# Beware of New Holland and West Hills tractor in TN



## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

I wanted to share my experience with Westhills tractor in Jonesbourgh TN. In the spring of 2015 I traded a 2011 New Holland h7220 discbine in at Westhills tractor for a brand new 2015 H7230. My reason for trading was because my h7220 discbine had a standard hitch and I was hitting the side of the hitch with my tractor tire when I made sharp turns. I decided to buy the h7230 because it had a swivel hitch and it would allow me to make tight turns, and not bind and hit my tractor tire. So after trading and having a total of $24900 in the new mower I immediately notice that the mower was not crimping my alfalfa evenly and I also noticed that it was not cutting my crop as well as my old mower was. This was on my second cutting as I had used my old discbine on my first cutting. I contacted west hills and the nightmare began we will get out there and look at it just let me know when you cut again. 3rd cutting came I called no one showed up. Called again on my fourth cutting no one showed up. Finally after my fourth cutting they did. They realized the roller had a flaw in it and had to replace the roller. I had to cut my 5th cutting with my neighbors disc mower because they had my mower for 2 months. I also knew it was hopeless that it would cut it cleanly. My neighbors disc mower cut it beautifully, but it didn't have the crimping action which I need to help dry my crop down. After two months of calling and calling I finally got it back. I Went to cut my final and beautiful 6th cutting and it cut it horribly. The mechanic they sent out said it looked like I had tired to cut my hay with the mower off and just dragging it across the field. It is a $24,900 field drag. So he gets to working on it. We lowered my drawbar on the tractor from 18" to 15" and it helped but still cutting bad no where near what it was advertised to do. I lowered the tire pressure from 36lbs to 10lbs as a final attempt to get the cutter at closer to the ground. It helped alittle more, but still not cutting acceptable. The mechanic says there's nothing else that can be done and I agree he his right. The owner of the company Tim Foster tells that even though it is under warranty tells me it is now a used mower and we will not take the mower back and give you a new mower and we will not refund your money. New Holland says that they will not have anything to do with them taking it back that they have nothing to do with the selling part just the dealer. No I am force to take West Hills to court and waste my time in court and lawyers fees in order to get what is fair. The fact is I spent $24,900 on a brand new piece of equipment that has never worked right from the beginning and I am going to now spend more on lawyers fees. I ask you to please consider this before doing any business with West Hills Tractor in jonesbourgh TN . If there is anything I can do to keep you from going through a nightmare like I have please feel free to PM me.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

Maybe this is a silly question, but did you reduce your engine RPMs? Vary your ground speed?

You're going to lose some cut quality in light crops going from flails to rolls. It's no wonder your neighbors mower with no conditioner did such a good job.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

Also, in all likelihood, it would be cheaper to sell it and buy another machine than it would be to go to court.


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## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

Yes we tried rpms from 450-650 rpms mowed from 2mph to 12mph. I am tired of being screw buy the rich guy. I'm taking him to court no matter how much it cost me. It's not about the money anymore. Both my new and old mowers were rolls so that shouldn't matter.


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## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

It's hard to tell in the pics but me and the mechanic estimated 60% to 70% of the crop had been drug down and not cut. Sorry pics are upside down I still can't get the pictures right in here.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

Are the knives mounted the right direction? (Yes, very "stupid" question, but there has to be a reason that it won't cut cleanly and that reason is not likely to be that it just plain doesn't work.)

Lowering it is not likely going to be the solution.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

Another silly question. Are the knives the right way? Does it have the lifters on the turtles?

I do know what it like in a fight with a big company. Iam in a fight with a seed dealer right now. They owe me money. Even have a letter from them saying they are going to pay me but its been months and have not gotten anything yet. Next month I can file a claim against them since it will have been 120 days,


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## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

I'm sorry you have to go through the same crap! This is what's wrong with America! Yes knives are right and yes the turtles have lifters. With the Recommended knife from new holland. Me and the dealer mechanic have spent hours going over it


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

1000 rpm machine with 540 shaft mistakenly installed?


