disc mower

[Byron Smith]

I was thinking about getting a disc mower instead of using the old sickle bars and was wondering if a 45 horsepower tractor could run an 8 foot mower?

 

[jason1816]

nope

 

[Byron Smith]

ok, I didn't figure it would. thanks for your help i'll just have to buy a sickle bar mower to get the job done.

 

[travz500]

not a chance takes alot especially when u get into tall stuff it will turn it but i would imagine not very well if it did

 

[Anonymous-0]

Byron i run a 8ft mounted disc cutter with a jd 5300/50 pto hp with no problem.
I can cut a field twice as fast & better as the old 7ft haybine i had.with no clogs & all the crap you have to put up with.Plus its with me if i haul the tractor, one trip.
Maybe the guys that wrote are talking about disc conditioners.
I would never go back to a sickel mower.

 

[alabamafrog]

Disc mower is the only way to go, I would hate to think I had to go back to a sickle bar mower! Get one that is rated for your tractor or get a tractor rated for the mower you want.
We pull a JD 260 8' mower with a JD 4010 and it is a perfect match. I can run 5th gear easy in normal conditions, I have ran 6th gear with a clean cut in light hay and rarely have to get down to 4th gear in heavy hay.
I'd bet/guess that you could cut faster and more efficient with a disc mower that was 2 foot shorter than a sickle mower.

 

[Tx Jim]

JD states a "42 hp"" will pull a 7'10" disc mower and a 50 HP for a 9'2"
265 Rotary Disk Mower
MANUFACTURER
MODEL John Deere
265
Mower
Number of Disks 6
Width of Cut - ft. (m) 7-ft. 10-in. (2.4 m)
Transport Width - in. (cm) 10 (25)
Weight - lb. (kg) 1177 (535)
Disk Speed - rpm 2986
Cutting Speed - mph (km/h) up to 8 (12.8)
cutting Arc +/- 35 degrees from horizontal
Lift System Hydraulic

Tractor Horsepower Requirement - hp (kW) 42 (31)

 

[cdsloop]

We have run a 9 ft disc mower (NOT a disc mower/conditioner)on a Ford 3939 with no problems before. It did need some weight on the front to help with turning. 3930 was rated at 45 pto hp.

 

[Tx Jim]

(quoted from post at 23:31:43 05/04/11)
We pull a JD 260 8' mower with a JD 4010 and it is a perfect match.

Being an ex JD equipment salesman and doing custom hay baling since '87 I'd call 80 pto hp tractor an overkill on an JD 260 disc mower.

I guess it's called different strokes for different folks.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Jim iam with you on over kill. How much more fuel did that 4010 burn over my jd 5300 today? Twice as much or more & at 4 a gal whos better off?
Your the man. RG

 

[cole in mo.]

I mowed with a 2510 D using a vicon 7ft 10 mower, would mow all but the really heavy stuff in 4th, but the 5303 handles it lots better, and faster.

 

[alabamafrog]

I've bogged the 4010 down many times and had to down shift to keep cutting so maybe it has to do with the type and thickness of the hay. I really like how sharp I can cut the corners with the narrow front too. I have used a 51 pto hp Belarus 405AN to pull the same mower and it had a real hard time in heavy hay. As for fuel costs, I wonder how much fuel the 50hp tractor uses compared to the 80 hp tractor if they were both using the same 45 hp to pull the mower, one would be running near full throttle while the other was running near half throttle?

 

[Byron Smith]

ok, thanks for your help I might borrow my neighbors and see how it works till I buy one, thanks again

 

[Anonymous-0]

Lets see iam burning 1& a half gals a hour or less at 1850 rpms. You said your turning only half the rpms as my 5300.Thats crap, at 925 your not running it fast enough & your killing your 50 yr old tractor.
Like i said before, your using more than TWICE the fuel iam with no bigger cut.

 

[Tx Jim]

(quoted from post at 21:02:14 05/05/11) I've bogged the 4010 down many times and had to down shift to keep cutting I wonder how much fuel the 50hp tractor uses compared to the 80 hp tractor if they were both using the same 45 hp to pull the mower, one would be running near full throttle while the other was running near half throttle?

JD recommended not to lug engines below 1500 rpm's. Most pto operated machines are recommended to be run at rated pto speeds. I seriously doubt that your 4010 will get close to a 3 cyl in fuel economy.
A 80 hp tractor should pull a 10 or 11 ft disc cutter with no problems.

 

[alabamafrog]

I said throttle not rpm, you can run the same rpm and use way different amounts of fuel depending on the load. An 80 HP tractor is not putting out 80 hp idling at PTO rpm with no load and is not burning near as much fuel as it would if it were running the same RPM fully loaded.
I am just thinking out loud and wondering about this stuff, I am by no means an expert.
I never meant to say that you needed at least an 80 hp tractor to run an 8' mower, I just was simply relaying my experiences and I know for a fact that an 8' mower will load up an 80 HP tractor in certain conditions and I personally would not want to use a smaller tractor unless I had to, which I don't. AS a matter of fact I have all but quit cattle farming and am focusing on my construction business.
Again sorry if yall got your drawers in a bunch.
As for tractor size, I see it like about everything else in life, I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Pulling the 8' mower with the 4010 is better than using the IH 856 or the Ford 9600.

 

[Byron Smith]

ok, that really helped me out I think I'll just stick with a sickle bar mower, ik the job will be slower and alot more frustrating but then again I dont have that many acres to make a disc mower work out. thanks again

 

[Tx Jim]

(quoted from post at 18:16:51 05/06/11) An 80 HP tractor is not putting out 80 hp idling at PTO rpm

Again sorry if yall got your drawers in a bunch.

alabamafrog
If yall is referring to me I don't wear "drawers" so they never get in a bunch. Mine are "Fruit of the Looms".

FYI an 80hp tractor with engine at pto speed is putting out 80hp.

You're correct if not loaded it won't have the governor opened so it won't burn as much fuel.

Irregardless an 80HP is probably going to burn more fuel than a 60hp pulling an 8' disc mower.