Review of the Krone Active Mow R280 - First time cutting hay - Case 75C

I finally was able to put my new hay equipment to use. In this video I review the German made Krone ActiveMow R280 disc cutter. It was a bit of a splurge when I bought my hay equipment, but man is this thing nice. Super well made, quiet, and very fast/efficient.
I learned a lot this season cutting hay for the first time, with no help, and with no one showing me what to do. I will have a follow-up video shortly of all the lessons learned when I baled hay for the first time. All in all it was a great experience, even though it was intimidating at times.
The disc cutter from Krone performed flawlessly. If you are in the market for a disc cutter, I don't think you can go wrong with Krone. Enjoy!
driftlessinwi

[@endamohobbyfarm496]

👍 I had a similar set up. I had a small weight on the left hand wheel rim 100kg. My r/h arm on 3pl was slightly higher than the l/h arm. I would open the head lands & Boundary first. Then mow up the middle and down boundary side. But it's important to open the head lands first so you are not wheel rolling the on cut grass. Good to watch your video.

[@Tools-Tested]

Hello, nice video! Just a few things I noticed... when you are storing it lift it up in the transport position then flip your float latches over (green latches were you showed adjusting float) then set it down. After you do that you wont need the blocks of wood and the 3pt will sit level. Looks like the headland stop plate is tied up? that's the plate which has the rope connected to it, you don't want to go past this position with the pto on, only lift it out of the way for transport. Lower spring is for floating the heal of the cutter bar and the upper springs are for center to end of cuterbar float. Also there is a arrow on the frame which helps you to determine proper 3pth hitch height it should line up with the pin on the arm, which then plays a role in flotation. Hope this helps, its a big change going to a disc mower.

[@driftlessinwi]

Thanks for the tips! I have figured out the things you mentioned, but I do have a question for you, do you use the "kickstand " sold by Krone to store in vertical position? It makes me nervous leaving it upright since the base is so small, I also thought checking and changing oil would be easier if stored in the cutting position. Thanks again for your comment.

[@Tools-Tested]

@@driftlessinwi I do not have the vertical stand but if you have a good concrete pad then its probably a good option and would save a lot of room, I defiantly wouldn't use the stand on gravel or dirt.

[@janneswilmes9735]

Nice video and interesting opinion about the Krone. In Germany, you sometimes drive 11miles. The AM mowers are very simple and last a long time. Greetings Jannes from Germany

[@briancater2839]

Nice krone, I have a Massey Ferguson 3 point disc and its slick, makes mowing easy and fast

[@nalley6815]

Also a tip I figured out. Before you hook it up. Raise your right draft arm a hair higher than the left arm. When you put that mower on there it’ll level itself out. You probably figured that out by now though

[@Dave-jm5yo]

Good honest review

[@dudarsky]

when youre starting to cut a field you drive on the outer edge and cut the inner edge, thus finishing the inside first and leaving 1 pass for the outer edge, as most of the rocks and anything else that can ruin your mower will be usually on the outer edge.

[@driftlessinwi]

Good tip, thanks!

[@4schitzangiggles]

I'm envious of you guys who don't have dikes in your fields (we have to flood irrigate vs sprinkler or rely on rain). It makes each space between the dikes it's own mini field and takes forever to cut vs using a self propelled swather. I've been going back and forth between a self propelled swather or a center mount trailed cutter with a conditioner.

[@nalley6815]

When you let the cutterbar down you have to drop the 3 point just a hair so the headland plate piece (idk what it’s actually called) can get under the notch. You don’t want to raise it without it locking in

[@driftlessinwi]

Right. Thanks for the comment!

[@nalley6815]

I had that exact mower and I honestly wasn’t a fan. But I don’t like 3 point anything in general

[@driftlessinwi]

I don't have anything to compare to. It does put a ton of stress on the 3pt system. But it has worked great for cutting and is compact enough for me to get to all my fields. Curious, what didn't you like about it? Thanks!

[@nalley6815]

@@driftlessinwi don’t get me wrong. It cut absolutely incredible. Leave a cut better than a lawn mower. BUT I didn’t like the rope. Shuffled it between 3 different tractors and always finding a place to stick the rope was a pain. It’s a small thing but still a complaint. It was a pain to unhook. I have no clue why. It was extremely easy to hook up which I liked. But unhooking was a problem. I’d disengage the springs. Get it on level ground. Let the stand down. Let the top link back until it was loose. But I had to rock the tractor back and forth until I’d get lucky enough that the draft arms would come off. That’s the only 3 point attachment I’ve ever had a problem unhooking. Quick change knives weren’t so quick, for me at least. I had to put all 240 pounds on that bar to get the knives to come out. But it was still quicker than a bolt and nut other than that I can’t say anything bad about it. I used it over hundreds of acres and didn’t have a single problem with it. Krone can build a cutterbar I’ll say that. If I had a disc mower caddy for it I would’ve been happier. But I had 2 new holland 1411 discbines that I used more often because of the convenience of drawbar attach. It’s a sweet ass mower. You’ve got one of the best right there

[@driftlessinwi]

Thanks, I thread the rope in through the back window and close it to keep it from hanging all over. I have the same issue with it being more difficult to take off, I think it has something to do with how it sits on the ground. I have it down when I take it off because I don't trust storing it upright, maybe taking it off in upright position makes it easier. Thanks again for sharing your experience with it!

[@nalley6815]

@@driftlessinwi I think where the pins sit might be wider than most and when you take the arms off it’s almost like it’s trying to pull the mower toward the tractor because they’re at such a wide angle. I could be wrong but that’s what it feels like

[@CnSFarms]

My Dad just bought a new Kuhn 8 foot cutter. It has a chain on that side that you hook somewhere to keep the tension/torsion off the lift arm on that heavy side. Not sure how it works as I didn’t see it being used. Not sure if yours came with that chain or not. Nice video.

[@driftlessinwi]

I don't think mine did, the key is to get the arm adjusted before putting the cutter on the 3pt, but still lots of torsion. Thanks for the comment!

[@dudarsky]

my Kverneland 2632M has that chain, but at least in the manual, it says that it's for "idiot-proofing it" so that you can't accidentally mess with the arms while mowing. So I just leave it where it is and never use it.

[@tfisadog5260]

where can i get hydraulic connector snap caps like yours. thanks Bob

[@driftlessinwi]

They came with the machine, so maybe somewhere from Germany 😀

[@crazyhass84]

Holy shit! 11acre mover for only 20acres?! Heck i cant just one and i do 100 acres!

[@driftlessinwi]

I'm not a professional farmer, I just play one on YT 😀

[@garygetman5990]

What size rear tires do you have on that tractor

[@triciahill216]

How many inches high can you mow with your Krone?

[@driftlessinwi]

There are some adjustments available but I am usually cutting about 4" high. You can cut longer or shorter based on how much you tilt the top link forwards and back.