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## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

The mechanic had thought the same thing, but he didn't bring it up again. I will ask him to talk to them and make sure it's not a 1000rpm machine. I had forgot about him saying that till you just said it.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

In thin hay its better if the turtles are flat and don't have lifters. The lifters can sometimes blow things down more so it does not get cut. On my Kuhn half of the lifters have worn off and now it cuts much better in thin hay. Which was good this year with the drought a lot of what I cut was thin.


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## Jay in WA (Mar 21, 2015)

Did you try tilting the header all the way forward? Also try opening the top doors. Could be blowing the hay over before its cut.


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## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

This hay is thick as you can see from the pictures average height was shorter 12" but it didn't cut good in my tall alfalfa either earlier in the year. But next spring if I still have the mower I will try taking the lifters off. I just mad because the machine has full warranty and both new holland and west hills have hung me out to dry as my lawyer puts it. I'm also gonna seek other punitive damages.


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

It seems like I hear many complaints with the NH discbines blowing short, thin, or tender crops down and not cutting clean. With as many complaints I have seen on here in the past few years it seems that it may be the nature of the NH discbine and nothing is wrong with your particular machine. I'm not saying that it is correct for it to do that but it just seems like when multiple machines of the same model are having that problem it is the design of the machine and not yours in particular. I would be very upset if my mower was leaving that much crop in the field. Nice looking alfalfa btw.

Funny thing I was looking at mower conditioners at the Sunbelt Expo today thinking I just might go to a disc machine this winter but remembered the posts on here about the NH not cutting clean in certain conditions, especially alfalfa. Even though at one point a couple years ago I almost bought a NH I have pretty much decided now when I do upgrade it won't be a NH because of this issue of not cutting clean. I don't seem to hear about this problem in other brands.


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## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

Header is all the way forward. It only has three positions with the hydraulic header tilt. We tried raising the door and side curtain, also just pulling the curtain over the top and tying it to the top. Nothing made a difference.


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## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

It is the nicest Alfalfa I have ever had this time of year just to be ruined by the machine. I agree 100% with you farmercline I think it's a design flaw, and New Holland is false advertising how good it is knowing it in fact isn't.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

That amount of crop left behind is not a design flaw. There is something wrong with your machine. Yes, they may have a reputation for leaving a ragged cut in certain conditions (and with certain operators) but the reputation of ragged cut and what you have are distinctly different.

Is your header flotation set correctly?


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## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

Yes it is set correctly, any heavier and am afraid to run the risk of making skid marks and damaging my crop or causing premature shoe wear


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

What kind of soil do you have? If its more of a clay so it might be better to not have it set so heavy as it can skid through stuff instead of riding over.


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## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

It is a mix of clay and lome. Like I said If I make it any heavier it will cause skid marks and tear up the crowns of my alfalfa and kill the plant. The header is not leaving the ground. New holland mechanic agrees that the header float is fine.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

I did a bad job of explaining myself. On the clay ground don't set it heavier set it lighter. Sometimes the clay can stick to the cutter bar and push down the hay so it can't be cut.


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## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

I understand what you saying but we have checked the skid shoes multiple times and they are clean off any clay.


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## Jay in WA (Mar 21, 2015)

I run a NH HW8080 rotary. The only time it doesn't cut clean is in heavy badly lodged 1st cutting. Neither will any of the other brands in that condition.

I have to run the header heavier than the book says. Run it lighter and it won't cut clean.

I can't tell from the upside down pictures what its doing. A picture showing the stubble between the windrows sure would help.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

Maybe Mike10 needs to take a vacation in TN. I bet he would have it running in a morning...


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Nate926 said:


> It is a mix of clay and lome. Like I said If I make it any heavier it will cause skid marks and tear up the crowns of my alfalfa and kill the plant. The header is not leaving the ground. New holland mechanic agrees that the header float is fine.


Don't worry about tearing up the crowns--alfalfa crowns are below ground.

