Disc Mower for 100hp Tractor

ace86

I'm thinking of buying a new disc mower primarily for cutting rushes mostly around 6ft roughly. I'm wondering what are the best makes out there and that are good and durable and easy maintain and service and price??

limo_100

ace86 wrote: »

I'm thinking of buying a new disc mower primarily for cutting rushes mostly around 6ft roughly. I'm wondering what are the best makes out there and that are good and durable and easy maintain and service and price??

your mad what you need is a pz135 4ft6in or a finger mower :D

Grueller

Just after being through that op. I priced and looked at malone, marangon, lely, kuhn, pottinger, krone and kverneland.
Malone 8' came in at €6000 look a heavy made mower but very new to market and would rather let others suss out their performance.
Marangon 8' came in at €5800 and just didn't know enough about them
Lely 8' at €7000 and they are very light
Kuhn have 2 models
Kuhn 24 €7000 but tubular headstock very light.
Kuhn 240 @ €7550 with heavy box headstock and quick change flails. Nice mower.
Kverneland 8' @ €7400. Nice mower but canopy maybe a bit light.

Ended up buying a 9'2" Kverneland on an end of season deal. Shop soiled and bought up north she came in at €7460 with money changed. They actually buy from a main distributor in Kilkenny so the Sterling fluctuations will not make them any cheaper up there from now on.

All the above mowers are top serviceable. The lely has sealed for life bed with each pod packed with grease. I don't personally like the idea of never changing it so I put that as a point against the lely.
I have ran the mower on a 90hp tractor both topping and in heavy meadows mowing. No problem to her but our ground is very level. The kvernelands biggest fault is that putting on the topping skids is a 20-25 minute job. 6 bolts to be changed and 2 of them are awkward enough. I let her bavk on the top link now and don't bother with them. She does not cut behind so there is no problem and she is only lying back as far as she lies forward to mow iykwim so oil running back should not be a problem.

Hope this helps.

Sam Kade

The marangon is a good mower for cutting but badly designed and made and eventually falls apart.

Bullocks

Sam Kade wrote: »

The marangon is a good mower for cutting but badly designed and made and eventually falls apart.

Eventually, everything will fall apart , even myself !

Sam Kade

Bullocks wrote: »

Eventually, everything will fall apart , even myself !

But the marangon will fall apart before everything else

Bullocks

Sam Kade wrote: »

But the marangon will fall apart before everything else

You might be right but I'd have to say the father bought one here a few years ago and I didn't think it would last long but it's going well , we retired it to topping cos we brought a conditioner mower to make it easier pick up for the wagon .
I have have highly abused it on tufts of bog , stick and stones since then and the only thing wrong with it is I made **** of the cover on blackthorns . There's a good heavy bed in it that I'd say would match better brands

Muckit

Bullocks wrote: »

Eventually, everything will fall apart , even myself !

For your own sake l hope your pto is the last thing to fall off!!

Bullocks

Muckit wrote: »

For your own sake l hope your pto is the last thing to fall off!!

I hope so too ,but I won't spare it all the same !

Sam Kade

Bullocks wrote: »

You might be right but I'd have to say the father bought one here a few years ago and I didn't think it would last long but it's going well , we retired it to topping cos we brought a conditioner mower to make it easier pick up for the wagon .
I have have highly abused it on tufts of bog , stick and stones since then and the only thing wrong with it is I made **** of the cover on blackthorns . There's a good heavy bed in it that I'd say would match better brands

I had one up to last year from new the outside hub came out of the bed and sheared the bolt heads which ended up in the bed and grated a few gears in the process. It happens a lot of them from what I hear. The bed had to be opened and cleaned and gears replaced. The latch to lift it in cutting position is a joke as well it always slips off and the mower drops and cuts into the ground.

ace86

limo_100 wrote: »

your mad what you need is a pz135 4ft6in or a finger mower :D

I think the finger bar mower has had their day more of a collect able now then a working machine, as for the drum mowers more people tell me the disc is 10 times better.

visatorro

Apparently the malone doesn't like heavy covers.

ace86

Grueller wrote: »

Just after being through that op. I priced and looked at malone, marangon, lely, kuhn, pottinger, krone and kverneland.
Malone 8' came in at €6000 look a heavy made mower but very new to market and would rather let others suss out their performance.
Marangon 8' came in at €5800 and just didn't know enough about them
Lely 8' at €7000 and they are very light
Kuhn have 2 models
Kuhn 24 €7000 but tubular headstock very light.
Kuhn 240 @ €7550 with heavy box headstock and quick change flails. Nice mower.
Kverneland 8' @ €7400. Nice mower but canopy maybe a bit light.

