Disc mower for rushes

kfk

Hi,
I am going to buy either a disc mower or a drum mower in the next few days. It will be used mainly for topping but I will be cutting about 15 acres per year for hay (optimistic) or silage. I was quoted €4,300 for a fransgard 7 foot disc mower. Would a disc mower be capable of cutting heavy rushes? Which are more reliable, disc or drum? Thanks

hoseman

How many acres in total will you be cutting?Is it 15 acres in total? I would go with a drum mower,I think it can take more abuse then the disc and less complicated set up.I use a drum mower for cutting meadows and topping .Is it worth spending that money to cut that acreage,what about second hand.

kfk

The 15 acres is not including topping which would probably add over 100 acres. I had a drum mower but it is showing its age now, bearings gone, rust etc. I am going to look at a malone and a fort disc mower tomorrow. Which would be best out of malone, fort and fransgard? Do the blades on disc mowers need changing regularly? I was happy with the drum mower but have heard that disc mowers are better overall? Is that a fair statement? Thanks

Dampintheattic

kfk wrote: »

The 15 acres is not including topping which would probably add over 100 acres. I had a drum mower but it is showing its age now, bearings gone, rust etc. I am going to look at a malone and a fort disc mower tomorrow. Which would be best out of malone, fort and fransgard? Do the blades on disc mowers need changing regularly? I was happy with the drum mower but have heard that disc mowers are better overall? Is that a fair statement? Thanks

I read a few different discussions on BFF, about the pros and cons of using a disc mower for topping.
Seems to me, lots of fellas were not in favour, as they figured that disc mowers run quite hot, if not submerged in a decent density of crop, which they reckoned helped keep the mower cool!

Maybe that's bull, but thought I'd throw it in there for you to think about, as you are doing more topping than cutting.

Then again, there is a few zealots on here who will be along presently to tell you stop topping. Cut and bale more grass. Keep the tatty mower for doing your 15 acres of cutting. Keep the €4k in your pocket. Make more profit.
Now rain or no rain, I have to ring my contractor, to come and cut two acres of strong grass, for baling! -;)

kfk

The bottom saucer on my drum mower snapped off and the other saucer is not in good shape either. Im not really inclined to spend too much to have it fixed. I cant make my mind up between drum and disc. The more I read, the more indecisive I am becoming. Got a quote for a Mesco drum mower, €2,400. That is almost 2k cheaper than the Fransgard disc mower. Confused!

Manoffeeling

Is a drum mower suitable for topping?

kfk

Manoffeeling wrote: »

Is a drum mower suitable for topping?

I used it for topping but I had to tilt it back a bit on the saucers so it wouldnt cut very low which I imagine didnt do the bearings any favours!

arctictree

Does a mower not leave long swards of cut grass?

Dampintheattic

kfk wrote: »

I used it for topping but I had to tilt it back a bit on the saucers so it wouldnt cut very low which I imagine didnt do the bearings any favours!

I thought if you tilted a drum mower, in any direction, either backwards or forwards, you lower the depth of the cut. By tilting back, the flails should come in contact again with standing crop!

In my mind, level mower is highest depth of cut.
Tilt forward if you want to lower the depth.
Tilting backwards, causes two cutting actions!

TUBBY

kfk wrote: »

The bottom saucer on my drum mower snapped off and the other saucer is not in good shape either. Im not really inclined to spend too much to have it fixed. I cant make my mind up between drum and disc. The more I read, the more indecisive I am becoming. Got a quote for a Mesco drum mower, €2,400. That is almost 2k cheaper than the Fransgard disc mower. Confused!

Steer well clear of mesco kfk, there is a reason they cheaper. Piles of dirt imo. Couple were bought beside me here.looks the part but...The two lads would be good mechanically that bought them. both are stopping gaps now.

kfk

arctictree wrote: »

Does a mower not leave long swards of cut grass?

Not really. The grass being mowed would be short enough so what swards of grass it would leave would be light.

kfk

Dampintheattic wrote: »

I thought if you tilted a drum mower, in any direction, either backwards or forwards, you lower the depth of the cut. By tilting back, the flails should come in contact again with standing crop!

In my mind, level mower is highest depth of cut.
Tilt forward if you want to lower the depth.
Tilting backwards, causes two cutting actions!

