5 Reasons Krone Generates Value on Your Investment
By: Derek Bontrager, Equipment Sales
You’ve heard me talk about Krone quite a bit, but that’s because I truly believe in the added value their lineup offers. Krone’s hay equipment not only saves time and money, but also offers a more enjoyable experience for operators. If you’re looking for reasons to get into a Krone mower, tedder or rake, here are some ways they can positively impact the value of your investment.
- Beltless Direct Drive System: No belts are required. It cuts through the heaviest crops without slipping or burning belts.
- QuickChange Blades: Turning or changing blades is as easy as grabbing the QuickChange tool that comes with each mower.
- SafeCut Hubs: The shear protection system saves the cutterbar from internal component damage when a foreign object is struck. It prevents the damaged disc from ruining adjacent discs and is easy to reset in the field.
- Easy Transition to Transport Position: Simply use the hydraulic lever on your tractor to fold the mower up; there’s no need to get out of the cab to adjust the curtain.
- Satellite Pinions: Each disc sits on small “satellite” gears spinning at a high rate of speed, driven by large spur gears spinning at much lower speeds. These slower spinning spur gears make for a quieter and more enjoyable mowing experience.
3-point disc mowers come in working widths of 6’9” to 13’3” and are available in two different models: the AM R Series and the EasyCut R Series. The AM R model is a light-weight mower that can operate on smaller frame tractors. EasyCut R mowers offer a “center of gravity” flotation system, which allows the mower to follow ground contours on uneven fields.
Krone mower conditioners offer many of the same features as their 3-point counterparts and are available in cutting widths of 9’ to 20’4”. Krone conditioners are the widest on the market and offer rubber rolls, steel v-tines and steel m-rolls for conditioning options. Several of the larger width models offer an endwise transport option for safer road transportation. Side pull and center pivot models are also available.
- Round, Tubular Tine Arms: These are much stronger than the flat tine arms offered on competitor units. The arms are more difficult to bend, and the tines are mounted around the arm for greater tine strength and durability.
- Heavy Duty Tines: The tedder tines are 3/8” thick with five coils around the tine arms. Tines are uneven in length and allow the tedder to move more of the crop in a cleaner fashion, without digging into the ground.
- OctoLink System: This system of couplers transmits power from the center of the tedder to the wings; these require no maintenance and have a wider range of motion than traditional u-joints.
- Low Maintenance: Between the sealed rotor gearboxes and the OctoLink system, there are no joints that require maintenance.
- Hydraulic Tilt & Fold: KW tedders come standard with hydraulic tilting and folding functions, making for a quick and easy transition from the field to the road. Gone are the days of manually folding and tilting the tedder!
Krone KW Hay Tedders are offered in working widths of 18’1” to 64’4”. Hay tedders add air into the hay windrow while also spreading the windrow out. Both of these actions help decrease the drying time of the hay.
- Dependable DuraMax Cam Track: This is the heart of the Swadro rake. The DuraMax cam track is made of hardened alloy, backed by a three-year warranty. The steep angled cam track helps create perfect windrows without the need for multiple adjustments or constant maintenance.
- Lift Tines: Krone’s long lift tines have an extra bend near the bottom of the tine, creating an improved lifting effect. This helps get the crop up and into the windrow regardless of the moisture content.
- Removable Tine Arms: These can be easily removed if repair is needed in the field.
- Foldable Tine Arms: The operator can quickly fold arms for lower and narrower transport; no more removing arms and mounting them to different areas on the machine.
- Tandem Axles: They allow the rake to follow the contours of the ground; cleaner raking helps improve hay quality.
Krone Swadro Rakes are offered in multiple rotor sizes (one, two, three, four or six) and working widths ranging from 12’6” to 62’4”. Krone rotary hay rakes offer superior raking over wheel rakes in nearly all conditions, as they can gently handle and move hay without the tines touching the ground.
If you’re curious on the return or value on investment with Krone, give me a shout. Also, you can head to our YouTube page to see Krone in action.