JD H Mowing?

[Joel Sanderson]

Has anyone here used a JD H for mowing with a No 5 mower? Would it have enough power? Speeds okay?

I've been mowing with my A and the No 5 for a few years now and really like that system. (Nice, leafy, uncrushed hay!) It likes 3rd gear for most things and 2nd for opening the field. I see the H's 3rd is quite a bit faster than the A's (5 3/4 mph vs 4 1/4) so that might a problem.

I don't like taking that mower on and off, so I'd like to dedicate a light tractor--ideally fitted with turf tires--to the mower and just leave it on it.

Any ideas or experience with this?

Thanks

Joel

 

[thethresherman]

I have used a #5 on an H. 2nd gear only for me. Hopefully you have hydraulic unit to lift it. However, the side draft is a big concern. You must have front weights or the tractor slides sideways to the right.

 

[farmerjason1]

Joel
I just recently installed my #5 mower on my model H. I used the power lift hydraulics to lift the mower hooked up to a model B cylinder set up to operate as a single acting cylinder. I used it to cut some wheat to bale. It was planted a little on the thick side. It cut the hay but I can tell you that the tractor worked it's butt off even in 1st gear. I would say it was borderline under powered. I did have some trouble with the front end wanting to slide over. I have not cut any other crop yet so I don't know how the model h would do.

 

[Joel Sanderson]

Thank you very much. That is exactly what I wanted to hear. I never thought that side draft would be an issue or the H is that light on the front. And the horsepower does sound too low if it was working so hard in first gear. I guess I'll look for another tractor. Maybe a B. Thanks.

The H's wheels can be set narrow enough to cultivate 24 rows of popcorn, which is another reason why I've considered it. I haven't worked that out yet though--still searching for the right variety--so maybe I'll stick with 30 rows and a bigger tractor for that too.

Thanks again.

 

[Joel Sanderson]

I sure do appreciate your reply. I never considered the side draft to be significant enough to slide the front over. Guess I need a bigger tractor. Bs are cheap, so maybe I'll go with one of those. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a Bw.

Thanks a lot.

joel

 

[55 50 Ron]

well the comment by Jason that a H is working it's butt off in 1st gear makes me wonder how good the sickle and guards are. Is everything sharp and well lined up and adjusted? A properly maintained No.5 mower on an H should be an ideal outfit no matter how heavy the hay. Mentioning tractor side draft immediately makes me think the mower sickle and guards are not sharp enough and/or aligned properly.

 

[dan_41jdh]

I agree with 55 50 Ron. I had a No.5 with the longest cutter bar (7-Ft.), and although it wasn't in the greatest shape or in perfect adjustment, it made a great mowing machine with my H. The H handled it very easily, didn't even know it was there most of the time. 2nd gear was a perfect speed (a little over 3 MPH). I sometimes went in 1st for the 1st cutting of heavy alfalfa. If the end of the cutter bar got clogged and started dragging, there were times when it would pull the front of the tractor over (without weights, the front of the H is pretty light). In fact, the front end would slide over before the safety latch would release. Otherwise, I didn't notice any side pull of consequence. The No.5 didn't have a factory option for a hydraulic lift for the H (just the hand lever or the foot pedal option). But it would always make perfect, square corners - drive up to the end of the side, spin the steering wheel with your left hand (had a spinner knob at the time) reach back with your right hand to lift the bar just enough to clear the cutting, stomp on the right brake pedal momentarily, and in a split second you were already turned and could drop the bar and start down the next side. Never left any standing stalks, always a perfect corner.

 

[Paul from MI]

I mowed hay for years with my H and an off brand IHC #27V mower. Worked fine, side draft can be a bit of an issue if the mower isn't adjusted right or in good shape. Cutter bar lead is important, but power not a problem.

 

[Joel Sanderson]

Always a perfect corner. Now I know you're full of it! Ha ha. Kidding. My 5 came with hand lift, and I put a cylinder on it, parts from another mower. I don't want to go back to that. Why would an H's hydraulics not work on it?