Ended up buying a 9'2" Kverneland on an end of season deal. Shop soiled and bought up north she came in at €7460 with money changed. They actually buy from a main distributor in Kilkenny so the Sterling fluctuations will not make them any cheaper up there from now on.

All the above mowers are top serviceable. The lely has sealed for life bed with each pod packed with grease. I don't personally like the idea of never changing it so I put that as a point against the lely.
I have ran the mower on a 90hp tractor both topping and in heavy meadows mowing. No problem to her but our ground is very level. The kvernelands biggest fault is that putting on the topping skids is a 20-25 minute job. 6 bolts to be changed and 2 of them are awkward enough. I let her bavk on the top link now and don't bother with them. She does not cut behind so there is no problem and she is only lying back as far as she lies forward to mow iykwim so oil running back should not be a problem.

Hope this helps.

Have pottinger anything worth looking at? Thanks for the review their that's a great help

Bullocks

Sam Kade wrote: »

I had one up to last year from new the outside hub came out of the bed and sheared the bolt heads which ended up in the bed and grated a few gears in the process. It happens a lot of them from what I hear. The bed had to be opened and cleaned and gears replaced. The latch to lift it in cutting position is a joke as well it always slips off and the mower drops and cuts into the ground.

We must've been lucky . The only latch I can think of is open when cutting and locks in closed when lifted up on the road ?

cute geoge

I bought a new 5foot6 unifarm drum mower 10 years ago still works like new cuts about 20/30 acres of hay and tops over 50 acres plus10 acres of rough grazing every year the finest .I have hit plenty of boulders and it only hops off them .I drive in medium gear with it now so dont dog it completely .You could buy 2 new drum mowers for the price of one disc mower!!

ace86

cute geoge wrote: »

I bought a new 5foot6 unifarm drum mower 10 years ago still works like new cuts about 20/30 acres of hay and tops over 50 acres plus10 acres of rough grazing every year the finest .I have hit plenty of boulders and it only hops off them .I drive in medium gear with it now so dont dog it completely .You could buy 2 new drum mowers for the price of one disc mower!!

Your right their drum mowers are a lot cheaper but from talking to different people and from wat most guys are buying or recommending are the disc ones are the way to go and are ment to be better for cutting. Can I ask wat the drum mower cost roughly?

cute geoge

When i bought 10 years ago unifarm was €2,600 while i could have got mesko roll for 2400 .Them unifarms are around a local small contractors for well over 20 years .I had a new pz previous to that which gave a bad battle

Sam Kade

Bullocks wrote: »

We must've been lucky . The only latch I can think of is open when cutting and locks in closed when lifted up on the road ?

It's the lever you pull with the rope to put it in transport position and it's supposed to go against the bolt with thick washer to lift the bed in mowing position but more often than not it slips off it dropping the edge of the bed to the ground.

White Clover

Sam Kade wrote: »

It's the lever you pull with the rope to put it in transport position and it's supposed to go against the bolt with thick washer to lift the bed in mowing position but more often than not it slips off it dropping the edge of the bed to the ground.

Are u using the lift arms to lift the mower at the end of a swarth?

Bullocks

Sam Kade wrote: »

It's the lever you pull with the rope to put it in transport position and it's supposed to go against the bolt with thick washer to lift the bed in mowing position but more often than not it slips off it dropping the edge of the bed to the ground.

I never did that , just lift it clear with the ram and drop it down again.

White Clover

Bullocks wrote: »

I never did that , just lift it clear with the ram and drop it down again.

That's the way it should be done. Set the height of the arms at the beginning and use the ram to lift it in and out of work.

Sam Kade

White Clover wrote: »

Are u using the lift arms to lift the mower at the end of a swarth?

No.

White Clover wrote: »

That's the way it should be done. Set the height of the arms at the beginning and use the ram to lift it in and out of work.

But that's exactly how I was doing it until the lever kept slipping off.

Grueller

ace86 wrote: »

Have pottinger anything worth looking at? Thanks for the review their that's a great help

Pottinger mower looks a really good bit of kit but was the dearest of all brands. To be honest the krone, pottinger or kverneland looked the pick of them to me. I would have been happy to buy any of the three.

White Clover

Sam Kade wrote: »

No.



But that's exactly how I was doing it until the lever kept slipping off.

How is it "falling" if you have it lifted by the ram?
I know a man with one of them, I must ask him about it