Do your hydraulics have a float position? And is the head actually floating? The cutter head needs to be floating so that the shoes are riding on the ground.

I have had my 7230 for 4(?) years now and have had no problems with it. I wouldn't think it's a design defect, but maybe a manufacturing problem.

Ralph


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

I'd forget the lawsuit. Try to over your dealers head to a regional rep that works with forage equipment. In many cases they know more about getting their products to work right than a dealer mechanic will. Been there and done that with an HW325 that had hydraulic problems.


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## JMT (Aug 10, 2013)

The problem with the mower is not what is important here. At least it's not near as important as New Holland is not standing behind its product and the warranty.

The way I look at it, the New Holland warranty is the real problem. I feel if New Holland would stand behind its warranty, the dealer should be able to deal with this problem. It is not a selling issue, it is a product issue.

Anyone looking at buying anything New Holland should think twice about it.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

If my mower did that I would be pissed and they would probably have a slightly used machine blocking their front door the next morning when they reported for work. They would fix, test, and deliver back to me........if not acceptable I would sue their ass. If ya let em, they will screw you......your money has already been spent by these folk, they have little incentive to do the right thing if they are of poor moral character.......hope you get it worked out Nate


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

A good friend had a similar experience with a Canadian new holland dealer, he worked his way up the chain over the last year and finally spoke with the vice pres a month ago. The next day his dealer called with a fair offer to get rid of his lemon tractor that's less than a year old.

Re the discbine - I'd be awful suspicious of the correct rpm box being on there, surely they have a customer with one that's performing well they could park it next to and compare?


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

slowzuki said:


> A good friend had a similar experience with a Canadian new holland dealer, he worked his way up the chain over the last year and finally spoke with the vice pres a month ago. The next day his dealer called with a fair offer to get rid of his lemon tractor that's less than a year old.


Some years ago, I had a problem with an IBM mainframe computer system on a holiday weekend. I called for service and, because of the situation, was willing to pay the service charge for a holiday weekend call. Nobody responded within about 6 hours, so I placed an emergency service call to the service manager; no response; asked who his manager was and emergency called for him; no response; ask who he worked for, emergency called...get the picture?

Ended up calling a VP in Rochester, MN, where the machine was manufactured. Got a call back next day from the VP and had a service rep onsite in 2 hours! Never, ever, had another service call problem. Just had to find the right person to talk to.

My suggestion: Start calling, ask who he works for, then explain the problem. No satisfaction, call the next guy up, ask who he works for, explain the situation. Like shampoo, rinse and repeat as often as necessary.

Ralph

Ralph


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## bluefarmer (Oct 10, 2010)

8350HiTechYesterday, 10:43 PM

1000 rpm machine with 540 shaft mistakenly installed?
------------------------------------------
I agree and, in some of the older machines, I have heard, all it takes is a gear swap in gear box to change from 540-1000.


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

hog987 said:


> Another silly question. Are the knives the right way? Does it have the lifters on the turtles?
> 
> I do know what it like in a fight with a big company. Iam in a fight with a seed dealer right now. They owe me money. Even have a letter from them saying they are going to pay me but its been months and have not gotten anything yet. Next month I can file a claim against them since it will have been 120 days,


I agree... something is DEFINITELY wrong there... looks like either the blades are reversed (on the wrong turtles, since they contra-rotate) or the wrong blades or something...

I bought a new Woods rotary mower one time, and some numbnut installed the blades on the wrong spindles, and so it was cutting just about the same way...

Obviously, if every cutter NH sold worked like this, they'd be out of business before the end of the week. A GOOD setup mechanic and a THOROUGH reading of the manuals and checking the setup can go a LONG way to solving 98% of problems... It always amazes me how many guys NEVER read the [email protected] manual, and how many mechanics/ set up guys/salesmen know NOTHING about the adjustments and setup of the machinery they sell, or how it SHOULD work...