That sounds really good tho. Do you know what kind of economy you got with that rig? My A burns .66 gallons of gasoline an acre mowing with the No. 5. In comparison, the 4040 burns between 1 and 1.12 gallons of diesel an acre mowing with the discbine.

 

[cleddy]

I have a IH mower that mounts on my H and the bar has been cut down to 5 foot. Power is no problem if things are sharp but side drift in heavy grass happens as others have said. I had a incident where I was watching behind and ran into a tree with left tire. Not that familiar with the hand clutch I was just glad it didn't climb the tree and tip over. I want to try the mower as 3-point on 9N ford. I think ease of mounting and small Ford will be a good match around buildings. In the wide open John Deere H works just fine> Cleddy

 

[lfnel]

Yoju'd probably be happier with tricycle when it comes to right angle corners

 

[Joel Sanderson]

I lift and swing around instead of making corners. Seems to leave less for me without plugging. But yeah, the narrow front would turn shorter. Thanks.

 

[lfnel]

Wide is great for straddling windrows when throwing them together though. Much smoother ride too.

 

[Joel Sanderson]

Smoother is mainly what I'm after. I like a pan seat for its springiness--a lot more movement than any cushioned tractor I've been on--but finding that with a wide front near me is gonna take awhile.

 

[dan_41jdh]

Joel, I never bothered to check fuel economy, but it always seemed to be pretty good. But the mowing results really were excellent. None of those tufts of standing uncut hay/grass at corners remained. (One neighbor called those his landlord's share....). The H hydraulics were rather limited - the rated pressure was pretty low (555 PSI) and the flow rate was slightly over 5 GPM. Furthermore, the reservoir was only sized for the H cylinder which took only a little over 3/4 pint of oil to fully extend (2-1/4 bore x 5-5/8 stroke). Some folks have added an auxiliary reservoir to their H to operate larger cylinders.

 

[farmerjason1]

I can tell you that my #5 was recently gone through. It has all new jd dura cut sickles and all brand new ledger plates riveted on. The sickle is in register and the lead angle is correct. The wheat I cut was planted heavey and it was still on the green side. I am sure that alfalfa will be easier on the model h as it is easier to cut then the wheat I had. How much easier I don't know. If it was me I would put it on model B. You can put the quick attach on a model B where as the model h is a job to take it on and off. The model B would also have more power and more gears to match what you are cutting. Also if you don't have the mounting brackets for the model h you might be looking for a while as they can be hard to find. There are a lot of model B mower mounting brackets out there. The only reason I have the mower on my h is because I have a set of mounted cultivators on the model B that I need to use and I didn't want to take the cultivators off and put back on. The mower used to be on the B and it cut like a dream. Just my experience

 

[Joel Sanderson]

Very good to know. Thank you. I know that the hardest things I mow are grasses. Some grasses would make the wheels slip on the horse pulled ones I had. Alfalfa is pretty easy. I've never cut wheat.

I miss my team. Don't think I'll be getting another any time soon though.

 

[Joel Sanderson]

Wow. That's a wimpy hydraulic system all right. Why in the world would anyone think 555 psi was a good idea? I suppose tiny tractor = light implements, but jee whiz.

I get a decent clean field with my No.5 but not as clean as I got with the team. When I look around to sight-see, the tractor doesn't keep going straight like a team does. And after four years of mowing, it still hasn't learned to make corners by itself. Stupid thing. At least I don't have to feed it all winter.

 

[ss55]

If you are buying a different tractor maybe consider one with live PTO and live hydraulics (power steering too?). The price difference to move up to a 50, 520, 60 or 620 instead of a late B might not be large. Turf tires may cost more than the tractor.

 

[GreenEnvy]

You do realize the hydraulics option for the H came out in 1940. Might be wimpy but state of the art in 1940. None of our tractors had hydraulics until the 50s.

 

[Joel Sanderson]

Yeah, you're right. Might leave the mower on the A and get a 50 or 60. I'll wait and see what shows up.

 

[Joel Sanderson]

Good point taken.