Haybine or Discbine?

[slowzuki]

If the ground is damp when I cut, I set the windrower narrow on the haybine and leave it for a few hours before tedding. I've tries several times to dry hay in a windrow though and have never succeeded, always takes the amount of time you're talking about to put it up.

The last three years I've not had any stretches longer than 3 days without some rain so I'm certainly worried about not conditioning.

- and get the hay up off of the damp ground.
Greg

 

[disco]

Thanks for all of the replies:
Flusher nice looking drill. The guy that was renting our land. His gear box went out on his Gehl discbine. I think he said it was 3-4 thousand to get it fixed. He bought a used NH haybine instead of fixing it. I'm not rich but I would rather pay a little more for a good used one that is field ready than one that needs alot of work. I was looking (just looking) at the NH 1465 haybine. Nice. Not in my budget. Maybe a used one. Keep up the replies.
Thanks Paul

 

[pengs68]

I have a NH 488 that I pull with a Ford 4600 52HP. And thats plenty of tractor even on hills. All I have done to it is greased it.

 

[disco]

I've looked at the NH 488 on tractor house. Are they a good unit?
Thanks Paul

 

[nspec]

Disc machine is simple. Easy to work on for preventative maintenence and things like blade sharpening/swapping. Will mow through anything as fast as you dare to drive. You'll do far less damage if any to a disc machine if you run through a small obstacle vs the cutters on a haybine. You're 4020 will run almost any mower you select with no problem at all, as long as it's not grossly oversized. More than enough power. Back in the day we used far less h.p. than that (like 70-75)on both haybines and discbines, both with conditioners - no issues. We had a 4020 powershift that we put a turbo on and used for the higher horsepower needs. Bulletproof tractor - arguably one of the best ever made.

 

[JasG]

Here痴 a couple of things from my experience with both.

Diskbine Knives are cheaper than a cutter bar and easier to replace. Cuts faster and I have never plugged one. When something does go wrong, it gets expensive very quickly. Cutter bar or gear boxes can go into the thousands.

Haybine Slower, more prone to knife and guard damage. Much cheaper with major repairs. Better with down hay, can be more gentle on leafy crops.

Having used a disk, I hope to never go back to a sickle bar.

One other note, I myself after having used a disk mower would never use one on a tractor w/out a cab. Or at least have a shield made that goes between the tractor and the mower. I have a neighbor that I help a lot, and he switched 5 years ago to a disk. His brother, who has had disk mowers for about 10 years before that, was the one who told us about the safety issue. If you hit a stone just right it can come out and can go up. We groom our fields like a lawn when we seed back (woodchucks don't seem to care). We also replace the front curtain as needed. In 5 years mowing about a 100 acres a year 2-4 cuttings per season we have had 3 stones hit the cab. One time breaking the safety glass, 2 other leaving chips in the glass. Very glad the glass took the hit and not me. I know people mow with these without a cab, that is there choice, not mine.

 

[slowzuki]

I've always wondered why people don't fit a longer sheet metal cover over the front...

 

[disco]

There is an auction coming up in a couple of weeks with a NH 492. Supposed to be in good shape. Plan on checking it out.
Paul

 

[jimg]

I'm curious to try a straight disc mower, since I have to ted already.

Based on what Ive seen in my area conditioning is a big advantage. I bale at least a full day earlier than my neighbor who uses a disc mower. Without crushing stems I think its hard to impossible to have it all dry down together. If you wait for the stems to be dry then the leaves are too dry. If you wait for the leaves to dry correctly, the stems are still wet and the hay can be moldy. Since most hay here is round baled I think over dry leaves might work OK (not great but OK). If youre square baling then I believe the leaves will disintegrate.

 

[pengs68]

I think the 492 is the same as what the 1465 is now. When I was shopping for the 488 I looked at the 1465. It is suppose to roll with bumpy fields better than the 488. They wanted about $2500 more than the 488. Just check the rollers to see if they are beat up with chunks missing as this is the most expensive part to replace. Good Luck.