Im guessing that because the grass is short and it tops with blades at the front of the saucer first, then grass is flattened under the saucer, the back of the saucer doesnt have much of a chance to cut any more, especially travelling at decent pace iykwim. I found that level cuts very even, tilted forward will cut very short and uneven whereas tilted backwards will cut higher and tear the grass a bit more.

kfk

TUBBY wrote: »

Steer well clear of mesco kfk, there is a reason they cheaper. Piles of dirt imo. Couple were bought beside me here.looks the part but...The two lads would be good mechanically that bought them. both are stopping gaps now.

Thanks. I see a lot of makes now that I have never heard of before. Looked at a BMC fertilizer spreader recently. 8 bag was costing €1600 and 12 bag €1880. Need a fert spreader as cavallo one I have broke. Anyone heard of these. Both had hydraulic cut off.

case956tom

a neighbour of mine has a 5'6" vicon disc mower uses it for topping mowing, cuts rushes no probs he often cut fence posts by mistake has it over 30 years only needed a bearing last year

reilig

case956tom wrote: »

a neighbour of mine has a 5'6" vicon disc mower uses it for topping mowing, cuts rushes no probs he often cut fence posts by mistake has it over 30 years only needed a bearing last year

+1

Modern drum mowers have an average life of approximately 5000 acres.
Disc Mowers have an average life of over 50,000 acres.
Buy a good make - even if it has to be second hand.

kfk

reilig wrote: »

+1

Modern drum mowers have an average life of approximately 5000 acres.
Disc Mowers have an average life of over 50,000 acres.
Buy a good make - even if it has to be second hand.

Looked at a 7ft Malone today, new was €5300. Looked like a well built strong mower. Also saw a 8ft Lely Splendimo, 2 years old for €5000. Fella selling the lely said the bed was far better than what the malone had to offer. Is that right? I dont usually take the salesman at his word!

Dampintheattic

kfk wrote: »

Looked at a 7ft Malone today, new was €5300. Looked like a well built strong mower. Also saw a 8ft Lely Splendimo, 2 years old for €5000. Fella selling the lely said the bed was far better than what the malone had to offer. Is that right? I dont usually take the salesman at his word!

If reilig's life expectance of 50,000 acres for a disc mower is correct, you will get a meagre 435 years service out of one, based on your usage:eek:
Will you keep it for the full 435 years, or will you trade in again around the 250 year mark:cool:

case956tom

kfk wrote: »

Looked at a 7ft Malone today, new was €5300. Looked like a well built strong mower. Also saw a 8ft Lely Splendimo, 2 years old for €5000. Fella selling the lely said the bed was far better than what the malone had to offer. Is that right? I dont usually take the salesman at his word!

lely bed is shaft driven theres less gears than other disc mowers lely would be easier to drive too, have a 7ft lely splendimo myself good mower,malone price isn't too bad I priced a 7ft Kuhn in 07 was costing€5000 price was to rise shortly after to €5300, my lely was €4500 I don't whats in the Kuhn to make it dearer,the Malone has a comer bed, looks to be a well built mower

kfk

case956tom wrote: »

lely bed is shaft driven theres less gears than other disc mowers lely would be easier to drive too, have a 7ft lely splendimo myself good mower,malone price isn't too bad I priced a 7ft Kuhn in 07 was costing€5000 price was to rise shortly after to €5300, my lely was €4500 I don't whats in the Kuhn to make it dearer,the Malone has a comer bed, looks to be a well built mower

Prices I have so far are

Fransgard 7ft new €4300

Malone 7ft new €5300

Major 7ft new €5000

Galfre 7ft new €4750

Lely Splendimo 8ft 2yo €5000

Out of that lot, all disc mowers, which would be the best buy? Do any of those have any big flaws? The second hand Lely looks to be in very good condition. Could probably bring those prices down a bit except for the Fransgard. Will have a look at Kuhn before I purchase anything.

audam

The lely cutter bar would not be as strong as the comer. If i were you i would try to stick to deere, kuhn, pottinger, krone etc.

Damo810

If it's just getting used mainly as a topper, why not just buy a topper? A get a contractor to cut the meadow? Be half the price, give you a better cut and is twice as strong.

