The growing popularity of wholecrop cereals for livestock and a food source for anaerobic digesters has led Claas to add a new auger-based merging system and introduce some other grouping options as it rejigs its Disco butterfly mower range.
The Disco 9300 Direct Swather replaces the conditioner with an auger that can be used to direct the crop to the middle when merging directly behind the tractor or by opening the rear hood the crop can be laid on the ground in for full width spreading. Alternatively, one auger can be full width spreading while the other is grouping helping move crop away from the field boundary.
Other manufacturers such as Krone and Pöttinger having been offering such auger-based merging systems for several years now, but where the Claas is slightly different, is that it uses a conical shaped auger. The flights on auger double in height from the outside of the mower to the inside which helps get the forage moving much earlier and result in tidier row ends.
The mowing hardware is the same as the other Disco 9300 models. One slight variation is that the drive to the augers runs through the support arm for the central pivot and out the other side where drive belts then power the augers. Deflector plates in the middle help control the row shape when merging.
To change over to full width spreading, you just press the appropriate button on the ISObus display or the Cemis 700 or 1200 terminals so the doors open hydraulically and the auger directs the crop out on to the ground.
While minimising grain losses from wholecrop is one of the primary reason for the introduction of the 9300 DS, product specialist, Conor Trimble reckons it could also appeal to current front and back users who want to move up to triple mowers but may not have the necessary horsepower. The 180hp plus required for the auger system puts it more in reach and has the added benefit that you can group crops but the flipside is that you lose the conditioning intensity of the tine conditioner.
For those still wanting to condition and merge, Claas has also added the 9300C Auto Swather version of its conditioner mower with belt merger. This is essentially the same setup as the side-shifting 9700C AS with the lower panel enclosing the space between the back of the mower bed and the auger belt. The grouper can be powered by the tractor’s hydraulic and there is now an oil cooler option or if your trusted steed does not have the pump capacity, you can add an onboard hydraulic system.
Another new addition is aimed at those wanting a no-frills triple mower, the Disco 8500C Trend. This 8.3m wide mower gains the Hardox steel hood which has already been introduced on the other triple mowers and is also available with the new roller conditioner option (8500RC). The hydraulic functions are all operated using the tractor’s spool with pre-selection on the Cemis 10 control box. Power requirement is said to be north of 160hp with the tine conditioner.
The final bit of Claas mowing news is the introduction of a non-conditioner version of the Disco 1100. Again, there is demands in certain areas including South Wales and the Yorkshire for plain mowers. In 2017 Claas introduced the Disco 1010 with the slanting rear vertical fold system but a fixed working width, the 1100 has hydraulic working width adjustment from 10.m to 11.0m.
All of the newcomers gain the dark grey covers in place of the more familiar white canvas skirts to identify the new generation of Disco mowers.
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