Guy I used to run a cutter for in my spare time when he needed a hand, was running a brand new 5610S he'd had a couple seasons and a 9 foot Kuhn disk mower... he always cut at five mph and usually stalled out and had to drop to a lower gear in thick hay even at that... and his 5610 was delivered with the front axle set up COMPLETELY WRONG...

I knew it should be able to cut anything we were running in at 6mph EASILY... got to looking and some numb-nut sent it out with the spring tensioner on the drive belts backed off nearly all the way-- the nuts were out at the end of the threads with the spring cap, nowhere near the end of the "tightness indicator" that stuck up from under the spring beside it. I grabbed a wrench and turned the nut down to compress the spring til it was level with the tightness indicator, and voila-- 6mph in anything with NO problems whatsoever!

His front tires were slick because of roading it with the tires SO toed-in that they were practically pointing at each other... the tractor darted SO bad going down the road it nearly killed me a time or two... He said the New Holland mechanic set it up that way when they delivered it, because he had them narrow it up enough to fit in his pipe-rail lowboy gooseneck trailer...

I grabbed a couple wrenches and adjusted the toe-in "by eyeball" and had a 1000% improvement almost instantly. Brought a tape measure out to the field in my pickup the next day and I was within about a half-inch of the correct toe-in... set it and worked perfectly... course the worn-off rubber on the shot front tires was another story...

On your diskbine, first thing I'd check is that the blades are installed the right way... the outer disks at the ends of the bars should be turning toward the center of the machine. On some of the New Hollands, with odd-number of turtles, the inner two turtles will turn the same direction, instead of every other one turning the opposite direction like most disk cutters... (contra-rotating). Since this mower probably uses twisted blades, MAKE SURE that as they rotate in the right direction, that they're cutting and LIFTING the crop upwards as it slides up the blade as the blade rotates FORWARD under the cut material. Depending on the blade design, the bevel on the blade edge might face up OR down, all depending on the twist of the blade... The blade should NEVER have the twisted blade installed so that the leading cutting edge is above the disk, with the twisted tapering down... The blades are reversible, so blades installed backward will create a downward draft like a ceiling fan that will blow most of the crop FLAT before it ever cuts it... (just like reversed shredder blades on my Woods did) Swapping the blades from one disk to the another turning the opposite direction is the fix...

If in doubt, read the book!

If the blades are rotating the right direction with the right twist, check the rotational direction... could be the cutterbar was assembled wrong or something and the disks are turning the wrong direction... Stupid things can happen; don't rule ANYTHING out til you verify it... Put the machine on the tractor and put it in gear at idle, and make sure the disks are turning the right direction... (ends toward the center, every other one turning the opposite direction, unless it has an odd number of disks, in which case the one next to the inner end on will turn the same direction as the end one, toward the center of the cutter...)

Next, check drive system to make sure nothing is slipping... if the blades are installed right and the disks are turning the right way, it should cut... unless it's losing speed and bogging down because something is slipping. A 3-point cutter would definitely have drive belts, which as I said I've seen delivered and set up SO loose that they slipped in practically ANYTHING... a diskbine SHOULD be direct-driven, but that doesn't mean that a key or splines or something isn't sheared, and allowing slippage under load while still turning at speed under no load... as I said, stupider things have happened...

Next, check all your machine adjustments... sounds like yall worked on the drawbar height, which can DEFINITELY put the cutter bar at the wrong working angle... again, IF IN DOUBT, READ THE MANUAL. Drawbar height and setup requirements are usually listed for every drawn implement, even planters, if drawbar height has any bearing on the operation of the machine, and on a diskbine it definitely does...

Check the adjustment of the cutterbar tilt angle, if applicable. Some are adjustable by various means-- different bolt holes, turnbuckles, etc... make sure that it is tilted level to slightly forward, depending on your conditions. Also, check the rear wheels to make sure they're the size the machine was intended to have, and that they're inflated properly-- the ride height of the wheels or tires on the back of the moco can sometimes affect the cutterbar angle, especially if they're riding lower than intended. Again, I've seen stupider stuff happen...

