Using a Double Chop to Mow?

Selectamatic

Member

Location

North Wales

• Jun 3, 2018

• #1

I've had an idea...

If I took a double chop to the hayfield, set it going with the rear auger door open, would it mow it, bash it up a bit it, and throw it out of the back, on the floor to wilt?


Would it do too much / too little conditioning?

Would the auger still feed it to the flywheel, chop it and blow it out the spout?

Should I stop getting these ideas?!

Opinions, anyone?

 

davidroberts30

Member

Location

pembrokeshire

• Jun 3, 2018

• #2

Pray it dont rain if you do do it

Might be better to mow in swathes and do as you say after,it wont mangle it up as much

 

Selectamatic

Member

Location

North Wales

• Jun 3, 2018

• #3

davidroberts30 said:

Pray it dont rain if you do do it

Might be better to mow in swathes and do as you say after,it wont mangle it up as much

Click to expand...

Run it through the swaths rather than direct cut? Why so?

Surely it would not be much worse than a Mower Conditioner?

 

davidroberts30

Member

Location

pembrokeshire

• Jun 3, 2018

• #4

Selectamatic said:

Run it through the swaths rather than direct cut? Why so?

Surely it would not be much worse than a Mower Conditioner?

Click to expand...

Try it !!

 

Selectamatic

Member

Location

North Wales

• Jun 3, 2018

• #5

davidroberts30 said:

Try it !!

Click to expand...

Thought I'd ask some grown ups on here first...

 

Kevtherev

Member

✓

Location

Welshpool Powys

• Jun 3, 2018

• #6

Used to do it with the old new Holland double chop worked well.
They were designed to cut as a mower as well if needed

 

davidroberts30

Member

Location

pembrokeshire

• Jun 3, 2018

• #7

Selectamatic said:

Thought I'd ask some grown ups on here first...

Click to expand...

Please yourself
We've tried it both ways here in the past
Direct cut is well mangled
Less so doing swathes

 

Boohoo

Member

Location

Newtownabbey

• Jun 3, 2018

• #8

Think you'd need to take the auger drive chain off to make sure that grass didn't end up in the flywheel. It should work well and the grass will dry a lot faster.

 

davidroberts30

Member

Location

pembrokeshire

• Jun 3, 2018

• #9

Boohoo said:

Think you'd need to take the auger drive chain off to make sure that grass didn't end up in the flywheel. It should work well and the grass will dry a lot faster.

Click to expand...

It will clear the auger

 

mar

Member

Location

Ulster (Rep of Irl)

• Jun 3, 2018

• #10

I have seen one modified to cut potato tops and also to cut rushes, I never seen them working though.

 

E

essexpete

Member

Location

Essex

• Jun 3, 2018

• #11

I have mown under the hedges with a flail and it does dry very quickly but smashed up too much. I did try the flat as a conditioner following disc mower. The grass was tough and long. The rotor grabbed the swath like a rope and blocked the machine.

 

oakleaf

Member

Location

South coast of Ireland

• Jun 4, 2018

• #12

Saw it done in the 70s with a kidd dc.
Worked ok in so far as the auger and flywheel werent stopped and grass just flew out the back door. It was picked up the following day.
Once drum and disc mowers became common place though it was far easier to mow with them.
Thing was though with the kidd dc anyway it was actually easier and faster to direct cut.

 

bobk

Member

Location

stafford

• Jun 4, 2018

• #13

Someone trying to re invent the wheel .

 

Flat 10

Member

Arable Farmer

Location

Fen Edge

• Jun 5, 2018

• #14

@Forage Trader used to do this I think...........

 

Henarar

Member

Livestock Farmer

Location

Somerset

• Jun 5, 2018

• #15

they did make flail mowers which were more or less the same thing without the flywheel etc wilder made one
it would dry fast behind one you only have to see how fast stuff dry's behind a topper to work that out but as said you wouldn't want rain on it

 

7

7600-four pilot

Member

Location

Yr Hen Dref........

• Jun 5, 2018

• #16

Once did a field but only half way up the standing crop to help it wilt a little, next day pick up as usual with a double chop. A lot better DM but the NH 339 didn't like chopping the stuff, it came out the spout rather on the long side and was awful to buckrake. Was the Kidd machine the one to pick up from the swath if needed?

 

Exfarmer

Member

Location

Bury St Edmunds

• Jun 6, 2018

• #17

Kydd was a better machine for picking up from Swathe, it had wide flails rather than the S style of the NH. This meant it was better at direct cutting too, we tried it once but the energy of direct cutting and the fact it tied up the forager meant we did not repeat it. The machine had a fatal fault, the secondary cut rotor had both bearings on the drive side, this was designed so the throat had a larger entrance, however it also meant if a foreign object went in , blow ups were disastrous as the two knives could hit and they did! It was a shame as otherwise it was a good machine.

 

Mrs Brown

Member

Livestock Farmer

Location

Orkney Islands

• Jun 7, 2018

• #18

Tarrup had the best chopper, they had a cupped blade that would break if it hit some thing hard came out the spout with little damage,as said above the kydd was near a right off if any thing went in them, bent the shaft for starters then every thing started to collide, the first of them were all welded together but think the Mk 2 was bolted so made it a bit better to mend.
New Hollands blades were on a tapered slide and if the adjusting bolts wrent backed off after setting it was akin to the Kydd.