conditioners

[Beltbuckle Bob]

I have a John Deere 37 sickle mower it has the tounge and drive to pull a coditioner behind it. I dont know the model numbers for those conditioners. That makes it very hard to find one. Does anyone know? please help
 

[Dean in iowa]

They were #22 and #32. The #22 had 2 steel rollers and the #32 had one steel and one rubber. I have a #32 and use it to recrimp the hay the second day. Really speeds up the drying! Works real good. I have had both #'s in the past. They sell as fast as I get them. I farm and dabble in the older implements as a hobby. I may get more in the future.
 

[Beltbuckle Bob]

Thank You Dean for the reply if you do get any more please contact me I would really like to have one toadlope59@hotmail.com
 

[DiyDave]

JD also made a # 1 conditioner, steel crimp rolls, 12" wheels, about 6' wide, so you could do a regular 7' swath from a standard mower, while cutting the next swath.
 

[Leroy]

What I believe to be the best one is not mentioned and that has the best features of both the No. 1 and the No. 22 and built between them, That one is the No. 21 and has the style rolls of the No. 1 but the larger wheels like the No. 22 and both the rolls are driven like the No. 22 and not only the top roll like the No. 1. I have had both, the No. 1 that after a few years it busted the bottom roll as it is not driven and put too much stress on it. Then we got an Allis with 2 rubber rolls on it and used for a few years and bought a No. 22 as thought it would do better like the old No. 1 did. After a while we parked the No. 22 and went back to the AC untill we bought a Case 9 ft. 555 mower-conditioner. The wide set crimp on the No. 22 just did not do the job the narrow set crimp on the No. 1 did and the smooth rolls on the AC did better than the No. 22 except for picking up the crop, you had to go in direction of travel with it. With the No. 1 and No. 22 you could cut the back cut on outside of field and then just hook on to them and go and they would pick up the back cut in the direction opposite of cut but with the smooth rolls you had to make that cut, and mow the second round, hook the conditioner to a second tractor to condition that back cut then switch the conditioner to the mower for the rest of the field. Also used a McCormick No. 2? with smooth rolls for a time that belonged to uncle before we bought the first one. Also I understand the New Idea was a very good machine if it noes not have to be a Deere. Our mower with the hitch was a Oliver.
 

[Harold Hubbard]

If you don't need to match colors, forget the John Deere and get a New Holland. I fought with a JD 31 for years, it finally blew up, I got a NH 404 and never looked back.

The JD always worked well on carefully and cleanly mowed material. If there was anything laid wider than about six feet, it would pull it in sideways at the end of the roll, along with material from the next swath, and then you were standing there slashing and swearing and pulling until you got the rolls cleared, and it might do it again in the next ten feet or not at all.

I did like the fact that the JD had a slip clutch, and toggle locks on the roll springs, instead of shear pins and hand cranks, like the NH. The NH also had the rubber roll on the bottom, and it didn't seem like you had to run it as close to the ground to pick up all the hay. It sure would smoke and stink, though, when you dragged it over a rock.
 

[JDseller]

An old JD conditioner is what taught me how to cuss. LOL We had an old worn out JD sickle mower and would put the conditioner behind it. Between the sickle plugging and the conditioner plugging you spent as much time off the tractor rather than on it. We bought our first mower conditioner in the mid n 1960s. I did not own a sickle bar mower for over thirty years because of that old junk sickle mower.

Still cuss even a "good" sickle bar mower. I only clip some road ditches that are too steep to mow out ways.

I am glad that technology has made better ways to mow hay.
 

[GaryinKs]

I would pull a reel type tedder before trying to find a conditioner,
 

[Beltbuckle Bob]

All of your feedback was very good and quite entertaining Thank you all. It does not have to be a green one I would just like to try conditioning. In years past I had a mower conditioner but found windrowing the hay made it take loger to dry. those old conditioner did not windrow it if I remmber right. Any way if anybody has one for sell let me know. I live close to Moline IL.
 

[tomstractorsandtoys1]

I have one of each a 22 and 32 and use them like you to recrimp hay to speed drying.I have never pluged or wrapped either one.
 

[Leroy]

I don't think the Case I had or the New Hollands did windrow the hay. They both would have the full width rollers. Not like some machines that just have narrow rollers and are more of a windrower after thought than a mower-conditioner. The 9' Case did lay the hay in a strip that was just wide enough to take that conditioner over it the next day without doing any thing. Could also be layed wider. That machine was the same as the Heston PT-10. It could have been set for windrowing if you were mowing for silage but for hay you kept it wide. As for Makes I would only consider John Deere or New Idea. Before mu uncle bought that McCormick he had the dealer bring out a New Holland and in a half hour after hooking it up to his WD they were unhooking it and taking it back to the dealer lot, think the dealer shipped it back to New Holland just to get rid of it. The same dealer sold both the New Holland line and McCormick line. Have never seen anouther New Holland as after that trouble with the one my uncle tried buying I do not think they ever tried to sell anouther one. If you want a machine that will work good then look for a top condition John Deere No. 21, stay away from enything else and then the New Idea.
 

[dboll]

I used the neighbors New Holland behind my IH 120 mower several years ago to cut some millet and it worked good without a problem.
 

[B.c.c.]

We used a JD 31 conditioner for many years. Helped get the hay dry the day or so sooner that people claim. The SOB would also plug if the hay was at all wilted. Since we mowed with a JD 9W and had only one tractor, we lived with it. The day came we fertilized the hay and then it couldn't handle it at all. We threw in the towel, got a mower conditioner and after we got that running right, wondered why in heck we waited so long to make the step up.

Most conditioners have provision to release spring pressure on those rolls. There's a reason for that. Real fun when it's 90 out and you want to get something done.
 

[Leroy]

The 31 will do that a lot easier than the 21 due to the type of rolls. The crusher rolls are bad for that. Crimper not so bad.