# Disc Mower Conditioner vs. Sickle Bar Mower Conditioner



## pmurphy_19 (Apr 16, 2011)

Afternoon,

I may be in the process up grading my mower, I currently have a JD 1219 (which so far has been great). I mainly grow orchard grass and my concern with the disc mower is that my first cut can get pretty dense and may cause it to clog. The sickle bar conditioner handles it well, but I might be worried about the disc mower. Any thoughts, suggestions, or advice is appreciated.

-Patrick


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## Trillium Farm (Dec 18, 2014)

pmurphy_19 said:


> Afternoon,
> 
> I may be in the process up grading my mower, I currently have a JD 1219 (which so far has been great). I mainly grow orchard grass and my concern with the disc mower is that my first cut can get pretty dense and may cause it to clog. The sickle bar conditioner handles it well, but I might be worried about the disc mower. Any thoughts, suggestions, or advice is appreciated.
> 
> -Patrick


The sickle bar will clog long before the disc bar, you may proceed without fear


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## pmurphy_19 (Apr 16, 2011)

Even the Orchard Grass heads out and is super thick at is base? I am looking for away to speed up my cutting time. The sickle bar conditioner I have it so bulky and I can not go faster than 3MPH when cutting.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

pmurphy_19 said:


> Even the Orchard Grass heads out and is super thick at is base? I am looking for away to speed up my cutting time. The sickle bar conditioner I have it so bulky and I can not go faster than 3MPH when cutting.


A disc mower will cut circles around sickle bar....and you will be able to mow your Orchard grass about as fast as you can stay in your seat with a disc. You will be able to double your speed with a disc mower.

Regards, Mike


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Your biggest limiting factor with a discbine is if you have enough horsepower.

I normally cut 10-11mph on all cuttings, on first if I have to slow down it's because of a lack of ponies, not a lack of mower.


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## weatherman (Dec 5, 2008)

I cut with a NH 488, bought new in 2008. Got tired of clogging. Switched out the guards, went with stub guards. No more clogs. Yahoo, now I can go a consistent 3mph, 3.5 if I got the wind at my back. Planning on putting 15 more acres into hay next year and getting rid of the 488 for a discbine. Reading this thread puts me that much closer.


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## Beav (Feb 14, 2016)

Patrick I have used a discbine for years and I have NEVER plugged it or even come close to doing so I cut 7 to 10 MPH I could go faster but any faster I feel like a ping-pong ball in the cab Buy one and you will never go back. Cut any time of day you want heavy wet hay is not a problem.figure 10 hp per foot of mower. good luck


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Beav said:


> .figure 10 hp per foot of mower. good luck


For normal conditions thats about what I have for my 1431, 125-130 hp. Ge the real down rank stuff and the rollers can grab it before the disc's get it cut then it pulls incredibly hard.


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## Idaho Hay (Oct 14, 2016)

I ran a sickle swather for years and always hated fighting with thick grass (orchard, timothy, and others) with regular plug ups. About three years ago I went to a NH 7230 (10' disc swather) and haven't had one single pug up since. Other than tangling up with a barbed wire fence (hasn't actually happened yet), I can't think of a condition that the disc could get plugged up in.

Two years ago I cut some hay for someone that was a heavy stand of timothy. The disc mower buzzed through it no problem at 6+ mph, but my jaw dropped when I did the final bale count and realized that it was 4 ton/acre. My sickle would've gotten through it, but it would've taken a lot long and been a lot more work.

In my experience, there's only a few potential/conditional disadvantages:


Requires a lot more HP
Thin stemmy hay - Will sometimes leave stripped, but uncut, stems throughout the field. 
Potentially dangerous and loud if using with an open station tractor.
Lots and lots of dust clouds if you have lots of gopher mounds in you fields - the sickle will just knife right through them, where the disc creates a high speed explosion of dust. However, if your tedding and rake, I think most of the dust gets worked out of the hay. It just looks bad from the neighbor's.