The Manual will describe the proper adjustment of the cutterbar tilt for various conditions. Set it up as the manual suggests, try it, and then try other adjustments from there if necessary or practical...

You mentioned lowering the air pressure in your rear tractor tires... that's probably a good thing, as it should lower the ride height some, improving the cutterbar angle... this coupled with drawbar height will affect the cutterbar angle, so double-check that the tires on the tractor match and everything is level... For instance, I recently replaced the rear tires on my 5610S, and I decided to go up a size, from 14.9x30's to 18.4-30's.... this coupled with the original 7.50/16 front tires has given the tractor a noticeable "rake" (the front end is lower than the rear end, nose down...) I plan to swap those tires onto the newer 5610S, which I put 11.00/16's on to help support the weight of the front end loader and material; that tractor currently is slightly "nose-up" because of the larger-than-factory front tires with the original factory rear tires... swapping tires should make both tractors level... If your tractor has had tires swapped out for different sizes at some point for whatever reason, it could be running out-of-spec as far as levelness, which could affect the drawbar height.

You mentioned that yall had tinkered with the drawbar height and things worked a little better.. sounds like you might be onto something. You also mentioned this is a new style articulated hitch cutter... I'm assuming that it's the one that slides over the drawbar and pivots at a point further back-- make sure that THIS type of hitch is assembled and adjusted correctly... if it's wrong, it would DEFINITELY throw the cutterbar angle completely out of whack... (again, stupider things have happened). Check to see it's not installed upside down or some other stupid mistake was made in the assembly or setup/adjustment of it...

Usually, something causing it to do this bad a job is something minor but really stupid... correct that and I think you'll have it doing a good job. Like I said, if everything they sold performed THIS bad (as your picture) they'd be out of business in a week...

I've heard that the NH disk mo-co's can produce a lot of wind because of the "lifting wedges" installed on the disks to lift the crop and help it "float" into the crimping rolls... I've heard the fix is to remove them and leave the tops of the turtles "slick" like a cutterbar setup for a regular 3 point disk mower (without conditioner). Might even have to look into low-twist or no-twist (flat) blades for it to reduce the "wind effect" of the spinning turtles, which can "blow down" the crop ahead of the cutter getting there in LIGHT CROP CONDITIONS... ESPECIALLY on the turtles that are contra-rotating away from each other as they're moving forward... those spinning toward each other as they move forward tend to draw stuff in between them better; the others tend to blow stuff down ahead of them leaving "stripes" in the cut field. Thick crops shouldn't have any problems most of the time though...

I'd bet it's something really simple and really stupid-- but finding it and correcting it is the key.

Good luck to you!

OL JR


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

Fixed yer pics for you...

Sorry not there to look over your machine...

Hope this helps! OL JR


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

Oh, and BTW...

DON'T trust everything you hear from your "NH mechanic" that they send out from the dealership... I've seen some real numb-nuts wrenching on equipment and really not having a clue what they're doing, working in dealerships...

This is the dealer falling down on the job... if the owners were worth a [email protected] they'd be trying to get this fixed for you, and working with you...

Like I said, a cutter doing this bad of a job has something really stupid going on... something reversed or out of whack and probably pretty simple to fix, if not very obvious (the 1000/540 PTO box being wrong sounds very plausible and would DEFINITELY prevent it from doing a good job!)

A dealer SHOULD be working hand in hand with you to get this working right... after all, it's not just YOU that's going to see this... neighbors and other farmers will as well, and how he's handling this situation is just going to make them look totally worthless. If they don't want to make this right, I'd be looking for another dealer... heck even another brand if necessary.

If they can't or won't make it right or get it working right, I'd find a dealer willing to work with you, even in another color machine, and trade up. Having spent this much money on a machine, though, it's not an attractive proposition...

99% of these sorts of things is finding the right guy who knows what they're doing. Sounds like it might not be the guy they have out there wrenching on it, from what you've said...

