Looking for some info on this old discbine. ID plate is kind of messed up, but I gather it's JF GCS 240. However, I can't find any info on this. Looks to be in pretty good mechanical condition, just old and in the weeds. What would be a fair price for it? We are in a bind for cutting hay this year and if we can't find something, will use a bush hog with the sides removed like we did last year. Thanks for any help.
- Thread starter JSJJ388
- Start date
495man
Well-known Member
Doesn't look like any of the JF ones that were around here, later GCS 2400 seemed to pop up, I think that was the newer version of the GCS 240.
JF was something shortline dealers carried, and typically not for long for whatever reason, I don't think it was bad equipment, just "where do I get parts now" like most imported stuff sold at a price point over NH Deere etc.
Looks like JF is part of Kongskilde, so parts might still be possible.
I'd say scrap price sitting the way it is and worth a gamble.
JF was something shortline dealers carried, and typically not for long for whatever reason, I don't think it was bad equipment, just "where do I get parts now" like most imported stuff sold at a price point over NH Deere etc.
Looks like JF is part of Kongskilde, so parts might still be possible.
I'd say scrap price sitting the way it is and worth a gamble.
connor9988
Well-known Member
- Location
- Central Iowa
Dont walk, run from that flaming dumpster fire.
I once bought a sickle mower from a guy in Quebec who had one of those (not sure if it was the same model). I asked him about it and he said it crimped well - hay dried better using it than his old NH (I don't know what the NH was). Even so. I still don't think I'd be paying much more than scrap price for it.
But if you can get it for cheap, if the rollers look ok, if the wobble drive looks tight, if it's nearby, and if you can't find anything else in your price/distance range, it might be worth a gamble. At scrap price there's not much to lose, as long as you have an alternative way to cut hay if it breaks down on you. I wouldn't be buying it if I had anything more than 25 acres to do a year, but if you just have a small operation it may fit the bill. If the rolls and wobble are in good condition, you're still better off than a NH or Deere with worn/stripped rolls and sloppy wobble drives. And at least a broken mower isn't like a broken baler or rake, where you need it working asap to get dry hay off before a storm rolls in. If a mower breaks down, you can just bale what you've cut and take a day or two to figure out an alternative solution.
If the rollers and wobble look tight and the gearboxes don't have excessive backlash, there's not much else to go wrong on a simple old sickle machine like that: Sprockets, belts, bearings, roller chains, etc., will all be standard parts available from any industrial supply. The biggest concern for me would be the sickle bar components. A lot of European sickle machines use standard guards and sections available anywhere: It might take a little cross-referencing to find the right match, but at least they're be available.
But some European sickle machines used the 'Rasant' or 'Florett' style of cutter bars. I can't remember which is which. I know one of them has parts that interchange with IH, but the other uses wacky, closer-spaced guards and slightly narrower sections. Parts are still readily available in Europe, but a real pain to get over here. It's too bad, I had a Mortl sickle mower that had whichever the wackier of those two cutterbars was. It cut through down/lodged clover and alfalfa far batter than any other sickle mower we've had (and we've had many). But when I finally broke a guard it was a real struggle to get parts for. I managed to order some from a European ag supplier, but I stopped using the mower after that - too afraid that I'd break another hard-to-find guard or section.
Measure the section width and rivet C-C, and see if it matches the typical North American cutterbars (3" width and 2" or 2-1/16" rivet spacing). If it matches, there are probably common North American cutterbar parts that will match.
Whatever the case, if you can cobble it together well enough to cut, you'll have far better hay than your previous method of cutting with a bush-hog. A bush-hog just doesn't work for taking off hay properly: It beats and chops it up too much: You're leaving half the hay in the field, and the half you DO get off will be shredded to heck with most of the feed value gone.
EDIT: I just realized that you said it was a disc machine, not a sickle, so a lot of what I said won't apply. Disc components may be hard to find: We have an old MF disc machine that's a re-badged PZ (made in Holland). Parts are still readily available, but cost an arm and a leg.
But if you can get it for cheap, if the rollers look ok, if the wobble drive looks tight, if it's nearby, and if you can't find anything else in your price/distance range, it might be worth a gamble. At scrap price there's not much to lose, as long as you have an alternative way to cut hay if it breaks down on you. I wouldn't be buying it if I had anything more than 25 acres to do a year, but if you just have a small operation it may fit the bill. If the rolls and wobble are in good condition, you're still better off than a NH or Deere with worn/stripped rolls and sloppy wobble drives. And at least a broken mower isn't like a broken baler or rake, where you need it working asap to get dry hay off before a storm rolls in. If a mower breaks down, you can just bale what you've cut and take a day or two to figure out an alternative solution.
