# Got myself a disc mower! Kuhn GMD 44 input?



## CDennyRun (Nov 26, 2015)

I picked up this Kuhn GMD 44 today for $1000. It looks like it's in pretty good shape. None of the turtle bearing look bad, and the guy took really good care of it. In my area this was a screaming deal. It's hard to find anything this size that's brand name for less than $2k.

Does anyone have one of these, or any thoughts on what to keep an eye on? I've done a bunch of research, and it seems like they're good machines.

All I can say is.. I'm STOKED to not have to use the sickle bar mower for this hay season! I know it's a smaller cut, but that sickle mower was literally a pain in my neck!

Thanks,

Chris


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Congratulations on the mower and moving away from the cycle bar. I remember when we made that move. I got off the tractor to see if the disc mower was really cutting.

I do not know anything about that model. Kuhn makes a good product.


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## sixtyninegmc (Jul 20, 2011)

Mowing will be such pleasure now, you'll probably want more acres! I had a Kuhn pull type I bought used in Lynden, and was nothing but impressed with it, even after its first life of being abused by a dairyman.

Josh


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## 2ndWindfarm (Nov 11, 2014)

It's a great little mower. Had one for 4 years. Used a 33hp (pto) tractor on it and you can cut belt-buckle tall Timothy and no plugging!
Only real issue I had was keeping the sway chains on the 3pt arms adjusted to maintain a right angle on the cutter bar. You can bend the threaded adjustment bolt if you don't keep an eye on it.
Everything on the mower was pretty much bullet proof. 
Clean gear lube in the cutter bar and sharpen the blades... That's about it.
Check for excessive "slop" in the turtles. I.e. when you rotate one of the turtles you should see the adjacent turtles move within less than a half inch or so of the first turtle moving. If you've got more than that, a look see might be called for before this next hay season.


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## bool (Mar 14, 2016)

Looks good! I have never used Kuhn gear but it does look well designed and made. For a long time several companies used Kuhn cutterbars.

It might be narrower than your sickle bar mower but you can cut any curve and any corner without stopping and it won't plug up in short grass or a bit of dampness and you won't have to spend forever setting up the cutterbar and you can sharpen the blades in a couple of minutes with a cordless angle grinder. So your mowing will be quicker.

About 30 years ago we bought a 10-year-old Taarup TS1650, same size as your Kuhn, for $1500. It was a big step up from the MF 6 foot sickle bar mower we had been using. We ran it for quite a few years on an IH 444, which has less power than a 464. It took all the power the tractor had so we tried to keep the blades sharp. They don't last as long if you sharpen them frequently but blades are fairly cheap. I think the newer design disc mowers like yours use less power than the older ones. Anyway, that mower gave us almost no trouble. We never had to pull down the cutterbar or replace any bearings. I sold it only last year after I bought a bigger Taarup mower.

Roger


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## TJH (Mar 23, 2014)

Just as well come to grips with one thing right now, you will quit haymaking before you go back to a sickle bar!


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## DSLinc1017 (Sep 27, 2009)

Congrats! As said, You will never look back! If you are on an open station make sure the rock skirt is in good shape as you don't want anything getting flung in your direction. Those knives spin really fast!

Along with the new blades, a spare turtle bearing or break away part, if they have such a thing exists on that mower. Some one here will chime in on that one.

Another good investment might be a good pair of hearing protection.

Cheers,


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## Josh in WNY (Sep 7, 2010)

Congratulations! It's always nice to upgrade equipment when a great deal come along.


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## CDennyRun (Nov 26, 2015)

Tim/South said:


> Congratulations on the mower and moving away from the cycle bar. I remember when we made that move. I got off the tractor to see if the disc mower was really cutting.
> 
> I do not know anything about that model. Kuhn makes a good product.


Ha ha, that's funny! I could see how one would think it might not have cut, especially in really thick/tall fields.



sixtyninegmc said:


> Mowing will be such pleasure now, you'll probably want more acres! I had a Kuhn pull type I bought used in Lynden, and was nothing but impressed with it, even after its first life of being abused by a dairyman.
> 
> Josh


Yep, I'm hoping to get at least another five or six this year. That would put us around 15, which would be plenty for our animals, with some left over to sell. Extra hay would be a great problem to have! did you live in Lynden?



