Krone disc mowers

[hayrack]

Does anyone own a Krone disc mower or tell me what you know about them either good or bad. Going to have to buy another mower soon and I am looking at brands. Got a Kuhn now and having problems.

 

[ironpeddler]

What seems to be the problem with you Kuhn mower? What model do you have? How old is it? Just trying to help you find a mower that meets your needs.

 

[hayrack]

What seems to be the problem with you Kuhn mower? What model do you have? How old is it? Just trying to help you find a mower that meets your needs.

I have a Kuhn GMD 700 Gll HD that I bought in 12-03. I bought it new and it has been over at the most 1500 acres and has a crack in the bottom of the cutterbar next to the big shoe on the tractor side of mower. I had a Kuhn 6 disc mower before this one and could not have been happier with it and kept it 17 years. It was still good when I traded it off but was the kind where you had to split the cutterbar to work on and thought it was getting age on it so traded it. This mower I have now is not the quality of mower of the old one. I just replaced the hydraulic hose on it and have 3 shoes with cracks in them too. If you looked at the mower you would think it is close to new. I take care of my equipment and this thing is not right. I talked to a welder that has seen problems like this and said more cracks would open up and they are starting to. I am running it still and check oil every 2 hours and put 80W140 oil in and corn head grease. It will use about a pint of oil every 2 hours. Dont know if I can buy another Kuhn or not. I always heard that the Krone was the cadillac of disc mowers but dont know much about them. A 7 disc Kuhn is 8000.00 and a Krone is the same price. When the new shipment comes in they go to 9400.00. This stuff is getting out of hand and at theses prices it needs to last more than 5 years. A new cutter bar for the old mower would be 4200.00 and you could put a bottom half on it but after the work and labor and the cost of a bottom half you would be better to put the whole cutterbar. I have just seen too much weakness in this mower to put 4200.00 in it.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Does anyone own a Krone disc mower or tell me what you know about them either good or bad. Going to have to buy another mower soon and I am looking at brands. Got a Kuhn now and having problems.

I run a Krone mower and bailer good equipment, both are popular in this area. Krone is carried by the JD dealer.
Never done anything to the mower except change blades and grease.

 

[hurleyjd]

Caustic: For some reason I thought that you ran a vermeer baler, when did you aquire the Krone, is it a fixed chamber or variable. What model, how heavy are the bales.

 

[bigbull338]

you cant go wrong with a krone mower.they are good heavy mowers.an they are well built.the only thing i can tell to watch is the slipp clutch.it will lock up on you.an when it does it has tobe replaced.been there an done that.so always make sure itll turn before you hook it up.an read your owners book on how to free it up.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Caustic: For some reason I thought that you ran a vermeer baler, when did you aquire the Krone, is it a fixed chamber or variable. What model, how heavy are the bales.

I do bale with an old wore out Vermeer also have a Mexican ride beside it on a four wheeler and cut the string. I can't fix it the dealer can't fix it either. Dang thing will cut the string on two or three rolls and then you have to. It can really PO you. The Krone is a fixed chamber and I think it bales bahia better than the belt balers.
I bought the Krone about five years ago from my cousin who was a custom baler in our area, he developed heart trouble and had to quit. I bought the baler which was 3 years old at the time, cutter, rakes the whole kit and kaboddle for 10,000. The Krone 160 was selling for better that 20,000 when I bought him out.

 

[Earl Thigpen]

Caustic: For some reason I thought that you ran a vermeer baler, when did you aquire the Krone, is it a fixed chamber or variable. What model, how heavy are the bales.

I do bale with an old wore out Vermeer also have a Mexican ride beside it on a four wheeler and cut the string. I can't fix it the dealer can't fix it either. Dang thing will cut the string on two or three rolls and then you have to. It can really PO you. The Krone is a fixed chamber and I think it bales bahia better than the belt balers.
I bought the Krone about five years ago from my cousin who was a custom baler in our area, he developed heart trouble and had to quit. I bought the baler which was 3 years old at the time, cutter, rakes the whole kit and kaboddle for 10,000. The Krone 160 was selling for better that 20,000 when I bought him out.

