Krone front mower

[Richard Smyth]

Howdy.

I have a 3.6 meter front mower. Looking for ideas to stop it bulldozing when cutting.

Last year we had extremely light crops. Soil would build up of the skids and cause it to bulldoze. If it was raining it worked perfect as the soil didn’t stick and if it was dry it was ok but in between was a nightmare. Even a very sappy crop would cause issues.

any magic ideas to stop soil sticking to the skids. Are there poly skids available, stainless skids, products I can treat the steel skid with to make it non stick.

was quite disappointed by krones response telling me it’s the same mower the big m uses so it must be fine.

has anyone come up with a depth wheel setup so I can run the machine on the wheels rather than the skids?

 

[Spencer]

Which model?

 

[Richard Smyth]

Which model?

Ecf 360 crs

 

[Spencer]

Not familiar with that model. On our float front mowers you can adjust ground pressure on the springs, same with the B870 rears, so they are barely in touch with the ground and float. Granted if you are in very light crops with a high forward seed you’ll need a bit of pressure to keep cutting height down.
Not aware of poly skids for UK, probably available aftermarket in US ?

 

[Richard Smyth]

It has hydraulic suspension on this one. Made no difference how light I ran it on the ground it still picked soil up. Ran ok if I picked it up off the ground but with the center pivot that’s not an option as it flips side to side Jensen the idea of adding depth wheels to it.

I’m going to contact some companies in the states but they have no mention of my machine on their websites

 

[Richard Smyth]

Just for reference this is what it was doing.

 

[Spencer]

Measure your skids, I would imagine the bed will be used across various models.

 

[Spencer]

Not sure what this bit of skid is for? Ours doesn’t have it and is one piece with hole cut out as above the marked red area

 

[Richard Smyth]

It’s a high cut skid. Raises the cutting height in cereal hay.

there was 6 of those on there but I’ve removed 2 to have less steel touching the ground. Made no difference

 

[Spencer]

Have you tried removing them all? Lot of weight on two points of contact with the ground, can imagine it would bulldozer. Looks similar to when you weld a plate over a worn out combine header skid, always bulldozes until you replace the skid

Maywes are the poly people in US I was thinking of.

 

[DrDunc]

Just for reference this is what it was doing.
View attachment 1011687View attachment 1011688View attachment 1011689

High cut skids means you've blunt leading edges and too small a total surface area. Removing some of them will make it worse as the ground pressure is further increased.

I've high cuts for an old (rear) Krone mower that's occasionally used for thistles or rushes. However the skids are a mirror of the size and shape of the "standard" bed plates. You still need to reduce the ground pressure to a minimum (mines on springs), and lengthen the top link more than you'd think sensible.

I'd suggest you remove your undersize lifters and the standard skids underneath, then fit the full size Krone ones in their place?

 

[Richard Smyth]

Have you tried removing them all? Lot of weight on two points of contact with the ground, can imagine it would bulldozer. Looks similar to when you weld a plate over a worn out combine header skid, always bulldozes until you replace the skid

Maywes are the poly people in US I was thinking of.

There is 4 contact points. Not tried them all removed but might give it a go. Just a bit hard to practise until I need it again which won’t be until September.
Maywes we who I was going to contact also

 

[Richard Smyth]

High cut skids means you've blunt leading edges and too small a total surface area. Removing some of them will make it worse as the ground pressure is further increased.

I've high cuts for an old (rear) Krone mower that's occasionally used for thistles or rushes. However the skids are a mirror of the size and shape of the "standard" bed plates. You still need to reduce the ground pressure to a minimum (mines on springs), and lengthen the top link more than you'd think sensible.

I'd suggest you remove your undersize lifters and the standard skids underneath, then fit the full size Krone ones in their place?

these are krone skids. This is what they reccommend

 

[Andrew]

Occasionally get that here when cutting lucerne in its first year and the soils damp. Try removing the high cut skids, shorten the top link so it's running on the back of the normal skids to get the same cut height. Finally increase the ground pressure higher than normal to rub the soil off.

 

[Richard Smyth]

Occasionally get that here when cutting lucerne in its first year and the soils damp. Try removing the high cut skids, shorten the top link so it's running on the back of the normal skids to get the same cut height. Finally increase the ground pressure higher than normal to rub the soil off.

It was really bad when cutting vetch. That was bone dry conditions and was a nightmare.

 

[Andrew]

It was really bad when cutting vetch. That was bone dry conditions and was a nightmare.

We are on heavy, sticky clay here. For the first year of establishment I think the roots move a little and disturb the soil, if it's damp it sticks like glue to the beds. Has done it here on 4 makes of mower. So I try and have 3 dry days after a rain it's fine. Once it's into it's second year it seems to be well anchored and doesn't happen.

Really frustrating when it does though.

 

[Richard Smyth]

We are on heavy, sticky clay here. For the first year of establishment I think the roots move a little and disturb the soil, if it's damp it sticks like glue to the beds. Has done it here on 4 makes of mower. So I try and have 3 dry days after a rain it's fine. Once it's into it's second year it seems to be well anchored and doesn't happen.

Really frustrating when it does though.

unfortunately rarely get the luxury of waiting here. When cutting cereal hay it’s often had a glyphosate spray 2 days prior which only gives a very short window to get it cut.

everything we cut is new seeding each year. Last 2 years have had very unsettled weather at cutting time making it very challenging.

 

[DrDunc]

these are krone skids. This is what they reccommend

Yeah, and as I said, they're what's causing the bother

 

[Martin Holden]

We are on heavy, sticky clay here. For the first year of establishment I think the roots move a little and disturb the soil, if it's damp it sticks like glue to the beds. Has done it here on 4 makes of mower. So I try and have 3 dry days after a rain it's fine. Once it's into it's second year it seems to be well anchored and doesn't happen.

Really frustrating when it does though.

Incidentally do you roll the crop so that the surface is a bit more stable at harvest time? I’ve heard of Lucerne being almost dragged out the ground by roller conditioner mowers as the root crown isn’t stable enough in the soil. Any thoughts?

 

[Andrew]

Incidentally do you roll the crop so that the surface is a bit more stable at harvest time? I’ve heard of Lucerne being almost dragged out the ground by roller conditioner mowers as the root crown isn’t stable enough in the soil. Any thoughts?

Yes, I think as disc mowers tend to 'flail' (for want of a better word) rather than counterknife the cut, the fibrous stalk pulls a little and disturbs the root which is why the soil sticks.
We try and roll it after drilling but mainly to sort the stones out. We didn't roll last year as conditions weren't suitable - I didn't notice a difference mowing but their is noticeably more stones present.