If the rollers and wobble look tight and the gearboxes don't have excessive backlash, there's not much else to go wrong on a simple old sickle machine like that: Sprockets, belts, bearings, roller chains, etc., will all be standard parts available from any industrial supply. The biggest concern for me would be the sickle bar components. A lot of European sickle machines use standard guards and sections available anywhere: It might take a little cross-referencing to find the right match, but at least they're be available.
But some European sickle machines used the 'Rasant' or 'Florett' style of cutter bars. I can't remember which is which. I know one of them has parts that interchange with IH, but the other uses wacky, closer-spaced guards and slightly narrower sections. Parts are still readily available in Europe, but a real pain to get over here. It's too bad, I had a Mortl sickle mower that had whichever the wackier of those two cutterbars was. It cut through down/lodged clover and alfalfa far batter than any other sickle mower we've had (and we've had many). But when I finally broke a guard it was a real struggle to get parts for. I managed to order some from a European ag supplier, but I stopped using the mower after that - too afraid that I'd break another hard-to-find guard or section.
Measure the section width and rivet C-C, and see if it matches the typical North American cutterbars (3" width and 2" or 2-1/16" rivet spacing). If it matches, there are probably common North American cutterbar parts that will match.
Whatever the case, if you can cobble it together well enough to cut, you'll have far better hay than your previous method of cutting with a bush-hog. A bush-hog just doesn't work for taking off hay properly: It beats and chops it up too much: You're leaving half the hay in the field, and the half you DO get off will be shredded to heck with most of the feed value gone.
EDIT: I just realized that you said it was a disc machine, not a sickle, so a lot of what I said won't apply. Disc components may be hard to find: We have an old MF disc machine that's a re-badged PZ (made in Holland). Parts are still readily available, but cost an arm and a leg.
Mac AR
Member
- Location
- The Hills of Home - The Ozarks
As someone else said, run don't walk away from that cutter!
I don't know where you are, or what your budget is, but please don't buy that machine. Just from where I'm sitting it looks like a money pit, and you'll be in worse shape than when you started. My suggestion would be to find some type of hay cutter, be it a sickle mower, haybine, or disc mower, made by a common manufacturer that can use easily found parts found at your local tractor/implement company. There are a lot of New Holland haybines sitting around farms that haven't been used in years but are in good shape, and can be had for cheap if you look around. I bought my 472 two years ago, in pristine shape, for $2500; at the time a new one was $12,500! I see 472's, 488's, and others around anywhere from $500 to $2000 in fair usable shape, and so surely you can find something better than what you're looking at now.
Sickle mowers are even cheaper; a Ford 501 can be had in my area for a couple hundred dollars, and while they are slow they do get the job done. Other newer, pitman-less mowers can be had anywhere from $500 to $1200. Any brand of sickle mower will do though, as long as it uses common parts. I've had Ford, JD, NH, and IH mowers, and the best one I've ever used has been a 501 Ford. Lots of folks curse them, but if you understand how they work and go slow, they do just as good a job as the newer wobble-box machines. As a matter of fact, I have a 501 that I use as a backup machine to my 472, and I like it better than the New Holland 451 and IH 1300 pittman-less mowers it replaced.
Mac
I don't know where you are, or what your budget is, but please don't buy that machine. Just from where I'm sitting it looks like a money pit, and you'll be in worse shape than when you started. My suggestion would be to find some type of hay cutter, be it a sickle mower, haybine, or disc mower, made by a common manufacturer that can use easily found parts found at your local tractor/implement company. There are a lot of New Holland haybines sitting around farms that haven't been used in years but are in good shape, and can be had for cheap if you look around. I bought my 472 two years ago, in pristine shape, for $2500; at the time a new one was $12,500! I see 472's, 488's, and others around anywhere from $500 to $2000 in fair usable shape, and so surely you can find something better than what you're looking at now.
Sickle mowers are even cheaper; a Ford 501 can be had in my area for a couple hundred dollars, and while they are slow they do get the job done. Other newer, pitman-less mowers can be had anywhere from $500 to $1200. Any brand of sickle mower will do though, as long as it uses common parts. I've had Ford, JD, NH, and IH mowers, and the best one I've ever used has been a 501 Ford. Lots of folks curse them, but if you understand how they work and go slow, they do just as good a job as the newer wobble-box machines. As a matter of fact, I have a 501 that I use as a backup machine to my 472, and I like it better than the New Holland 451 and IH 1300 pittman-less mowers it replaced.
Mac
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