A happy customer generally tells or recommends them to 1-2 people-- an UNHAPPY customer generally denounces a dealer or store to AT LEAST 10 people... seems like your dealer would know that and be trying harder to make this work right...

Best of luck to you! OL JR


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

My wife asked me earlier to fix the photos but looks like Luke already done it. Glad Luke changed them because its tough to see with them upside down.

I don't believe it has been mentioned yet but have you had your tractors PTO checked? Many years ago my FIL was having trouble with the 686 turbo not pulling his NH 718 2 row silage cutter like it had in the past, everyone figured it was the silage cutter but it turned out that the PTO clutch was slipping.

We have a 1 1/2 year old H7220 and in light thin crop no matter what RPM's or forward speed you use it doesn't cut very well especially near the center of the cutterbar. I think the older Kuhn my wife bought cut better in light crop than the NH. I don't know if it's the air off the rollers, air off the croplifters, or what but it just leaves more behind than I think it should.

One thing I'm thinking about doing is ordering some rubber about half the thickness of what came on it and cut it to fit and try that see what happens. I still wonder if those heavy thick curtains aren't knocking over crop to the point that it can't stand back up in time to get cut off. The Kuhn had what was basically a thin piece of vinyl for a curtain.

In this video it's cutting regrowth Brown Top Millet and some Crabgrass, it looks like its cutting it fairly well but after it was raked you could tell it was not cut off as well as we thought, especially in the center. He's running full 540 RPM's in reg. PTO not PTO-E and cutting at about 5 mph, field was too rough for anything faster. The DiscBine is running High Stubble shoes and the tilt is set in the middle of the range.






In this video he's mowing Oats this past Spring, it didn't miss a thing and all cut off even across the cutterbar which is what we've come to expect out of legume and cane type crops.


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## Lewis Ranch (Jul 15, 2013)

I'd take that thing back like devildawg said and leave it parked at the front door until something happened.


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## Trotwood2955 (Sep 4, 2012)

I know this is only stating the obvious but there has to just be something setup wrong on this particular machine. There wouldn't be thousands upon thousands of NH roller discbines out there in operation if they all cut like this. Also sounds like a dealership problem. Ive had enough good experience with my NH dealer to feel like they wouldn't stop until the problem was fixed or it was traded out with a new machine.


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## krone.1 (Jul 28, 2013)

Wasnt there a similiar thread last year with a haytalker in Kentucky who had the same issues?


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

krone.1 said:


> Wasnt there a similiar thread last year with a haytalker in Kentucky who had the same issues?


Yes


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## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

Guys I've been gone all day to KY. I am wore out will read up on your post in the morning and reply! Thanks for all the advice


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

On a much smaller warranty-claims elated topic:
I blew out a Titan 14.9x24 radial on June 1. Tire had a 50% pro rated warranty on a zipper blowout on the sidewall. 
Haven't seen a penny of my $400 yet. Very irritating. 
Much much smaller than Nates warranty issues- Id be tearing my hair out, Nate. I can't imagine how upset you must be.

Many warranties are as worthless as the paper they were written on.


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## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

Guys thank you for all the support! I am gonna make sure that the Gear box isn't wrong. Then continue to try to figure out what to do!


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## lfc (Jun 23, 2010)

Not to dash any hopes here, but the H7230 swivel hitch only comes in 540 pto, or at least it did when I bought mine in 2013.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Really dumb suggestion, but could it be turtles spinning backwards? Are you sure blades are bolted on so that they can swivel freely? 
I can't imaging a new machine wouldn't cut!


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## FCF (Apr 23, 2010)

"Really dumb suggestion, but could it be turtles spinning backwards? Are you sure blades are bolted on so that they can swivel freely?
I can't imaging a new machine wouldn't cut!"

