Kuhn fc 250 mower

[Stcarnwell]

I have just brought a project Kuhn fc 250 I’m just wondering what pto speed people run them in 540 or 1000 as it has no stickers on it. Cheers

 

[mengeleguru]

Has it got a linkage mounted swivel headstock .

 

[Stcarnwell]

No it hasn’t it’s the drawer bar model

 

[v8willy]

Never owned one but the neighbour had a 3 metre model, the pto shaft had 1000 one end & 540 splines the other end....so as you put whichever end suited the tractor ( in the days before in cab shiftable pto speed ) & then connected the other end to the mower.

So going from your pic if you want to run 540 you need a 1000 spline yoke on the mower end if you follow me? Unless you have the oroginal shaft there.

They also had a drawbar extension thing that came with the mower which bolted on & made the pivot point bang in the middle of the pto shaft, would be better with a wide angle shaft tho.

 

[fermerboy]

Just about sure that in your photo, the pto shaft is on the 1000rpm input, then to run it at 540 you'd flip the actual pto shaft round on to the bottom shaft leaving you with the 6 spline end to go on the tractor.

I've a FC300 with the swivel headstock, and thats the jist of how you change it.

We usually run on 1000rpm but last year we turned it so we could run at 540rpm due to a jig about in tractors.
I dont think it runs as well, shouldn't make much odds as everything from the box back is going at same speed, but it seems smoother on the fast PTO.

 

[Stcarnwell]

Never owned one but the neighbour had a 3 metre model, the pto shaft had 1000 one end & 540 splines the other end....so as you put whichever end suited the tractor ( in the days before in cab shiftable pto speed ) & then connected the other end to the mower.

So going from your pic if you want to run 540 you need a 1000 spline yoke on the mower end if you follow me? Unless you have the oroginal shaft there.

They also had a drawbar extension thing that came with the mower which bolted on & made the pivot point bang in the middle of the pto shaft, would be better with a wide angle shaft tho.

Ahh right I get you it’s not the original shaft it has 540 at both ends. I’ll run it at 100 then because the tractor changes the speed inside the cab cheers for the help

 

[Stcarnwell]

I

Just about sure that in your photo, the pto shaft is on the 1000rpm input, then to run it at 540 you'd flip the actual pto shaft round on to the bottom shaft leaving you with the 6 spline end to go on the tractor.

I've a FC300 with the swivel headstock, and thats the jist of how you change it.

We usually run on 1000rpm but last year we turned it so we could run at 540rpm due to a jig about in tractors.
I dont think it runs as well, shouldn't make much odds as everything from the box back is going at same speed, but it seems smoother on the fast PTO.

I understand now it isn’t the original shaft it is 540 at either end. I’ll run it at 1000 then because the man I had it off said that he did but I just wanted to make sure as I know all mowers can be different as our big fella always mows at 1000. What is your opinion on your fc300 are they a good mower? Is there anything you have to keep an eye on with them? I only brought I cheep one to as a backup and abit of a toy to go on the back of my old ford. Cheers

 

[e3120]

Yes, run it at 1000 rpm on that top shaft, straight through the gearbox. If you had a shaft with 21 splines on 1 end, you could use the bottom shaft at 540 but the gearbox gets pretty hot.

We had a 300 a lot of years ago and had bother with the shaft that comes down from the main gearbox to the bed. No flex there, so if something not right it has an appetite for splines. We have a JD 1365 now, on which the bed is supported off the frame (rather than hanging off the bed bearings) and has a rubber donut coupler. I imagine the equivalent Kuhn (303?) would be the same.

 

[fermerboy]

I

I understand now it isn’t the original shaft it is 540 at either end. I’ll run it at 1000 then because the man I had it off said that he did but I just wanted to make sure as I know all mowers can be different as our big fella always mows at 1000. What is your opinion on your fc300 are they a good mower? Is there anything you have to keep an eye on with them? I only brought I cheep one to as a backup and abit of a toy to go on the back of my old ford. Cheers

Our FC300 has been a really good mower. Built very strong with a really good conditioner that sets the swath up well.
Mine is seriously high milage, it had done a lot of acres when I got it and it has done a lot of ground here too.

