Vicon (now Kubota) Pendulum Spreaders

[Hay Dude]

I don't know for certain if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I looked at their rebadged disc mower and rotary rake and candidly, I wasn't overly impressed with the build quality or the price. Not sure if that is a sound plan to get your foot in the larger ag market.

Oh, I’m not buying any of their hay tools. Too small for my operation. But Kubota bought Kverneland, and their round balers are excellent quality balers. if in fact Kubota now owns Landpride, Kverneland and Vicon, those are top notch companies.

 

[MossRoad]

Thread pruned. Folks, take the politics to TNT or the thread will be closed.

 

[sixdogs]

I've had Vicons and now Kubota branded Vicons for many years and will say they are the best on the market by a wide margin. They are incredibly accurate and seem to work forever if you wash them out when done, put oil on the fertilizer agitator. and turn/grease the width adjustment socket.

There are two vital things with the Vicon/Kubota that cannot be ignored. First, you must-must-must cut the driveshaft to the correct length. If the driveshaft bottoms out from being too long you will bend the entire mounting frame and will need to replace it. That's almost $500 and no fixing the old one. If shaft is too long, you WILL bend the frame. Cut it correctly and check the ark of travel to be sure.

Second, the spreader will spread 30' or 40' wide and you adjust that by popping off the grease cover and turning the adjuster with the special plastic tool. This is the only part I have found that can seize up from rust and if you ever want to change the width, you need to keep this part greased. Plus, you need to turn it before and after every time you use it to keep it free and then grease again. If not, it will freeze up. It a little hard to use that plastic tool but you can do it.

Also, when I'm done using the spreader, I wash out immediately and not a minute later and remove the agitator to clean around it. Them I blow dry and spray oil on on anything steel. They will last many years with this care.

 

[sixdogs]

Oh, I’m not buying any of their hay tools. Too small for my operation. But Kubota bought Kverneland, and their round balers are excellent quality balers. if in fact Kubota now owns Landpride, Kverneland and Vicon, those are top notch companies.

Kverneland make the best dirt plows I ever saw. I think Kverneland won 49 of the last 50 world plowing championships. They pull easy.
The problem is that parts were incredibly expensive because they had to come from Europe and be bought in Canada. If from there, you had to pay expensive parts with expensive freight and run the gauntlet of handlers seeking fees along the way. No thanks and I'll bet Kubota will fix that.

Kubota is really buying great companies--HayDude is right-- and looks like it's got a long range plan to be a significant ag participant.


EDIT--Let me add that when Kubota bought Vicon, I'll bet parts prices went down 40 or 50%. Whole machine prices also declined a lot but can't recall how much. Maybe a third or more. Prior to the buyout, prices were nosebleed high but afterwards, prices were honorable.

 

[bunchgrass]

Kverneland make the best dirt plows I ever saw. I think Kverneland won 49 of the last 50 world plowing championships. They pull easy.
The problem is that parts were incredibly expensive because they had to come from Europe and be bought in Canada. If from there, you had to pay expensive parts with expensive freight and run the gauntlet of handlers seeking fees along the way. No thanks and I'll bet Kubota will fix that.

Kubota is really buying great companies--HayDude is right-- and looks like it's got a long range plan to be a significant ag participant.


EDIT--Let me add that when Kubota bought Vicon, I'll bet parts prices went down 40 or 50%. Whole machine prices also declined a lot but can't recall how much. Maybe a third or more. Prior to the buyout, prices were nosebleed high but afterwards, prices were honorable.

Kverneland plow bottoms are top, hands down. In the draft horse plowing world, you almost double the cost of the plow by switching the JD/Raydex for a Kverneland. Did their prices drop when Kubota bought them too?

 

[sixdogs]

Kverneland plow bottoms are top, hands down. In the draft horse plowing world, you almost double the cost of the plow by switching the JD/Raydex for a Kverneland. Did their prices drop when Kubota bought them too?

I don't know. They don't have much of a US dealer network for plows, which is all I know about so haven't seen anything. I expect parts will become available and prices will come down.

 

[5030]

Thread pruned. Folks, take the politics to TNT or the thread will be closed.

TNT don't exist anymore. You are behind the times Mossy. Better OM the fearless leader...

 

[RickB]

Oh, I’m not buying any of their hay tools. Too small for my operation.

Apart from not being in the large square baler market their offerings are as big or bigger than anything I recall you mention owning.

