# Disc Mower Conditioner and Horse Power



## farm727 (Dec 30, 2011)

Hi All,
I am looking to buy a new 9ft cut disc mo/co. The min hp required seems to be 70hp. Will an 65 pto hp tractor handle it. The reason I ask is my neighbor pulls his 9ft disc mo/co with a 55 hp tractor with no problem. His equipment is 25 years old though. Maybe the newer stuff takes more power. What says you?
Thanks!


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## Josh in WNY (Sep 7, 2010)

Depending on the mower model and age, there can be some big differences in HP requirements. I run a CaseIH 3309 disc mower/conditioner (9 foot cut) and the manual calls for about 60 HP minimum to run it. A new 9 ft cut disc mower/conditioner with rubber rolls from NH calls for 65 HP. But if you move up to the 10 foot cut NH, minimum HP is 80. Keep in mind that these ratings are for ideal conditions (flat land, uniform crop, etc.) and running at pretty high ground speeds. If you have hills, heavy crops or other non-optimal conditions, you'll probably need a little more power.

We usually run our 3309 with a JD 4020 (rated at 94 HP) but have also run it with an IH 784 (about 67 HP) and a Ford 5000 (also about 67 HP). All of them run the mower pretty well, but the 5000 worked pretty hard at it (most likely because the engine is pretty wore out). The 4020 barely knows the mowers behind it and you can run almost any speed you want. If you can post the model of the mower and the tractors you have to run it, the other guys on here will be able to give you a good idea of what kind of match up you have.


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## Toyes Hill Angus (Dec 21, 2010)

The 3309 CIH or 5209 NI are basically the same machine. They both have low HP demands and work well. The 920 JD is only slightlt larger at 9'9", but if it has a flial conditioner, it will take all of the HP you have to offer!!! Manufacturer recomendations seem to me to be quite resonalbe for most situations. Big hills and heavy crops can change this game durastically.


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## farm727 (Dec 30, 2011)

Thanks guys,
I have a NH TN75D (65hp) and a Kubota M9000 (80hp). I am looking at a Krone 3200 (flail conditioner) I have a few hills and decent hay for old strip ground in western PA.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

You should be fine. When I first got my 13' discbine I ran it with a 85 hp tractor at almost 11mph in really heavy second cut.


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## urednecku (Oct 18, 2010)

I'm pulling a MO-CO 926 flail, 9'9" cut, with a Kubota M7040, rated I think @68hp. Cutting hermothia that should have been cut 5 months ago, I was down to 2 and 1st gear a lot. The grass was just too thick. The small area I had cut some planting grass off in the middle of the summer, I was able to cut in 4th, & it did a good job. But like Toyes Hill Angus said, it still used all the hp available.


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## Edgewood (Jun 29, 2009)

I have a Krone 3210(10') moco with conditioning rolls and it takes a good bit of power to run it at speed in heavy first cutting grass. I pull it with a 100+ hp tractor and at 9-10 mph it has it's hands full. Sure you could go slower but it seems to do a better job at that speed. Alfalfa and later cutting grass are no problem at all. I used to run an 80hp tractor on it but it just didn't handle it well in heavy 1st cutting Timothy. I think you'll be OK with 80hp but I don't know if I would want to run it with less.


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## farm727 (Dec 30, 2011)

Thanks Edgewood. From your experience would I be better off with the 2800 (8'8" cut) and maybe a faster speed or the 3200 a little slower? Also how long have you had the Krone and how do you like it? This is probably the only new piece of equipment I will ever be able to afford. I chose it because it looked well engineered and rugged.


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## Edgewood (Jun 29, 2009)

I would go with the 3200CV. There might be a few times in heavy grass it would load an 80hp tractor pretty good but in later cuttings you will be glad for the extra capacity. I've had my 3210(same machine but center pivot hitch) going on four years now with no real problems. I mow about 120 acres a year and the only repair I had was to rebuild the seals in the swing cylinder.


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## farm727 (Dec 30, 2011)

Thanks again Edgewood!


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