John Deere 1350 MoCo

[backwoodsfarm]

I have a chance to purchase one of these at a local dealer. 8" cut with impeller conditioners. Appears to be in good shape. Year is 1991 and the asking price is $4995. They are willing to let me take it and mow the last 10 acres I have left to cut to make sure I like it. Has anyone had any experience with this style disc mower? Goods? Bads? Ugly? I"m also planning on using it behind a 65PTO HP JD 2555. I was told this mower had a 45HP min.? Thanks.

 

[RodinNS]

I've got a 1460 which is the next size up from yours. I'd say the 1350 will work the snot out of your tractor if you plan on moving with it, which s the point of a discbine.
The mowers are fairly good. The bar is a Kuhn and is modular, and not bad to work on.
Personally I'd go for a Kuhn if I was looking again since I thinkt eh Kuhn has a better flotation system than the Deere, but otherwise it's a decent mower. Price seems OK if it's in good shape.
Learn to keep a disc module on hand though since the shafts are meant to shear if they hit an obstruction, and they do shear.
I've got to do some looking and try some stuff but I think the parts for an Kuhn FC300 will fit mine, and probably an FC250 will be the same as yours... Orange parts are considerably cheaper. That is only related to the bar though... Deere built the rest.

Rod

 

[Anonymous-0]

I have a 1360, one size bigger. I have run it with a 2550 in 4th gear in good 1st cutting, sometimes had to shift the HiLo on hills but otherwise did fine. You should have no problem running a 1350. $5000 sounds a little high, but maybe not when you consider the new ones are about $20,000. (I paid $5000 for mine 8 years ago at an auction)

 

[RodinNS]

I dunno on the power part.... I've got the 1460 which is the same bar as yours except it has rollers instead of a flail conditioner, and a gyro hitch. To make that mower sing in heavy crop it works my 7710 which is turned to over 100 on the PTO. Mind you, that's at 8 mph, but it makes her work. I also run that mower on a TS90 which is around 75 on the shaft, and that works her hard. Mabey the rollers take more power, but I don't think you can go with too much on them. A small tractor will work hard to pull it at haybine speed... so ya may as well have a haybine.

Rod

 

[backwoodsfarm]

I have a NH 474 haybine, and I love it... other than the fact that I can"t get up at the crack of dawn and drop 10 or 15 acres before going to work because of the morning dew and damp grass. I agree that at 5mph, the haybine goes as fast as I care to go. I don"t try to set the world on fire, I just would like to mow when opportunity presents itself, and sometimes with the haybine, I have to wait.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Not trying to argue with you Rod,in fact I've read many of your posts and respect your advice and opinions.
Usually I run my discbine with a 4020 at 6 or 7 mph. That's as fast as I care to go in most of my fields. I was just saying a 65 hp tractor will get the job done, especially if the mower is a size smaller. Even at haybine speeds, I can get more done with a discbine because I'm not plugging the bar or stopping to replace knife sections or guards. I dont even need to run the 4020 over 1700 rpm, a discbine just cuts hay so nice.

 

[RodinNS]

Yes, you're right, you can do it. If I had to, I would too. I just don't think it's something to aim for if you don't have to. Those buggers take a lot of power, especially on steep wet hills.
In lots of places my TS can move pretty good with this mower too, but if it gets tough it's geared right down to a crawl.
Can't argue about being able to mow early in the day or late at night though. Haybine can't do that...

Rod

 

[backwoodsfarm]

Well I really appreciate the discussion guys. I have the good fortune of fields that are pretty flat. Only one has any type of slope and it"s minor at best. I assume that the rolls, gyro-hitch, and 9foot bar would take some extra horsepower. That"s a lot to turn. This mower has the 8 foot bar, flails, and a straight hitch. I guess the best thing I can do is take it into my last field and see what happens. I"m sure I"ll find out quick if it"s something I"ll be able to run. Again, thanks for the help and happy haying!!

 

[Anonymous-0]

I have a 1460 JD and I see on my operators manual that the 1350 is listed on the front cover . I run mine on a 1070 case 105 hp as fast as I care to drive across the field and I don't hardly know that the thing is back there. The local John Deere dealer can get parts for it but nothing is in stock except knives. I paid $4500 for mine last winter from a John Deere dealer and it had the conditioner bearings replaced, new "turtle shells" and all new knives.