I own the same model of mower and bought mine as an upgrade from a Ford 501 6ft scycle mower. I chose it for the same price point, as well as ease of use, less maintenance vs a disk mower and and speed of cut. I love my drum mower. It handles buried rocks emerging better than a disk mower as it's more likely to skip over the rocks without damage, and mows much faster than a scycle mower. As for your problems, I believe you don't have the three point adjusted correctly, which would take care of your scalping problem. The three point adjustable arm on the right side of the tractor needs to be set a few (4-6) inches higher that the left side arm. This allows the tractor to carry some of the weight of the frame, and reduces the chance of tripping the break-away. The length of the top link sets your depth of cut, leaving shorter or taller stubble. I run my cut a bit high (3.5in), which is better for the grass, and easier on the machine because it is able to overcome the terrain and rocks easier. The hydraulic cylender is used only for folding the mower for travel, not for raising the machine up to reposition for the next pass. I believe the wrapping happens from starting starting th drums in tall grass instead of in a clear area. The disks on the bottom of the drums don't need have perfect run-out due to the fact that they contact the ground and deform slightly anyway. As for the scratches on the bottom, I imagine you got into some rocks in the field, and with the three point not supporting some of the weight, they got gouged pretty deep. Every time I use mine, I find out some thing new about how to adjust it, or operate it to make things better. Give it some time.
I've had a SIP 165 for 14 years, nothing has broken, nothing has worn out [other than the knives] I think you'll grow to admire your mower for it's toughness and relatively cheap cost, and the fact it cuts hay easily no matter how thick or blown down it gets.
I have a Bde 165 with hydraulics. Mine works great, and have run mine in high range with a Kubota L4060 with an hst transmission. Full throttle, and mine has never had those gouges. It looks like you had something abnormal in the field. Hang in there with it, I’ve had 2 and have had terrific service with both of mine.
Thanks for the honest reveiw! I have been considering going from a 9foot discbine to one of these. They seem too small i would like at least 8ft wide one! You think this 6ft drum will cover as much ground as a 9ft haybine because you can go that much faster?
Well depends on your feild conditions. I run 6 to 8 mph because our feilds are rough around here but they will cut much faster. However if I already a had 9 foot discbine unless it was wore smack out and couldn't afford the cost of a discbine I'd probably keep the disc bine for my area as reference anyway. If your feilds are smooth enough that you can run 10 to 15 mph I'd say go for it my tractor is 73 pto and it doesn't matter how tall or how thick it is it just plows right on through whatever it's cutting. Stupid simple and very few parts in them as well very easy to work on.
I wanted a 10 foot disc I just couldn't afford one and for what these cost I'd could by 3 of them pretty much for what a 10 foot Newholland or krone or any brand of 10 foot disc cost. Was the main deciding factor in my purchase.
@@cody8590 sorry I ment to say haybine! I run a 9 foot haybine about 5mph is as fast as it does a decent job cutting. At 5mph I can usually do about 5acres per hour in a decent sized field. If field is odd shaped so It be a little slower. I have also been looking at those enrossi dual action sickle mowers people that have them seem to like them and a 9 foot is about $5500
@@mattcrowell7945 oh I gotcha 5mph is fast for a sickle bine I was running a 9 foot newholland before this one and 3mph is about as fast as I could go with ours. This will out that new holland sickle bine I was using cut my time down in half atleast.
All lawnmowers with drums have an issue of imbalance with the result that they appear damaged. Over time, soil enters the vertical rollers and the cutter begins to break down.............
you scared me by letting the mower slow down in its transport position very dangerous even form a distance,by the way the cylinder is only for transport , in work position you use only the 3-point for lifting. This looks like a copy of an Deutz-fahr KM24 mower. Drum-mowers run as fast the field wil allow. Good luck with the mower. Greeting from belguim
@@cody8590 right where the tach highlights 540 rpm in 4th gear so maybe 4 or 5 miles an hour guessing. Dealer thinks it was unlevel. My closest pod on bottom is paint free but not my outer one. Plus I didn't use that chain. Manual didn't specify where to hook it unless I missed it.
@@dannunyas5642 I don't use it either I bet you had your 3 point to low then got to keep it picked up a little. I keep mine were my pto is slightly Higher than the top of the mower also put my hydraulics in float does yours have a float option for the lift cylinder on the mower
A brand new 8 foot disc mower was going to cost me 12,000 for a krone or a new holland. Even though I got 2 less feet you just can't justify the 12000 over 4300 in my opinion.
The thing I don't understand is why these drum mowers have to drag the ground. No one should be cutting their hay field 1.5 inches or less. Is there a way to not drag these mowers and have the tractor carry the weight?
No but I think I can extend the cut height though. I hear they make extensions for them yet to find any but I think I can rains the height by taking the bottom skids off and adding a spacer plate in there. Probably what im going to try to do.
Give it a chance Looks like it did a great job Disc mowers can b a world of trouble Drum mowers are easy buy to fix Keep it greased and quit yr bitchin
I own the same model of mower and bought mine as an upgrade from a Ford 501 6ft scycle mower. I chose it for the same price point, as well as ease of use, less maintenance vs a disk mower and and speed of cut. I love my drum mower. It handles buried rocks emerging better than a disk mower as it's more likely to skip over the rocks without damage, and mows much faster than a scycle mower.
