Disc Mowers For Sale in Ireland

The latter are used on farms to cut crops for processing into silage or hay. These mowers will often leave the cut crop in rows, or windrows.

Large-scale mowing often involves ganging mowing units together to achieve greater coverage. This approach is more adaptable than a single larger mower, as the separate units can more closely follow field contours, achieving a more accurate cut. Mid-mounted units are attached underneath the tractor between the front and back wheels, while larger units can be mounted to the rear via the three-point hitch or simply pulled as a trailed implement.

There are also self-propelled mowers and boom arm units which can allow mowing on steep slopes, while the tractor remains safely on level ground.

The actual mechanism of the mower may follow a variety of different designs. A sickle mower is sometimes called a bar mower, reciprocating mower, sickle bar mower or finger bar mower. These have a long bar with fingers mounted and static guard plates. The bar has a channel with a reciprocating sickle and very sharp triangular blades.

The sickle bar moves backwards and forwards across the channel and the crop is caught and cut between the finger plates and sickle section. The cutting action is similar to that of a barber’s electric hair clippers. This setup was the first to be used on large-scale horse-drawn mowers and forms the basis for many mower designs today.

The rotary mower, or drum mower, has a rotating bar or bar-mounted discs featuring sharp edges to cut the crop. These are often large-scale mowers, able to carry out mowing operations at speeds of up to 20mph.

The rotary mowers can often be combined into double or triple sets when mounted on the tractor, with one to either side and a third unit mounted at the front. In such configurations, the mowers can cut swaths up to 20 feet wide. In rougher terrain, the blades can be swivelled to absorb the shock of obstructions in the sward.

Reel mowers, or cylinder mowers, are also sometimes used. This mechanism is familiar as the sort of set-up common to older pushed domestic lawn mowers. Rotating helical blades pass a cutter-bar to provide an effective scissor action. Such mowers can be ganged into sets of up to five when pulled by a tractor. They can tackle thick and tough crops but are best used on shorter and upright vegetation.

A flail mower has its blades attached to the end of chains, which in turn are connected to a horizontal axis. The cutting mechanism is achieved by the axe-like blades rapidly striking the crop. The flail mower is particularly useful for cutting tough crops and in situations where other mowers may be damaged by numerous foreign objects. They are also sometimes used in vertical alignment as hedge cutters.

The choice of mower is dependent upon the size of field to be cut and the type of ground and crop encountered. Mowers are designed for tough work and have an elongated lifespan, so a used mower should last for many years.