Ours has had a hard/unlucky life here, picked up a stone which went through between a disc and the bed, snapping a hub off and slicing the top of the bed open. Insurance wrote it off, we bought it back off to fix to sell, got a couple of intermediate gears and a hub secondhand, and even if I say it myself, made a really good job of fixing the bed we ended up keeping it.
Ours also had bother with the drop drive shaft from the box to the bed, ours has a rubber don-nut coupling in there which disintegrated then the hub knackered the shaft too. Put new parts in, but it was an arse of a job. The other side has bearings in the top hat which wore the shaft, ended up taking the shaft down a size in the lathe, fitted a different bearing and its been fine since.

Bought a workshop manual off Ebay which has turned out to be a very good purchase.!!

Have to remember the work its done though, I've had Claas, Reco, Lely before that and the Kuhn is better than all three put together.

 

[Stcarnwell]

Our FC300 has been a really good mower. Built very strong with a really good conditioner that sets the swath up well.
Mine is seriously high milage, it had done a lot of acres when I got it and it has done a lot of ground here too.

Ours has had a hard/unlucky life here, picked up a stone which went through between a disc and the bed, snapping a hub off and slicing the top of the bed open. Insurance wrote it off, we bought it back off to fix to sell, got a couple of intermediate gears and a hub secondhand, and even if I say it myself, made a really good job of fixing the bed we ended up keeping it.
Ours also had bother with the drop drive shaft from the box to the bed, ours has a rubber don-nut coupling in there which disintegrated then the hub knackered the shaft too. Put new parts in, but it was an arse of a job. The other side has bearings in the top hat which wore the shaft, ended up taking the shaft down a size in the lathe, fitted a different bearing and its been fine since.

Bought a workshop manual off Ebay which has turned out to be a very good purchase.!!

Have to remember the work its done though, I've had Claas, Reco, Lely before that and the Kuhn is better than all three put together.

Would you recommend maybe checking or replacing the donut? Or is even that a big job? I brought it with the bearings gone on the far top had but I’ve sorted that luckily there was no damage done to the shaft so it wasn’t too bad of a job

 

[Dave W]

Would you recommend maybe checking or replacing the donut? Or is even that a big job? I brought it with the bearings gone on the far top had but I’ve sorted that luckily there was no damage done to the shaft so it wasn’t too bad of a job

Pretty sure the donuts are now obsolete.
it's possible to upgrade to the modern equivalent which is uj's in place of the donuts.
not cheap but maybe better now than in mid July.

 

[shumungus]

Metal fingers on conditioner run on nylon bush, if they wear the finger will wear the shafts, not an expensive fix. Watch when mowing if you have to turn left at a headland with the mower up, because they are only 8 ft wide the weight distribution isn't that good and they are very light on the left hand wheel and if you turn quickly or stop quickly or are on a hill they can cock a leg and the bed turns into a power harrow attachment.

 

[Stcarnwell]

Metal fingers on conditioner run on nylon bush, if they wear the finger will wear the shafts, not an expensive fix. Watch when mowing if you have to turn left at a headland with the mower up, because they are only 8 ft wide the weight distribution isn't that good and they are very light on the left hand wheel and if you turn quickly or stop quickly or are on a hill they can cock a leg and the bed turns into a power harrow attachment.

Thankyou for the heads up on that. How do you tell if the nylon bushes are worn? Like if there is a lot a play in them? I’m not with the mower at the minute but of the top of my head I haven’t seen any wear on the shaft so that’s a good sign.

 

[shumungus]

The shaft I mean are the short ones on the conditioner barrel that hold 3 or 4 fingers each. If you give the fingers a waggle you will see if there is excess play in them the ones at the outsides of the barrel will be like new as they see the least grass and wear will increase as you get to the middle. Check the static fingers on the inside of the hood at the back of the main cross beam, they are cast so can get nipped off by the odd stone. The easy way to access thyem is remove the cover above them (has two rubber bump stops on it for flipping the front hood/skirt back onto) it is held on by 5 bolts and lets you right in on top of the conditioner, good thing to remove for washing as this is a sh!t trap and usually neglected.

