|
|
Columbia Basin, Ephrata, WA | Specifically the single windrow ones? Anything bigger is too much $ for the amount of windrows we chop.
Are there any brands to avoid? I know we have dealers in the area for h&s, oxbo, and Kuhn. Parts support will likely be lousy anyway since there are so few mergers in use around here.
Is there a design that would handle heavy triticale windrows better than the others?
Is it true that they move fewer rocks than a rake?
Any other advice/opinions would be appreciated.
Edited by Ben in the Basin 11/1/2011 13:30
|
|
| |
|
Pasco WA. | I have never run one but from what I hear they are too expensive to maintain. Large local dairy went back to rakes. |
|
| |
|
Embarrass WI | We have a H&S with belts and plastic teeth. We put the crop roller on the front of ours, that made it work much better in heavy hay. I demo'd a Kuhn with the pickup-style head, it worked better than our H&S but I didn't want to part with the money to trade. Oxbo has a good reputation but I have never used one.
Belts will require maintenance. I have been told that the older Oxbo's need the pickups rebuilt regularly and the new ones are made better.
A merger definitely puts less rocks in the windrow. That is why I put up with the hassle. A rake would certainly be faster and easier....just not better.
Edit-I'm a bit perplexed---if your windrows are so heavy, why do you need to merge them? We merge hay to get a large enough windrow to keep the chopper full. If the triticale or hay is heavy enough, reducing your chopping speed from 8 mph to 4 mph isn't going to get any more tons/hour chopped.
Edited by Tim in WI 11/1/2011 20:12
|
|
| |
|
Wisconsin | Lots of the H&S singles here in Wisconsin and they can do Ok if all is adjusted properly and maintained but more important is the operator running them because if they go too fast or slow all you have is a bunch of piles, lumpy windrows and Muskrat huts and that results in a realy mad chopper driver and wrecked drive shafts and slip clutches.
One place we chop for we have banned the father and son from running the merger and will only come and chop if the wife merged the fields or one of us chopper operators.
Even the H&S twin or the continuous head will bunch if not operated correctly
OxBow seems to be the best since you have to try harder to screw up the windrow but they do have upkeep issues at times |
|
| |
|
Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot | We demoed one a few years ago. I don't know how they would handle heavy hay since the idea was to use it on short alfalfa where rakes loose too much. But I would seriously doubt they could handle some of the 4 ton dry triticale I've put up, and I'm guessing you can yield better than that by quite a bit. That is so much material to move, it is going to be slow, slow going.
They would be better in rocks than say a wheel rake, but I wouldn't think much if any better than a hydraulic basket rake like a Twinstar or newer Allen---that is being ran by a competent operator who know how to lift it up to where it isn't running in the dirt, but just barely not leaving any hay. But you know rocks much better than me, I don't think what I consider rocky would rate much with you... ;) |
|
| |
|
NW VA | We very rarely allow rakes to run in front of our harvester. We have a Gehl merger that we like, but they are no longer an option for new. Can't really speak from experience on the others, but the Gehl has done well for us, and works good in heavy rows. |
|
| |
|
| Phiber makes some excellent products. They might be a small, less known company but they have had worked with NH and MacDon on a few things.
http://www.phibercanada.com/index.htm |
|
| |
|
| All kinds of them in WI.
I help run a 12' H&s and 918 Miller which I think is the same as an Oxbo. Both are single mergers. They run side by side all day behind 18' cutters. We cut Alfalfa and merge at about 70 % moisture.
The H&S handles doubles better and windrows on hills because the head is wider and is easier to run all day because you do not have to drive as exact because of the wider head. The wider head is nicer for corners too. We have quite a few fields that are 5-20 acres in size
THe Miller is made better as wittnessed by less daily/ seasonal maintenance.
We run about 8-10 mph in approx. 2ton/acre yields I have no experience with triticale, but wet alfalfa is very hard to merge. It works much better if the hay is in the 60% moisture range but it does not pack as well then.
If you are using tractor hyd to run them you want 16-20 GPM out of the remote to make them work well. |
|
| |
|
Pine City, MN | We had a single H@S now have a double and they both work good... I'd make sure to find one that run's of a PTO pump not hyd. unless you got a newer tractor with plenty of flow..
 (IMG00070-20100726-1145.jpg)
 (IMG00064-20100524-0823.jpg)
 (IMG00546-20110729-1240.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
 IMG00070-20100726-1145.jpg (54KB - 557 downloads)
IMG00064-20100524-0823.jpg (85KB - 511 downloads)
IMG00546-20110729-1240.jpg (47KB - 556 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
German Valley, IL | As far as singles go Kuhn is hard to beat ... we had a miller haybuddy = junk .... then we got a new kuhn , one of the first available ( we live less than 20 miles from where they are built ) loved it ... you can merge as fast as you can stay in the seat ... will handle heavy crops better than any of the singles ... we were putting 5 windrows from 16' haybine together with no problems ... we would even pick up that 5 windrows merged together and flip them if we got caught in a rain ...tried a H&S single hated it ... have not ran a oxbo single but watched one run did a good job just not as even of a windrow as the Kuhn ... we run a twin H&S now , so we can try to stay ahead of the chopper |
|
| |
|
Sunnyside, WA | If you are trying to mainly merge heavy triticale, don't even bother with a merger. It has been tried in this valley and simply does not work on triticale. Get a twin rotor rake and it will put two together and that is plenty for a chopper in triticale. 30' of triticale will slow a JD 7850 to 4-5 mph all day long. Makes a nicer windrow that a merger in triticale. Brands in order of preference would be Claas, Krone or Kuhn, then Fella. I have a Fella and it was the cheapest for a reason.
Now if you are talking mainly alfalfa, then go with a merger. Problem with a single merger is that a twin rake is just as fast for less money. Takes two trips with a merger to put 3 windrows into one. Larger mergers can do 3 in one with one pass or 5 in one with two passes. Most large chopping outfits need two large mergers to put 5 into 1 or the merger can't stay ahead of the chopper. |
|
| |
Anyone have experience with hay mergers?