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## DLCC2 (Jul 12, 2016)

I don't know what kind of tractor you are running but in my experience if you are running an open station tractor, build some kind of guard. I wasn't in my tractor but back when I worked on another farm I had the back glass of a 6420 John Deere knocked out by a rock that left the disc mower about as fast as a bullet (or at least I thought that"s what it was).


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

I must confess I plugged up my discbine a few times yesterday. Stalled the tractor every time. But I must say it was in a wet corner of the field. Also down hill from the old pig pen where the manure would run down every spring when the snow melted. Plus I had the great idea to fertilize that spot the same as rest of field. Not a real big spot. But probably has a yeild in that 1/2-3/4 of an acre of 6-7 ton per acre. So unless your cutting hay where if your standing in the hay its just about as tall as you and so thick your feet are 4-6 inches off the ground I wouldn't worry about plugging discbine.


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

pmurphy_19 said:


> Afternoon,
> 
> I may be in the process up grading my mower, I currently have a JD 1219 (which so far has been great). I mainly grow orchard grass and my concern with the disc mower is that my first cut can get pretty dense and may cause it to clog. The sickle bar conditioner handles it well, but I might be worried about the disc mower. Any thoughts, suggestions, or advice is appreciated.
> 
> -Patrick


I don't think you'd regret a disc mower conditioner. The only downside I see to them is the hp requirements. IMHO they obliterate farming under 50 - 50 hp that is and your tied to a larger tractor, the expense of it and the expense if their replacement and repairs. It might be difficult for it to pencil out on small acreage.

YMMV

Bill


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

leeave96 said:


> I don't think you'd regret a disc mower conditioner. The only downside I see to them is the hp requirements. IMHO they obliterate farming under 50 - 50 hp that is and your tied to a larger tractor, the expense of it and the expense if their replacement and repairs. It might be difficult for it to pencil out on small acreage.
> 
> YMMV
> 
> Bill


I could go buy a 80-100 tractor this afternoon for less than $7000 and if I had a few weeks I could probably get something for $4000 or less. Won't be pretty but it would run a 10' disc machine and for low acreage, just put a pad on the seat and wear ear protection. Don't worry about parts cost difference. Anything reasonably "obsolete" is going to have some parts issues in price, whether above or below 50 hp.


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

8350HiTech said:


> I could go buy a 80-100 tractor this afternoon for less than $7000 and if I had a few weeks I could probably get something for $4000 or less. Won't be pretty but it would run a 10' disc machine and for low acreage, just put a pad on the seat and wear ear protection. Don't worry about parts cost difference. Anything reasonably "obsolete" is going to have some parts issues in price, whether above or below 50 hp.


Not around here you won't find those deals. And then if you do - what have you got. You can run a haybine on a $2000-3000 junker just the same as an 80-100 hp double the cost junker tractor pulling a decent $2500 or less, in field ready condition, haybine. Less investment, lower overhead - speaking for small acreage as I realize larger requires a different business plan.

If the junker 80-100hp tractor breaks down, you've got an expensive repair - if you can find someone to do it. The 35 hp tractor - you can park it in a fence row, buy another one and still come out ahead. None of this factors in the cost of a discbine. Again, only speaking of small acreage.

I was dead set on buying a discbine come this December, but did a rebuild on our Hesston 1110 sickle mower conditioner this spring. For our small acreage, I can't see spending the $$$$'s on a discbine when the Hesston cuts and conditions beautifully and the field looks the same once the hay is off of it. We'll channel that discbine money towards other needs.

As to the OP's question - you'll love a disc mower conditioner if you pull the trigger on one.

YMMV
Bill


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

You can be like me pulling a 488 behind a Mx110  I wouldn't mind having a new NH 313 but I don't have the money in the piggy bank for one. I have entertained the idea of finding a used self propelled instead of a new pull type. More than likely I'd end up with a sickle with rubber rolls unless I could find a good disc with rollers.


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## pmurphy_19 (Apr 16, 2011)

Thank you everyone for your input and suggestions. I only have about 20 acres of hay that gets cut 2-3 times a year. I will keep my eyes peeled for a deal to upgrade the HP department and then maybe the disc mower. Thanks again, Patrick


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