 

[MossRoad]

TNT don't exist anymore. You are behind the times Mossy. Better OM the fearless leader...

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[Hay Dude]

Apart from not being in the large square baler market their offerings are as big or bigger than anything I recall you mention owning.

Yeah that’s where I pretty much am now-large square bales. Still doing plenty of round bales, but all purchases lately are big square related. I don’t have everything in my signature

 

[RickB]

What square baler did you buy?

 

[Hay Dude]

Heston 4910 few years ago, looking at AGCO 7444 to replace it.

 

[5030]

Getting ready to put my 575 on Tractor House. Have not used it in 5 years. Sitting in the barn ready to go but no square bale customers.

 

[RickB]

I hope you have a bigger horse in the shed than what's in your profile.

 

[Hay Dude]

I hope you have a bigger horse in the shed than what's in your profile.

My 200HP Massey would pull the 4910 on flat, gently sloping no problem. The future plan is to put the square baler on the hilly ground instead of the round baler for obvious reasons. The 7444 will need a bigger puller.
Its in the works

 

[RickB]

The 7444 will need a bigger puller.

That's what I was getting at.

 

[Hay Dude]

Getting ready to put my 575 on Tractor House. Have not used it in 5 years. Sitting in the barn ready to go but no square bale customers.

I make a few thousand small bales with a buddy of mine (I big bale his native grasslands and we small square his Timothy). I think he sold 800 of the 2000 we made last year. Its dying off a little more each year.
Selling a lot more rounds and big bales to the new “grass fed beef” cattlemen these days. I’m hoping he will roll into big bales exclusively in the next few years. Hate to see a dying art like that go away sometimes, but a relief on my shoulders...

 

[5030]

I disagree. Not dying at all. In fact' I could sell every small square I used to make. I don't want to. Too labor intensive, hard to store and then the getting paid an equitable amount is the deciding factor for me.

Horsey people will always use small squares because they lack not only the ability to handle rounds (equipment and infrastructure) to deal with rounds and besides rounds are wasteful for a horse owner so there will always be a market for small squares. Not going away so long as horsey people exist.

I don't know of one horsey owner around here that uses or wants round bales. They all want small squares, they all want premium hay and none of them want to pay for it either.

I got out of it because the grief factor outweighs any benefit.

The stuff you bale (mostly grass) isn't what they want anyway. Cattle don't care, horsey people do.

 

[5030]

I hope you have a bigger horse in the shed than what's in your profile.

If that was directed to me, I don't need a bigger tractor to run a small square bailer, in fact, I could use a much smaller tractor to run ANY small square bailer. Square bailers depend on flywheel inertia to run, not PTO horsepower. The only disadvantage to running a square bailer with a light tractor is the inertia of the reciprocating ram tends to toss you around a bit when turning at the end of a windrow. One reason why I like running small squares (only reason actually) is unlike making round bales, you don't need to run the pto at rated speed, any speed that gives you the number of slices per bale works just fine. In fact, I use my 1000 rpm pto setting with a 21-6 spline adapter and run the 1000 rpm at 640 which is reduced rpm and makes it real easy on fuel. The tractor is loafing along at about 1/2 the 640 rated rpm when I have the 6 spline stub in the housing. Just about the rpm I need to keep the ac working efficiently.

 

[RickB]

If that was directed to me, I don't need a bigger tractor to run a small square bailer, in fact, I could use a much smaller tractor to run ANY small square bailer. Square bailers depend on flywheel inertia to run, not PTO horsepower. The only disadvantage to running a square bailer with a light tractor is the inertia of the reciprocating ram tends to toss you around a bit when turning at the end of a windrow. One reason why I like running small squares (only reason actually) is unlike making round bales, you don't need to run the pto at rated speed, any speed that gives you the number of slices per bale works just fine. In fact, I use my 1000 rpm pto setting with a 21-6 spline adapter and run the 1000 rpm at 640 which is reduced rpm and makes it real easy on fuel. The tractor is loafing along at about 1/2 the 640 rated rpm when I have the 6 spline stub in the housing. Just about the rpm I need to keep the ac working efficiently.

It wasn't directed at you and I wasn't referring to running a small square baler. I try not to read or react to anything you post and I sure don't need schooling on small square balers. I spent half my life running them and much of the other half keeping them running properly for others.

FYI the slower PTO standard is 540 RPM, not 640.