2ndWindfarm said:


> It's a great little mower. Had one for 4 years. Used a 33hp (pto) tractor on it and you can cut belt-buckle tall Timothy and no plugging!
> Only real issue I had was keeping the sway chains on the 3pt arms adjusted to maintain a right angle on the cutter bar. You can bend the threaded adjustment bolt if you don't keep an eye on it.
> Everything on the mower was pretty much bullet proof.
> Clean gear lube in the cutter bar and sharpen the blades... That's about it.
> Check for excessive "slop" in the turtles. I.e. when you rotate one of the turtles you should see the adjacent turtles move within less than a half inch or so of the first turtle moving. If you've got more than that, a look see might be called for before this next hay season.


Yeah, I've seen videos from other countries where a Kubota L22 is running it. It'a hard to believe any disc mower could be ran on 15 pto hp. Thanks for the info on the chains and maintenance. Much appreciated!



bool said:


> Looks good! I have never used Kuhn gear but it does look well designed and made. For a long time several companies used Kuhn cutterbars.
> 
> It might be narrower than your sickle bar mower but you can cut any curve and any corner without stopping and it won't plug up in short grass or a bit of dampness and you won't have to spend forever setting up the cutterbar and you can sharpen the blades in a couple of minutes with a cordless angle grinder. So your mowing will be quicker.
> 
> ...


I've heard really good things about Taarup equipment. I hope the new one is as good as the old one for ya! Thanks for the insight!



TJH said:


> Just as well come to grips with one thing right now, you will quit haymaking before you go back to a sickle bar!


Ha ha! I'm sure you're not joking! My neck feels better already just knowing I won't have to constantly look back to babysit. I swear it seemed like every 50ft I had to stop, backup, shake the bar and try again.. and for that reason, I couldn't take my eyes off the dang thing. I have a feeling the 2017 hay season will be a lot less stressful!

Chris


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## CDennyRun (Nov 26, 2015)

DSLinc1017 said:


> Congrats! As said, You will never look back! If you are on an open station make sure the rock skirt is in good shape as you don't want anything getting flung in your direction. Those knives spin really fast!
> 
> Along with the new blades, a spare turtle bearing or break away part, if they have such a thing exists on that mower. Some one here will chime in on that one.
> 
> ...


Thanks! Yeah, they're pretty loud. I'm trying to figure out what I want to do about that. It's an open station with no canopy, so I wear my cowboy hat, which doesn't work with headset style ear protection. I also hate the feeling of foam ear plugs. I know they're the most effective, but in a way they do too good of a job. I want to hear some things still, so I can tell if something is going wrong. Ear plugs also build up pressure in my head, or at least that's what it feels like. Maybe I need to bite the bullet and build a canopy, so I can wear the headset AND not burn up as bad. Ha ha

Chris


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## bool (Mar 14, 2016)

A disc mower can still catch cut grass and bunch it up, usually on the last runs in the centre of the field or the corners, so you do have to look behind occasionally. But not all the time. My first baler was like that, an IH B45. You could look through the knotter housing at the bales as they came off the knotter and I watched each one to make sure it was tied properly on both strings so I could stop in time to fix any misties before the bale was spat out and broke open. Now I just drive and look back only occasionally.

You can buy earmuffs with a joining band that goes around behind your neck rather than over your head. They are designed to wear with cowboy hats and the like. Disc mowing is a noisy job. Those mowers have a lot of gears in them and they whine, plus the tractor is noisy becasue it is working hard.

Roger


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## DSLinc1017 (Sep 27, 2009)

Getting a disc mower was the perfect excuse to get a cab tractor  Its like getting a set of ear plugs, rock protection and a BIG hat that comes with AC all in one product!

But in reality, yes they are loud. protect them ears.