It'll be a long time cutting meadow to make 5K pay off.

case956tom

it would be between the lely and the Malone,the Malone looks well built its new compared to the lely and only a bit dearer,blades will be easier to change on the lely if it has the clip,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8RUoZ2ZtRY.any of the Kuhn mounted mowers I used when you have to raise the bed you had to fold the front of the cover back as the cover used to hit the back wheels of the tractor,when the bed was up you had to get out of the tractor to secure the latch for the bed maybe that has been changed now,the lely latch just clicks in place when you lift the bed.

Farmer

I think I'm with Damo on the topper, unless you have heavy rushes In this case, as others have pointed out, the disk isn't ideal either.

I use a secondhand disk mower for meadow but generally wouldn't consider running it through some of the rougher pastures - poached fields, stones that mysteriously land up to 15 foot away from the ditch (I think the cattle carry them out at night), clumps of rushes, blackthorns etc. And that's a €1500 machine, not the new €4k+ one.

A topper shreds stuff up much better which then rots into the ground faster (usual precautions apply for ragwort)

However, if the 100 acres are clean, then the disk may be an option.

kfk

Saw a Vicon 7ft today for €6000. Had 3 blades per disc. Also looked at a Claas 8ft for €8000, a Kverneland 7ft for €5500 and a Kuhn €????. Came across another Lely Splendimo 8ft for €4500. Im fed up looking at them now. Think I have narrowed it down to the 2yo lely I saw today and the new Malone. I have read good and bad about the Lely and also the Malone. I purchased a Vicon wagtail spreader also today €2900. They look to be very strong. It was a good bit more expensive than most of the other spreaders I saw but it is one of the most used implements I have so think it is worth it. The next milk cheque better be a good one or I'm skipping the country!

kfk

Farmer wrote: »

I think I'm with Damo on the topper, unless you have heavy rushes In this case, as others have pointed out, the disk isn't ideal either.

I use a secondhand disk mower for meadow but generally wouldn't consider running it through some of the rougher pastures - poached fields, stones that mysteriously land up to 15 foot away from the ditch (I think the cattle carry them out at night), clumps of rushes, blackthorns etc. And that's a €1500 machine, not the new €4k+ one.

A topper shreds stuff up much better which then rots into the ground faster (usual precautions apply for ragwort)

However, if the 100 acres are clean, then the disk may be an option.

I have a few poached fields which Im in the process of reseeding. Other than that, most of the land is clean enough. I had a topper before but when the belt broke, I used the drum mower for topping and thought the results were better than using the topper. Might be my imagination but I thought the topper would tear the grass even when the blades were sharpened?

RaggyDays

The new Lely mower has a modular bed which makes them very easy to repair unlike the rest which if you damage the bed then its as good as game over for the mower (well cost wise anyway)

As for cutting rushes, an 8ft mower is going to be unsuitable as more than likely if theres rushes then the ground is soft and uneven.
Ive seen plenty good disc mowers 5'6 or 6'6 for around the 2k mark on donedeal which are ideal for rushes

audam

If you see a vicon mower turn around and run away very fast.

jomoloney

audam wrote: »

If you see a vicon mower turn around and run away very fast.

I wouldn't , not after the service ours has given, if I was buying in the morning I'd consider one again ,

Dunedin

Damo810 wrote: »

If it's just getting used mainly as a topper, why not just buy a topper? A get a contractor to cut the meadow? Be half the price, give you a better cut and is twice as strong.

It'll be a long time cutting meadow to make 5K pay off.

a disk mower cuts the grass cleaner as it has a higher speed than a topper which is operating on a larger blade.

The topper (with the larger blade) will cause a little more damage to the root of the grass thus leaving a slower re-growth from the topper than with a disk mower.

Muckit

Dunedin wrote: »

The topper (with the larger blade) will cause a little more damage to the root of the grass thus leaving a slower re-growth from the topper than with a disk mower.

Ahhhhh..... go look how a cow eats grass and get back to me. I must post some photos and tell me that a topper does a crap job of ....erm.... topping

Dunedin

Muckit wrote: »

Ahhhhh..... go look how a cow eats grass and get back to me. I must post some photos and tell me that a topper does a crap job of ....erm.... topping

it's very hard, almost impossible to train a cow to graze the way you want. :D

not saying that a Topper does a bad job but just that the disk mower is not as hard on the grass therefore a quicker re-growth.

thenashlegend

IMO a topper isn't a great option, we have a Major 6ft heavy duty unit. It's a strong piece of kit but as with all toppers you tramp over the stuff you want to cut, leaving bits of grass, rushes and dock growing again in no time. A neighbour bought a second hand 7ft disc mower and it makes a much better job of any pasture. Provided you fertilise the ground well, it comes back with leafy green grass in no time.

