything else they are a tool. My buddy has one that he told me this morning they are passing the 600 acre mark today and the hay season is just starting. I offer to lend him my old reliable Hesston swing tongue when he is broke down but somehow he ain't interested.
 
We run one. Bought it over the winter. Before that it was a pivot tongue. This one cuts faster, and is a little easier on the operator. Both got the job done. Just finishing up first cutting here, and it's averaging 17 acres an hour.

David
DSC00592_zpsd4c18437.jpg
 
I run a 1431 swing tongue discbine. The biggest drawback for me to go to self propelled is price. My 1431 is 3 years old. To go to a self propelled would have cost me 3 to 5 times more. That"s the price of a really nice MFWD tractor.
I had a hard enough time convincing my wife to let me trade the trusty old 499 in on the discbine. I couldn"t afford the alimony, child support and payment on a new self propelled. The 1431 still cost me a night on the couch.

I would love to have the machine WyoDave posted a pic of. If I doubled the acres I run, I would look seriously at that route.

The only problem I have is that I have quite a bit of peat/low ground that is not friendly to the hydraulic turning, front heavy nature of a self propelled. I"d almost have to keep a pull behind and add a self propelled to my line up. That brings me back to the child support and alimony. Not to mention, my hay ground would probably become her hay ground... BW
 
I run a JD 4995 sp and would hate to return to the pull type. it will cut a bunch of acres in a hurry and quite efficiently. I would recommend one to anyone who can get their hands on one. Draw back would be slow road speed but I run ground in a fifteen mile radius and still don't want to be without it.
 
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