Krone Disc mower Problem. All advice/opinions welcome.

selectamatic

Have a neighbor who is having trouble with his disc mower it's a belt driven krone AM166 and he powers it with a 135 usually in 3rd low with a good rev on. The last few years the mower has started to knot grass around the discs when mowing meadow. It's fine when topping rushes. The grass knots up quickly usually within one round of the field and it starts to knot on the outer and inner disc's first but will eventually knot around all of them. The mowers bed is sound and any wear and tear seems minimal it's a machine that hasn't seen much abuse either. My first thought was perhaps not driving fast enough while mowing however 3rd low sounds about right with a 135. I've no experience with disc mowers we've always used a bamford drum mower that we've had since new, so I'm at a loss when it comes to disc mowers hence all info and thoughts on why this might be happening would be greatly appreciated.

Attached are some pictures of the machine in question. Also if any mod wishes to embed the images please fire ahead.

raypallas

What condition are the blades in? Are the belts slipping under pressure? If they were and the blades were blunt it would be inclined to beat the grass instead of cutting it. Thats where i would start, have a 9ft krone ourselves.

selectamatic

Belts are sound look fresh and no screeching usually slipping belts are very audible. Blades look good but must have a closer look tomorrow as was in a bit of a rush today, bed seems grand too so minor wear and tear but nothing to be too worried about. Have ye ever had any similar issues with ye're one? I know a 9ft is a different animal than a 5ft 4" but still same principal really.

cute geoge

I suppose ye didnt try a different tractor to drive it .
My guess is the clutch is slipping on the 135

selectamatic

Man in question only has the one. Had thought perhaps tractor could be the issue but he said it tops heavy enough rushes no bother.

Limofarmer

3rd low is very slow progress on a 135 . Should be able to work away in 1st high at least

raypallas

cute geoge wrote:

I suppose ye didnt try a different tractor to drive it . My guess is the clutch is slipping on the 135

selectamatic wrote:

Belts are sound look fresh and no screeching usually slipping belts are very audible. Blades look good but must have a closer look tomorrow as was in a bit of a rush today, bed seems grand too so minor wear and tear but nothing to be too worried about. Have ye ever had any similar issues with ye're one? I know a 9ft is a different animal than a 5ft 4" but still same principal really.

Never thought of the clutch.
No not a thing has gone wrong with it, ya your right it is the same principle. Unusual to say the least.

Odelay

Looking at photo 3 it looks to me like the blades do not overlap and are leaving a strim of grass uncut. Can you check the overlap? Should be about 12mm.

selectamatic

Limofarmer wrote: »

3rd low is very slow progress on a 135 . Should be able to work away in 1st high at least

I don't know really 3rd low was always the gear choice when we mowed meadow too that said it was with a db995 so 3rd low could be a touch faster on it than a 135.

Odelay wrote: »

Looking at photo 3 it looks to me like the blades do not overlap and are leaving a strim of grass uncut. Can you check the overlap? Should be about 12mm.

What exactly do you mean by over lap? I like to think I know a good bit about machinery but as said when it comes to disc mowers I'm a complete novice!

Farmer

Are there any sharp edges on the "top hat" or any of the discs? I had this problem last week when mowing some overgrown meadow, the swarth was totally matted and was getting caught up and then slipping the belts even though it had mowed perfectly a month ago

After changing the belts to no avail, I swapped out the top hat for a spare disk - there was a small hole rusted in the side of it that was catching the grass and creating the rope. Never looked back after that, but it was harder to see what was cut without the divide created by the top hat

selectamatic

Very slight bit of damage to the outer top hat alright, just to the left of the blade on pic 3. Nothing major but looks like it could catch a bit of grass alright.

Farmer

...a wee rub of the small grinder on the leading edge might be worth a try so, and of course, I may be totally wrong

Tail painter

I cant make out what condition the curtain/guard is. I have seen a mower not working properly until the curtain was replaced. It was affecting the flow of the grass through the machine. Even a hole in the curtain could do it. The tractor PTO slipping sounds the most likely though.

selectamatic

Tail painter wrote: »

I cant make out what condition the curtain/guard is. I have seen a mower not working properly until the curtain was replaced. It was affecting the flow of the grass through the machine. Even a hole in the curtain could do it. The tractor PTO slipping sounds the most likely though.

Curtain is in good condition I've seen alot worse! The same tractor/machine combo mows rushes with ease so I'm not too sure whether it'd be the PTO slipping also would a PTO slipping cause grass to knot I assumed it'd just leave a poor quality cut.

Will have another look at the machine today and see can I see anything new as said the slight damage on the outer tophat could be an issue, can the outer and inner tophats be interchanged? if I cleaned up the damaged tophat with the grinder it might be better to put it in on the inside and have the other better condition tophat on the outer leading disc.
Will keep all updated on any progress, we have an area of pasture gone too strong for grazing so that should suit for testing, thanks for all the help and replies. And as said any more advice is welcome.

patsy_mccabe

Are the blades on the right way?

selectamatic

Ay blades are on the right way and it tops no bother it's just in meadows it starts to knot grass.