If I had the choice I'd spend the price of a new topper on a second hand mower!

Dunedin

thenashlegend wrote: »

IMO a topper isn't a great option, we have a Major 6ft heavy duty unit. It's a strong piece of kit but as with all toppers you tramp over the stuff you want to cut, leaving bits of grass, rushes and dock growing again in no time. A neighbour bought a second hand 7ft disc mower and it makes a much better job of any pasture. Provided you fertilise the ground well, it comes back with leafy green grass in no time.

If I had the choice I'd spend the price of a new topper on a second hand mower!

ssssshh, don't say it too loud in case you upset Muckit...":D:D

Muckit

Is there a mower that cuts right behind the tractor? Let's compare like with like please folks, ie an offset topper vs an offset mower

Damo810

Muckit wrote: »

Is there a mower that cuts right behind the tractor? Let's compare like with like please folks, ie an offset topper vs an offset mower

And no matter what way you go, you'll be cheaper with a topper and it'll last twice as long and be half the price when it comes to parts. But as always different people will have preferences.

I think your mad spending 5K for 15 acres of meadow and some topping...

Marooned75

A topper is the way to go for that amount of work,

Dampintheattic

Marooned75 wrote: »

A topper is the way to go for that amount of work,

Tidy looking disc mower for not a lot of money. I'd be looking at this, instead of a topper any day of the week. http://www.donedeal.ie/mowers-for-sale/tarup-204-disk-mower/5239244

Figerty

Damo810 wrote: »

And no matter what way you go, you'll be cheaper with a topper and it'll last twice as long and be half the price when it comes to parts. But as always different people will have preferences.

I think your mad spending 5K for 15 acres of meadow and some topping...

I bought one a few years ago for this. Talked to the accountant first. Made sense buy new, depreciate it off and have it for 40 years.. like the finger bar mower I still have inherited from the father.

A topper is a brute of a yoke on the tractor, especially on rushes. Big bar whacking of butts of rushes puts an awful strain on the tractor. The impact has to go somewhere. Add to that you are dragging it after you.

Robson99

I think it depends what your into. If you cut your own meadow as well then it is a no brainer. A disc mower will be your best option. Have a Malone mower and have to say it is very good for mowing and topping. I think you would be better off to put a few pound with the price you would pay for an offset topper and get a disc. Semi offset toppers should be banned from farms imo as you would be better off with a scythe. If its for topping only maybe and rushes maybe a cheap 2nd hand disc

thenashlegend

A second hand mower is probably the best idea for the amount of work. A new Major topper was €1400 if I recall correctly, looking at that link that was posted, its a no brainer as to what you would buy.

nashmach

Figerty wrote: »

I bought one a few years ago for this. Talked to the accountant first. Made sense buy new, depreciate it off and have it for 40 years.. like the finger bar mower I still have inherited from the father.

A topper is a brute of a yoke on the tractor, especially on rushes. Big bar whacking of butts of rushes puts an awful strain on the tractor. The impact has to go somewhere. Add to that you are dragging it after you.

You won't have much a topper left after 40 years!!

Figerty

Which is why I bought a disc mower...

Muckit

Dampintheattic wrote: »

Tidy looking disc mower for not a lot of money. I'd be looking at this, instead of a topper any day of the week. http://www.donedeal.ie/mowers-for-sale/tarup-204-disk-mower/5239244[/QUOTE]

Does 'tidy' mean a painted up heap of ****?

Dampintheattic

Muckit wrote: »

Dampintheattic wrote: »

Tidy looking disc mower for not a lot of money. I'd be looking at this, instead of a topper any day of the week. http://www.donedeal.ie/mowers-for-sale/tarup-204-disk-mower/5239244[/QUOTE]

Does 'tidy' mean a painted up heap of ****?

It just caught my eye when browsing Donedeal. I would never buy a used machine which had been painted. If it is painted up, then just leave it where it is. If not painted it looks interesting.

kevthegaff

i have a trailed 9 ft conor its safer for me on higher ground. the only thing about trailed toppers is u leave where the tramlines arent cut as well