 

[shumungus]

Change the oil in the bed, watch the bung as they can wear the corners and then are a pain to get out, if dodgy replace, easy way to drain bed is screw end plate off, tilt bed and let it drain overnight check oils in main gearboxes and treat it to a set of new blades (put them in upside down they wear better) make sure they are handed to the disc, not the first time I seen a mower with half the blades in the wrong way round and the man selling it cause it doesn't cut clean. Keep a few extra blade bolts to hand as well as sometimes they overstretch and disappear. If there is a click in it when running it'll be a bent finger on the conditioner, easy fix with a lump hammer. Other than that get a cover on that PTO shaft and it should be a good tool.

 

[Stcarnwell]

Change the oil in the bed, watch the bung as they can wear the corners and then are a pain to get out, if dodgy replace, easy way to drain bed is screw end plate off, tilt bed and let it drain overnight check oils in main gearboxes and treat it to a set of new blades (put them in upside down they wear better) make sure they are handed to the disc, not the first time I seen a mower with half the blades in the wrong way round and the man selling it cause it doesn't cut clean. Keep a few extra blade bolts to hand as well as sometimes they overstretch and disappear. If there is a click in it when running it'll be a bent finger on the conditioner, easy fix with a lump hammer. Other than that get a cover on that PTO shaft and it should be a good tool.

Thankyou for the help I’ll keep all that in mind. It’s only going to be like a backup mower to my main one it’s more of a toy for the back of my ford 8200. Any idea on anybody breaking them as some of the tinwork isn’t the best so if there was somebody I’d look to purchase some. I have some good sheet metal so I could weld them easily enough but obviously I’d rather have some good ones off another. It’s a good mower everything seems very tight but it’s just tatty tinwork where it has been stored outside but at the end of the day you don’t get a lot for £450!!

 

[v8willy]

Metal fingers on conditioner run on nylon bush, if they wear the finger will wear the shafts, not an expensive fix. Watch when mowing if you have to turn left at a headland with the mower up, because they are only 8 ft wide the weight distribution isn't that good and they are very light on the left hand wheel and if you turn quickly or stop quickly or are on a hill they can cock a leg and the bed turns into a power harrow attachment.

Will tip a lot quicker with a grouper in the raised position.

 

[fermerboy]

Would you recommend maybe checking or replacing the donut? Or is even that a big job? I brought it with the bearings gone on the far top had but I’ve sorted that luckily there was no damage done to the shaft so it wasn’t too bad of a job

Its a fair bit of work to replace the donut.
I'd check for excessive play between the left top hat and the gearbox above. There will be a fair bit of slack if its broken up.
Yours being an 8ft mower probably means the driveline isnt worked so hard.

As for breakers Dave Cowking the forager man recommended a chap beside him, David Rushton. Thats who I got my bits from. Sorry I dont have a number now.
I see Rushton Bros grassland machinery advertising on Facebook breaking mowers, might be worth a call, might be same people but i dont know.

 

[Stcarnwell]

Its a fair bit of work to replace the donut.
I'd check for excessive play between the left top hat and the gearbox above. There will be a fair bit of slack if its broken up.
Yours being an 8ft mower probably means the driveline isnt worked so hard.

As for breakers Dave Cowking the forager man recommended a chap beside him, David Rushton. Thats who I got my bits from. Sorry I dont have a number now.
I see Rushton Bros grassland machinery advertising on Facebook breaking mowers, might be worth a call, might be same people but i dont know.

Cheers for the help. How many tractor engine revolutions do you mow at with yours cheers

 

[Stcarnwell]

Cheers for the help. How many tractor engine revolutions do you mow at with yours? Whatever adds up to 1000 revs at the shaft?