Sickle Bar sickle vs disc mower

[professor]

I am in the process of developing approx. 13 acres of bermuda grass for square bailing. There are several rocks on the property and this winter I will use a rock rake however I know I will not be able to remove all the rocks. My question is would a sickle mower or a disc mower be better? I have used a sickle in fescue etc. on rocky ground with not much trouble. I have been told that bermuda is hard to cut with a sickle. How much problem would I have with a disc mower on rocky terrain? Thanks for your help.

 

[RickB]

It depends on how big the rocks are, what shape they are, what cutterbar angle you intend to run, and how fast your ground speed will be. I would probably get the dics mower and try to mitigate the rock problem in any way possible. I have a 5 acre front yard I mow with a Woods RM990 ( finish mower). To handle several outcroppings of Bluestone, I rented a SkidSteer with an hydraulic hammer to knock the tops of the outcroppings off. One afternoon's work made a great improvement in my front lot.

 

[cowboydoc]

A disc mower is far and above a sicklebar mower. I agree with Rick, get rid of the rocks and get a disc mower. You can cut in a 1/3 of the time and you don't get clogged up.

 

[HayDR]

The first question is what will your Yanmar 1401 tractor handle. It will handle most any SB Mower. In mowers used for harvesting this way it goes:
1. Single action sicklebar mower requires to most operator skill to use it- likely 1-2 acres an hour Avg cost new $1000-1600
2. Double action SB mower- 2-4 acres an hour but high maintenance when rocks are present Avg cost new $1600-2500
3. You may be able to handle a drum mower- 5.5' known as a 165 drum mower- required HP is 28- NO hydraulics required- will not plug with any type of hay- 3-5+acres an hour -
Avg cost new $1800-2800
4. Disc Mower- hydraulics required- 35+ HP required by most MFG- sizes range from 5.5'-10.5'- 3-10 acres an hour depending on size of the mower and crop conditions
Avg cost new $2500-8000

 

[machinedoc]

Professor, CCI has hit it about on the money with his info. I recently purchased a 48 inch roto tiller from Sweets at 270-528-3323 and was impressed with the inventory they stock and the willingness to answer my silly questions. If memory serves me correctly, I think Ken had all the different New machines that cci mentioned and also a bunch of used 6-7 ft sickles. Hope this helps.

 

[jtn]

Be wary of disc mowers and small rocks. I was hit in the back by a rock thrown from a New Holland 411 discbine while mowing with a John Deere 4020. It had a soft cab with the glass removed for ventilation. The rear glass went in the next day and I sweated the rest of the year! For this reason, I believe that disc mowers are only reccomended for tractors with cabs.

JT

 

[cowboydoc]

A good disc mower will have rubber all the way to the ground on all sides making this impossible to do. If the rubber is in bad shape or worn out then it could happen.

 

[machinedoc]

The good canvas impregnated cover is a must, however, debries can still shoot thru the cover and cause operator harm. There are several things listed in the operator manuals, to keep this to a minimum. Keeping the cover repaired is 1 of the most important.