Cheers,


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## CDennyRun (Nov 26, 2015)

bool said:


> A disc mower can still catch cut grass and bunch it up, usually on the last runs in the centre of the field or the corners, so you do have to look behind occasionally. But not all the time. My first baler was like that, an IH B45. You could look through the knotter housing at the bales as they came off the knotter and I watched each one to make sure it was tied properly on both strings so I could stop in time to fix any misties before the bale was spat out and broke open. Now I just drive and look back only occasionally.
> 
> You can buy earmuffs with a joining band that goes around behind your neck rather than over your head. They are designed to wear with cowboy hats and the like. Disc mowing is a noisy job. Those mowers have a lot of gears in them and they whine, plus the tractor is noisy becasue it is working hard.
> 
> Roger


Thanks! I haven't looked much into custom ear protection, but something like that sounds like a must have. My IH N0.47 misses sometimes, like one out of every 20 bales or so. It's always nice if you can catch it while in the bale chamber to tie it off. Having to redo something you already did really sucks.. especially if you're running out of daylight!



DSLinc1017 said:


> Getting a disc mower was the perfect excuse to get a cab tractor  Its like getting a set of ear plugs, rock protection and a BIG hat that comes with AC all in one product!
> 
> But in reality, yes they are loud. protect them ears.
> 
> Cheers,


Ha ha! I'll use this as one of many reasons to buy a cab tractor in the future. Talking my wife into it isn't the problem.. it's the budget. If I did this for a living, I wouldn't even think about it.

Chris


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## TJH (Mar 23, 2014)

Chris, just make sure the curtain is in good shape (good aftermarket ones are available at reasonable cost vs OEM ones, which are pricey.) I use ear plugs vs ear muffs and they work good, it's the pitch of the whine that will work on your hearing and your nerves. Run so that you cut 2" at the min, the higher the better not only will you get faster regrowth but will not be as hard on the blades and you will be able to skim over most things in the field. Mine is set to run at 3.5".Just a few things to help you along , learning to use it and what it will and won't do will be the fun part. Learning to hook and unhook it will be a challenge, some choice words could come into play. Have Fun!


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## CDennyRun (Nov 26, 2015)

TJH said:


> Chris, just make sure the curtain is in good shape (good aftermarket ones are available at reasonable cost vs OEM ones, which are pricey.) I use ear plugs vs ear muffs and they work good, it's the pitch of the whine that will work on your hearing and your nerves. Run so that you cut 2" at the min, the higher the better not only will you get faster regrowth but will not be as hard on the blades and you will be able to skim over most things in the field. Mine is set to run at 3.5".Just a few things to help you along , learning to use it and what it will and won't do will be the fun part. Learning to hook and unhook it will be a challenge, some choice words could come into play. Have Fun!


Thank you TJH. I just got a quote for the "high skid shoes" to elevate the mower a couple inches.. $210 + $70 shipping! Holy cow. I might just make them myself out of some 12ga or something. Last year I cut one field too low, and didn't get a second cut. The field half a mile away, I cut about 5-6" high, and got a second cut. Lesson learned.

Chris


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## MFSuper90 (Jun 26, 2015)

He wiz seeing your picture brought back some terrible nightmares from my old GMD 77hd disc mower. Great mower when it's working. Aweful to repair when it's not. The Kuhn has some expensive parts. The double bearing underneath each disc is $250 a piece and every other bearing inside the case is $80 to $110. A spur gear is $310. As you can see a rebuild can get really expensive and will require the whole bar to be removed and split. If you have any questions drop me a pm. After two rebuilds, I know a lot about these old GMD s


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## TJH (Mar 23, 2014)

No matter what brand they are expensive to repair, just goes with the territory, parts, options etc. add up very quickly.


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## sixtyninegmc (Jul 20, 2011)

I don't live in Lynden, but my wife's family is from Lynden so we spend a month or so down here every year, and I have bought a lot of equipment in the area. Beautiful place to visit.


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## CDennyRun (Nov 26, 2015)

sixtyninegmc said:


> I don't live in Lynden, but my wife's family is from Lynden so we spend a month or so down here every year, and I have bought a lot of equipment in the area. Beautiful place to visit.


Yep, it sure is a nice place. It's hard to find a bad view in this valley!

Chris


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