CB, I'm sure you've already played with idea but my old NH chain baler would'nt cut the string either. I did everything I could think of including sharpening the blades so's you could shave with them. I ran out of string one day in the middle of the field and had to go to town to buy some more. Turns out the dealer was out of the cheap stuff I'd been using so I had to get a roll of the heavy duty blue string. It cuts the blue string every time - never misses.

 

[dun]

I've seen a lot of balers, old and new, that don;t cut the plastic twine but work to perfection with sisal.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I use the sisal the premium stuff it doesnt like nylon at all. I don't like the nylon either as with the sisal I just put out the bale no string to mess with.

 

[ironpeddler]

Caustic: For some reason I thought that you ran a vermeer baler, when did you aquire the Krone, is it a fixed chamber or variable. What model, how heavy are the bales.

I do bale with an old wore out Vermeer also have a Mexican ride beside it on a four wheeler and cut the string. I can't fix it the dealer can't fix it either. Dang thing will cut the string on two or three rolls and then you have to. It can really PO you. The Krone is a fixed chamber and I think it bales bahia better than the belt balers.
I bought the Krone about five years ago from my cousin who was a custom baler in our area, he developed heart trouble and had to quit. I bought the baler which was 3 years old at the time, cutter, rakes the whole kit and kaboddle for 10,000. The Krone 160 was selling for better that 20,000 when I bought him out.

Not all dealers are created equal. I'll bet the National debt Carter & Carter Machinery can fix your Vermeer baler.

 

[ironpeddler]

What seems to be the problem with you Kuhn mower? What model do you have? How old is it? Just trying to help you find a mower that meets your needs.

I have a Kuhn GMD 700 Gll HD that I bought in 12-03. I bought it new and it has been over at the most 1500 acres and has a crack in the bottom of the cutterbar next to the big shoe on the tractor side of mower. I had a Kuhn 6 disc mower before this one and could not have been happier with it and kept it 17 years. It was still good when I traded it off but was the kind where you had to split the cutterbar to work on and thought it was getting age on it so traded it. This mower I have now is not the quality of mower of the old one. I just replaced the hydraulic hose on it and have 3 shoes with cracks in them too. If you looked at the mower you would think it is close to new. I take care of my equipment and this thing is not right. I talked to a welder that has seen problems like this and said more cracks would open up and they are starting to. I am running it still and check oil every 2 hours and put 80W140 oil in and corn head grease. It will use about a pint of oil every 2 hours. Dont know if I can buy another Kuhn or not. I always heard that the Krone was the cadillac of disc mowers but dont know much about them. A 7 disc Kuhn is 8000.00 and a Krone is the same price. When the new shipment comes in they go to 9400.00. This stuff is getting out of hand and at theses prices it needs to last more than 5 years. A new cutter bar for the old mower would be 4200.00 and you could put a bottom half on it but after the work and labor and the cost of a bottom half you would be better to put the whole cutterbar. I have just seen too much weakness in this mower to put 4200.00 in it.

The problem you face are common in that model. Kuhn increased the weight of the machine and that hitch is not kind to a the cutterbar when used on tratctors that do not have float on their SCV hydraulic valve. It is not as bad if you have table level fields. Just remember your old Kuhn unit was not as heavy and had a different frame. You still can purchase the old Style GMD77 that is now made in the Czech Republic. We are located in the mountains and see many of those GMD 600 & 700 mowers traded in with the same problem you have.

 

[hayrack]

What seems to be the problem with you Kuhn mower? What model do you have? How old is it? Just trying to help you find a mower that meets your needs.