As for your problems, I believe you don't have the three point adjusted correctly, which would take care of your scalping problem. The three point adjustable arm on the right side of the tractor needs to be set a few (4-6) inches higher that the left side arm. This allows the tractor to carry some of the weight of the frame, and reduces the chance of tripping the break-away. The length of the top link sets your depth of cut, leaving shorter or taller stubble. I run my cut a bit high (3.5in), which is better for the grass, and easier on the machine because it is able to overcome the terrain and rocks easier. The hydraulic cylender is used only for folding the mower for travel, not for raising the machine up to reposition for the next pass. I believe the wrapping happens from starting starting th drums in tall grass instead of in a clear area. The disks on the bottom of the drums don't need have perfect run-out due to the fact that they contact the ground and deform slightly anyway. As for the scratches on the bottom, I imagine you got into some rocks in the field, and with the three point not supporting some of the weight, they got gouged pretty deep.
Every time I use mine, I find out some thing new about how to adjust it, or operate it to make things better. Give it some time.
Have one and love it!!! Mowed 15 acres/yr for the last 8 years. No issues, problems......etc.
I have one and the universal joints keep exploding in the pto shaft has the happened to you and if so do you know how to fix it thanks in advance
I've had a SIP 165 for 14 years, nothing has broken, nothing has worn out [other than the knives] I think you'll grow to admire your mower for it's toughness and relatively cheap cost, and the fact it cuts hay easily no matter how thick or blown down it gets.
I'm liking it more and more as I get used to it. Can't be beat for what they cost
Thanks so much for the information. I was looking into this first, but got a Vicon Disc instead. Still might get one of these too.
Vicon is probably a much better built product. It's a good mower but it was also 4000 new so you get what you pay for.
I have a Bde 165 with hydraulics. Mine works great, and have run mine in high range with a Kubota L4060 with an hst transmission. Full throttle, and mine has never had those gouges. It looks like you had something abnormal in the field. Hang in there with it, I’ve had 2 and have had terrific service with both of mine.
Other than the main bearings going out its been a good mower so far
Thanks for the honest reveiw! I have been considering going from a 9foot discbine to one of these. They seem too small i would like at least 8ft wide one! You think this 6ft drum will cover as much ground as a 9ft haybine because you can go that much faster?
Well depends on your feild conditions. I run 6 to 8 mph because our feilds are rough around here but they will cut much faster. However if I already a had 9 foot discbine unless it was wore smack out and couldn't afford the cost of a discbine I'd probably keep the disc bine for my area as reference anyway. If your feilds are smooth enough that you can run 10 to 15 mph I'd say go for it my tractor is 73 pto and it doesn't matter how tall or how thick it is it just plows right on through whatever it's cutting. Stupid simple and very few parts in them as well very easy to work on.
I wanted a 10 foot disc I just couldn't afford one and for what these cost I'd could by 3 of them pretty much for what a 10 foot Newholland or krone or any brand of 10 foot disc cost. Was the main deciding factor in my purchase.
@@cody8590 sorry I ment to say haybine! I run a 9 foot haybine about 5mph is as fast as it does a decent job cutting. At 5mph I can usually do about 5acres per hour in a decent sized field. If field is odd shaped so It be a little slower. I have also been looking at those enrossi dual action sickle mowers people that have them seem to like them and a 9 foot is about $5500
@@mattcrowell7945 oh I gotcha 5mph is fast for a sickle bine I was running a 9 foot newholland before this one and 3mph is about as fast as I could go with ours. This will out that new holland sickle bine I was using cut my time down in half atleast.
No discbines like humps or rough fields.6.5 mph is plenty fast mowing
My Bush Hog DM8 just broke. $4300 sounds like a deal.
Can't beat that price even loosing 2 feet of cut
@@cody8590 got some vids up on my channel - so far so good.
All lawnmowers with drums have an issue of imbalance with the result that they appear damaged. Over time, soil enters the vertical rollers and the cutter begins to break down.............
you scared me by letting the mower slow down in its transport position very dangerous even form a distance,by the way the cylinder is only for transport , in work position you use only the 3-point for lifting. This looks like a copy of an Deutz-fahr KM24 mower. Drum-mowers run as fast the field wil allow. Good luck with the mower. Greeting from belguim
Used my brand new 185 for first time and it's leaving a strip between the drums. Any ideas why?
How many rpms are you running and how fast are you going. Make sure your blades are not upside down as well
Also the disc's can get packed with dirt from anthill and such and cause the blades to stay stuck inside the drum make sure all the blades are free
@@cody8590 right where the tach highlights 540 rpm in 4th gear so maybe 4 or 5 miles an hour guessing. Dealer thinks it was unlevel. My closest pod on bottom is paint free but not my outer one. Plus I didn't use that chain. Manual didn't specify where to hook it unless I missed it.
@@dannunyas5642 I don't use it either I bet you had your 3 point to low then got to keep it picked up a little. I keep mine were my pto is slightly Higher than the top of the mower also put my hydraulics in float does yours have a float option for the lift cylinder on the mower
@@dannunyas5642 4 or 5 is not the fast I cut 10 plus with mine if the feilds not to rough but im running my tractor pretty much wide open.
Made in poland scrap? 😆
How much cost tanks
I paid 4300 bucks
A brand new 8 foot disc mower was going to cost me 12,000 for a krone or a new holland. Even though I got 2 less feet you just can't justify the 12000 over 4300 in my opinion.
The thing I don't understand is why these drum mowers have to drag the ground. No one should be cutting their hay field 1.5 inches or less. Is there a way to not drag these mowers and have the tractor carry the weight?
No but I think I can extend the cut height though. I hear they make extensions for them yet to find any but I think I can rains the height by taking the bottom skids off and adding a spacer plate in there. Probably what im going to try to do.
@@cody8590 yes. I've heard that too. I don't like the low cut. It promotes sticker burrs and frankly cuts too low.
@@imagoodlistener2730 it does cut to low it makes regrowth very slow as well
@@cody8590 agreed.
Give it a chance
Looks like it did a great job
Disc mowers can b a world of trouble
Drum mowers are easy buy to fix
Keep it greased and quit yr bitchin