My New Sickle Bar Mower(s)

[Neophyte]

I have been pondering a sickle bar mower but I wasn't sure how much I would use it. I have been looking at them right along but I have been in no hurry to get one. Recently, I stumbled upon one and it seemed too good to pass up.

Used 1998 Enorossi (Enoagricola Rossi) Model BF-210 7' Sickle Bar Mower with Mechanical Lift and Spare Parts

It is a double action sickle bar mower with a safety release mechanism to protect the unit from obstructions in the field. The blade inclination is 90 degrees upward and 75 degrees downward. It weighs 530 lbs. and the HP required is 20-30 HP. It can handle a maximum working speed of 10 MPH.

It must have been stored inside because there was very little corrosion. The 4 arm bearings were recently replaced in late 2005. According to the paperwork, these bearings cost a total of around $200. This seems expensive for these bearings.

Question #1:
Could the bearings really be this expensive? Does anyone out there have any experience with Enorossi parts?

It also included several spare parts. Among the spare parts ... a second nearly-complete BF-210 sickle bar mower! It was like a DoubleMint commercial. He said it was for parts only. I will need to look at it more closely but it seems like it is in nearly working condition "as is". I'm not sure what to do with it at this point. Assuming I can find parts for it, I may get it working and sell it.

This leads me to my other post-purchase questions.

Question #2:
Does anyone happen to know of an Enorossi dealer in Maine?

Question #3
Does anyone know of a good mail-order source for Enorossi parts?

Question #4
The picture of the hydraulic lift kit in the manual only shows one inlet into the hydraulic cylinder (see attached). It also only shows it attaching to a single port on the 3rd SCV. Can someone explain how this would control both up and down with only 1 inlet?

I definitely want to add the Hydraulic Lift kit since I have a 3rd SCV and it makes attachment easier. Assuming it's still available, I plan on ordering this as soon as I find a good source.

Question #5:
I paid $800 for the set. Was this an OK deal?

I will try to post some pictures tomorrow.

In the mean-time, here is the company's link.
Enorossi Sickle Bar Mowers
.

 

[HayDR]

Likely the mower was distributed by Cummings and Bricker, Inc.
Call them and they will point you to a dealer close to you. Some of the G&S wear parts will work on your mower.

 

[Neophyte]

Likely the mower was distributed by Cummings and Bricker, Inc.
Call them and they will point you to a dealer close to you. Some of the G&S wear parts will work on your mower.

Thanks for the lead. I will call them and find some local dealers.

That's good to know about the G&S parts. I was wondering why there were Superior parts (fingers & cutters) in the box of spare parts that he gave me.

 

[Neophyte]

Here are some pictures of the working unit. It seems like a real PITA to hookup. I imagine the hydraulic lift kit would make things a little easier.

 

[Neophyte]

Here are a few pictures of the spare mower. You can see there are a few items missing

 

[Neophyte]

So CCI pointed me in the right direction for questions #2 and #3 of my original post. I will be calling a local Enorossi dealer about question #1.

Does anybody have any input on question #4 about the hydraulics?

My guess about the hydraulic cylinder would be that it only needs hydraulic power to lift it because it let's gravity do the lowering. Is this close? I assume pushing in one direction on my 3rd SCV lever would cause it to lift. Would pushing in the other direction on my 3rd SCV lever release the hydraulic pressure and allow the sickle bar to lower?

How about question #5, did I do OK on this deal? Did I pay too much? I do know that the following site has them advertised for $2,899.00 brand new.

www.WoodwardCrossings.com - Equipment Listings

Does anybody else out there own a Enorossi Sickle Bar mower?

 

[Neophyte]

I heard back from the dealer on the hydraulic lift kit for this unit. The Enorossi Part Number is BFHL. The list price is $370.

 

[wrangler6831]

You got a good deal on it. We used to have one made by Gribaldi Salvia called a "superior". They work good on fields that are clear and will mow as fast as the tractor will carry it plus you never have to clean them off like the older ones. Just be real careful around saplings and small dirt mounds. They break guards like glass if you hit something. Good luck with it. Rich

 

[Tom_Veatch]

"Just be real careful around saplings and small dirt mounds"

And please don't let your dogs run loose while you're using it.

 

[Jerseyguy]

I purchased a new Farmtrac 555 and Enrossi mower June '05 with hydraulic lift and found it to be very handy. I did not use it this year as Upstate NY was very wet and my farmer neighbor did all the mowing for me when it was dry enough. My Farmtrac was delivered with one remote installed and there is only one hook-up for the mower. The lever lifts the sickle bar and the same lever pushed in the opposite direction lowers it. Both motions are very easy to control. My land is all open fields and there are no rocks. I adjusted the top link to tilt the cutter bar knives above horizontal so that I did not cut too close to the ground. This is my retirement hobby. My other tractor is an 8N (no live hydraulics/PTO) and it used a Dearborn 14-16 sickle mower very sucessfully for years, but is harder to hook-up and has not been used for a long time. I would like to find a new home for the 14-16 mower. I also purchased a Woods rotary for the Farmtrac and used that this year, but prefer to mow with the sickle bar.