I have a Kuhn GMD 700 Gll HD that I bought in 12-03. I bought it new and it has been over at the most 1500 acres and has a crack in the bottom of the cutterbar next to the big shoe on the tractor side of mower. I had a Kuhn 6 disc mower before this one and could not have been happier with it and kept it 17 years. It was still good when I traded it off but was the kind where you had to split the cutterbar to work on and thought it was getting age on it so traded it. This mower I have now is not the quality of mower of the old one. I just replaced the hydraulic hose on it and have 3 shoes with cracks in them too. If you looked at the mower you would think it is close to new. I take care of my equipment and this thing is not right. I talked to a welder that has seen problems like this and said more cracks would open up and they are starting to. I am running it still and check oil every 2 hours and put 80W140 oil in and corn head grease. It will use about a pint of oil every 2 hours. Dont know if I can buy another Kuhn or not. I always heard that the Krone was the cadillac of disc mowers but dont know much about them. A 7 disc Kuhn is 8000.00 and a Krone is the same price. When the new shipment comes in they go to 9400.00. This stuff is getting out of hand and at theses prices it needs to last more than 5 years. A new cutter bar for the old mower would be 4200.00 and you could put a bottom half on it but after the work and labor and the cost of a bottom half you would be better to put the whole cutterbar. I have just seen too much weakness in this mower to put 4200.00 in it.

The problem you face are common in that model. Kuhn increased the weight of the machine and that hitch is not kind to a the cutterbar when used on tratctors that do not have float on their SCV hydraulic valve. It is not as bad if you have table level fields. Just remember your old Kuhn unit was not as heavy and had a different frame. You still can purchase the old Style GMD77 that is now made in the Czech Republic. We are located in the mountains and see many of those GMD 600 & 700 mowers traded in with the same problem you have.

I use this mower on a JD 2955 and have float and always use it. I have pretty level and smooth fields compared to the part of the country you are talking about. I am glad to hear this in not umcommon. They have led me to believe they have never heard of it. I wondered how this thing would have held up if I had been where it was rocky. When you see these mowers traded in what are they valued at on trade in. They told me this one was worth 500.00 the way it is. That is real funny to me. Makes me want to laugh now.

 

[hayrack]

Want to ask also what mowers are the most popular where you are at? I know you sell some mowers and looked at your web site. I think if it would hold up in the rocks and mountains it would hold up anywhere. I believe I ordered parts from you one time for a no till drill. I have been told to stay away from the cutter bars with oil and go to a segmented bar also by some people. Thanks for your replies.

 

[hurleyjd]

I have owned a Kuhn, a Lely, a Rhino and a Vicon. Of those four the Vicon held up longer and cut better than any of the four. I am now using a model 1300 ih sickle mower. I would not mind having a trailed type Vermeer or a Vicon. I may sometimes when I can find a good used one.

 

[hayrack]

I have owned a Kuhn, a Lely, a Rhino and a Vicon. Of those four the Vicon held up longer and cut better than any of the four. I am now using a model 1300 ih sickle mower. I would not mind having a trailed type Vermeer or a Vicon. I may sometimes when I can find a good used one.

I grew up on a sickle mower and learned to cuss cutting red clover with one. They are low cost and will last and I thought about one this time but dont know if it will work for me. I thought these disc mowers were the stuff untill the one I have went to almost no value. I cant buy equipment and have it last no longer than this thing has and pay for it with cattle. Now if I was cutting weed and I mean the kind they sell on the street it may be another thing. I guess I could handle that. I need a mower that will stick around for a while. Is a 1300 IH a newer mower?

 

[hurleyjd]

The 1300 is the last series of the balanced head mower that IH sold. The New Idea mower is the same, I think that agco still makes this mower.Also Rowse still sells this mower under their name. http://www.rowserakes.com/mowers.html. Now back to my mower I bought it for $750 dollars and spent another $600 on new rock guards and two new sickles, a new belt and pto covers. I cut some pretty rough stuff with it and have no trouble. The balanced head is pretty simple and can be repaired very easy if you do not let it go to far. I buy all of my cutting parts from Webbs sickle service. http://sickleservice.com/