Could be. When I was first starting to farm, bought a JD rotatory mower that was traded in within 2 months of being sold from the original selling dealer, owner said it wouldn't cut. Mower was sold with " corn stalk blades", they were like an L shape with the short leg going down to chop more of the stalk. I bought the mower with a set of regular blades. When going to change out the blades, the stalk blades were mounted with the short leg going up and the sharpened edge was the trailing edge. Told the selling dealer I found out why the mower wouldn't cut corn stalks and they were dumbfounded that they had assembled and sold a machine in that condition. I also knew the previous owner, but the dealer asked me not to inform him of their mistake.


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

FCF said:


> "Really dumb suggestion, but could it be turtles spinning backwards? Are you sure blades are bolted on so that they can swivel freely?
> I can't imaging a new machine wouldn't cut!"
> 
> Could be. When I was first starting to farm, bought a JD rotatory mower that was traded in within 2 months of being sold from the original selling dealer, owner said it wouldn't cut. Mower was sold with " corn stalk blades", they were like an L shape with the short leg going down to chop more of the stalk. I bought the mower with a set of regular blades. When going to change out the blades, the stalk blades were mounted with the short leg going up and the sharpened edge was the trailing edge. Told the selling dealer I found out why the mower wouldn't cut corn stalks and they were dumbfounded that they had assembled and sold a machine in that condition. I also knew the previous owner, but the dealer asked me not to inform him of their mistake.


Yep, same thing happened to me on a new Woods 10 footer we bought years ago... had the "hi-suction" blades on it with the rear edge curved up to shred stuff up better-- pulled out in the pasture and it was just flattening stuff out, very little/no cutting going on...

Turns out some idgit mounted the blades on the wrong sides... they came and swapped them out and it worked fine since...

Later! OL JR


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Built on a Friday?Left hand and right hand blades reversed?Disgruntled employee swapped some gears around in a gear case?


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Had a major shaft repair at the jd dealer on my BH3210 which included new blades. On being returned, flattened the grass just like JR said. Could not believe the mechanics put them on backwards, I mean really, no quality control anymore.


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## NL80 (Mar 3, 2015)

It is often recommended to remove the lifters from the discs that are in front of the rollers and to use the longer blades from the 416 durabine head to clean up the quality of cut. We have had good luck with this fix. The blades will normally help a lot alone, so you might try those first.


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## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

Ok thanks NL80! Next spring they are supposed to bring a header extension, and give that a try but I will talk to them about the longer blades and taking the lifters off.


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

From what I understand the lifters are only for lifting the crop up after it's cut off and into the conditioners but I still wonder if they might create too much air turbulence and may be the cause of some thin crop being blown and under the cutterbar without being cut. I believe someone on here has already removed theirs but not sure what to outcome was.


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

Grateful11 said:


> tur
> From what I understand the lifters are only for lifting the crop up after it's cut off and into the conditioners but I still wonder if they might create too much air turbulence and may be the cause of some thin crop being blown and under the cutterbar without being cut. I believe someone on here has already removed theirs but not sure what to outcome was.


Yes, that's what I've heard and the reason for it... too much wind coming out around the turtles pushing the crop over before the blades get there...

The New Holland cutters use a "taller turtle" than most other brands anyway, due to the design of their cutter bar... since they have to put a 90 degree bevel gear under there to turn the power vertical from the horizontal shafts running between modules, they have to put the bearings and stuff above that... which means a "taller turtle" compared to gear-bed cutterbar designs like Kuhn and most everybody else... which is why they can use 'flatter turtles'...

The taller turtle is going to disturb more air than a flatter one anyway... then you add on big wedges bolted to the top of the turtle to "lift the crop into the rollers" and you've got a big wind machine...

Still, I DO NOT think that is the main problem here... the crop he was cutting looked heavy enough to stand up to whatever wind was coming from the cutterbar... I STILL think *something* is reversed or running at the wrong speed... with reversed being the most likely IMHO...

Also I still wouldn't trust their "company mechanic" totally either...

From the pics, it sure LOOKS like that's what it's doing (running backwards or way too slow)).

Later! OL JR


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## shortrow (Feb 21, 2012)

I have bought from West Hills twice through Tractor House, and have been more than pleased with them.


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