I got the hay sorted and it looks like I lost about half the bales to mold. As I said though it isn't a total loss as I needed to replace the insulation bales I place around the exposed foundation of the house. I typically use 15 to 18 bales every other year for this and it just so happens I needed to replace them this year anyway. Using bales I know are molding inside makes the entire endeavor feel less wasteful somehow.
Today I went to an equipment auction a bit further afield than I usually travel in hopes of finding a deal on a better mower. I think my best bet is to shoot for a good used disc type mower with the drums that have the blades on them. They seem to be what the smaller operators and custom bale guys prefer around here.
Of course finding one small enough for my needs is a bit of a problem and I will have to get the hydraulics working on the diesel once again as well. I hate to admit defeat but I just don't know enough about those old sickle mowers to get the one I have working properly. It might be all I need to do is replace the front teeth but I am just not sure at this point and the advice I got from some of the old timers hasn't worked for me either.
The auction trip was a bust for appropriately sized mowers but while I was at one ring waiting for the implement auction my dad had one of his crazy "What were you thinking" moments and bought another friggin 8N tractor. I don't know why except he really enjoys flipping them I guess. The one he bought seemed to be in pretty good shape. It started and ran nice and had very little rust and only a little bit of damage to the left running board and some obvious repair to the rear fender. Paint looked good, engine sounded great. Then I got the thing home and started hearing some lifter rattle and the coil is obviously bad on it as the thing died when it got hot and refused to start. I couldn't get a spark off the distributor after that either.
Not a big deal as I have a coil I can slap on it and I am sure we can turn the thing over for a quick profit. Dad's excuse was we needed to finance the trip. Eventually if he keeps doing that we are going to get burned though but after that old Ballarus diesel tractor I flipped for him and made almost 5K off of he keeps seeing dollar signs whenever he goes with me to an auction and he hates to come back from one empty handed. He even set up a business account at his bank and is keeping books on all our sales and professional stuff like that.
The best part about the little 8N he bought though is it is one of them with the two speed axle which are kinda hard to come by these days. They make perfect little garden tilling tractors as the single speed axle types have a bit too much ground speed to till properly.
So now all the hay equipment is put up again and I have a couple of weeks to figure out the mowing issue and sharpen the brush hog blades in case I have to got hat route again with the next cutting. Next up is the big hayfield that will need baling which I plan on doing the next time the forecast allows. I hope it turns out better than this last batch.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!!
I don't know if the US has one but in Canada we have the crown assets website. Its were the gov't auctions off surplus stuff and civilians can buy it. Its a good place to find old agriculture gear that has been in a warehouse for years.
ReplyDeleteExile1981
What would it cost if you had someone just cut it the next time around?? You rake and bale??
ReplyDelete'Old timers' may be a valuable source of advice but sometimes they can be as much use as a chocolate tea pot. Sometimes the best way with machinery is to fathom the problem out yourself. It may well prove frustrating at times but I find that lessons learnt this way are seldom forgotten.
ReplyDeleteA guy gave me a sickle bar mower but come to find out to fix it would cost as much as a working one. I think they would give people a lot of trouble back in the day depending on what they were cutting especially when making a turn.
ReplyDeleteWe always have some that mold too. I usually use them in the garden as mulch.
ReplyDeleteIn our part of the country, older swathers can be found quite cheap. Might only have a ten foot header, but that not a problem on a smaller farm. Makes smaller rows, so dries faster. I have one that still gets used at times, other machine has a 18 ft. header and is Just to big at times.
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