1300 Series Disc Mower Conditioners 9'3" to 15'3"

The cutterbed is a spur gear design on the Hesston Series Models 1372 and 1375.  The spur gear design allows the cutterbed to be thinner, allowing closer cutting with less scalping. The cutterbed consists of one solid piece that resists flexing, twisting, and sagging which keeps gears aligned and running true for decreased wear. Each gear assembly and adjacent idler gears can be removed from the top of the cutterbar without completely disassembling the entire cutterbed. Both drive gears and idler gears use sealed bearings, allowing a lower amount of cutterbed oil.

The vertical shaft, which the cutting disc mounts to on all Massey Ferguson mowers will shear outside of the cutterbed to provide protection to internal components.* If a solid obstruction is hit the disc will shear the shaft it runs on to keep the damage outside the cutterbar and prevent damage to the more expensive gears inside.

*NOTE: This is very important!!

Several different conditioners are available for disc mower conditioners making the machines suitable for a variety of crops and operator preferences. The Model 1375 is available exclusively with steel-on-steel rolls since rubber rolls wear too quickly in a machine with its capacity. The Model 1372 is offered with steel on steel, rubber-on-steel, or a spoke conditioner. The smaller Model 1359 is available with machined rubber rolls.

The Models 1372 and 1375 also use a turbulence reduction roll in front of the conditioner rolls. The small roll helps move the crop from the cutterbar to the conditioner rolls. Having the "helper" roll behind the cutterbar allows the conditioner rolls to be moved back eight inches from the cutterbar reducing air turbulence which can affect cutoff in light, grassy crops.

The 1363 is offered in two options: rubber on rubber or steel on steel for conditioning.  Both of these options are offered in the Herringbone tread pattern.

If debris or a slug is encountered, the over-center cam system on the Models 1372 and 1375 allow the conditioner rolls to automatically separate letting it pass through without having to stop and raise the mower. As a slug goes through, the tension system applies more and more pressure until the cam is over-centered the rolls then open easily letting the obstruction pass through.

The Model 1359 uses a powered roll separation system. If the head becomes plugged, the operator simply stops and raises the machine which hydraulically separates the rolls allowing the plug to pass through. This prevents the operator from having to manually dig out the plug saving time and frustration.

The 1363 model offers crop conditioner roll pressure that is maintained by the use of a dual spring tensioning system for effective crop crimping. This helps to maintain a consistent roll gap clearance for effective conditioning and improved drying time.

The center pivot frame on the 12- and 15-foot machines allows the mower to be pulled on either side of the tractor.  This allows the operator to go back and forth across a field without running over the crop decreasing time spent driving around the field. The center pivot tongue with swivel hitch also allows the operator to steer the mower around trees and other obstacles and make very sharp turns without damaging the driveline.

The swivel hitch can be either a drawbar or 3-point hitch. Both hitches feature a carrier frame that helps carry the load so all the weight is not transferred through the gearboxes. Competitive machines will wear gearbox seals, shafts, and gears much quicker since the load, flex, and twisting of the mower is carried by the gearboxes. The Massey Ferguson design isolates the gearboxes so all they do is transfer the power.

The side pull design of the 9-foot Model 1359 is a simple and cost effective design to match smaller fields and lower horsepower tractors.

The head is suspended from the frame at three points allowing the cutterbar to basically be pushed through the field. This suspension system works a lot like heads on self-propelled windrowers and maximizes the responsiveness of the floatation system. Using several springs on each side of the header for floatation also allows the cutterbar to be more responsive to changes in terrain than one large spring. In the event a spring needs to be replaced it is also much easier to put a small spring on than trying to stretch a large one.