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West Central Iowa | I have a NH 499 windrower and have run them since I was about 12 years old. Currently I have about 25 acres of hay to cut each year. The hay field has no rocks and I trap any gophers. I think I have only broken one section and one guard in three years. Recently noticed that the rolls are in pretty tough shape and am afraid they will start throwing chunks of rubber. Only paid $3500 for the whole machine about 5 years ago but about had a heart attack when the NH parts guy told me two new rolls would run $3600 with no bearings or labor. I could put the rolls in but still have a machine that would have limited trade-in value due to everyone wanting disc units.
I did find an average condition 1431 discbine that I could get with $4000 to boot, but it has a drawbar hitch. The CV joints are known to cause problems and are about $1000 per joint and it would need some minor repair as well. The rolls are in a little better condition than mine but no goldmine.
People rave about discbines, but the mechanic I spoke with said the maintenance cost on one would probably be higher, and I have had more than one person tell me that I won't be as happy with how well the 1431 would cut compared to my 499. There has bee no hay conditions in the 20 years of running 499's that the machine wasn't able to handle and I do like the way it cuts and evenly lays the hay to dry.
If I had gopher/bagder mounds, rocks, and lots of turn-strips or waterways to cut the discmower would win hands down. But with my long strait hay field with few obstructions I'm torn.
I have even considered buying an old unit that has had the rolls replaced for $3000-$4000, swapping the rolls and reselling the purchased unit as the units value won't drop much with older rolls. Then I will only be out my time and a lot less than $3600 | |
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Windrower upgrade?
