|
|
| Wondering what the best hay rake is for heavy mixed hay. Selling to a horse market we need clean bales. Really like a speed and productivity of the wheel rakes. Also have some hay on "beach" sand so ajustablity is a big issue as the one we have now like to either skip and not have enough pressure or we have to much and plow with it. no were inbetween. I know some have torsion springs on every wheel. Is this the way to go? Thanks |
|
| |
|
mexico, mo | like our Ogden 12 wheel Hybrid Hayrunner |
|
| |
|
| My vote goes to Rowse |
|
| |
|
NW Iowa | Look at the larger Vermeer rakes with the hyd down pressure. We got one primarily for doing cornstalks about 3 years ago and the thing has worked great. Used a CIH (some European rake rebadgged) one year and put on about 100 teeth over 3k bales. Weve not replaced a single tooth on this rake yet due to the adjustability of it. We also use it for hay where we can and works great. |
|
| |
|
Galena IL | Rowse makes the best rake I found for low ash (dirt) hay... Dennis |
|
| |
|
Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot | There are fancier rakes, but the little Kuhn speedrakes have really impressed me. And a lot of the neighbors since almost everyone has at least one now. One of the larger hay farmers here sold all of his Twinstar hydraulic rakes and has half a dozen, some SR 112's, and some 312's.
I have one SR 112, and the only bad thing is a 14' header is as wide as it will rake. The 312's are better if your cutting 15' or more, and will also handle heavier crops. I usually use an Allen hydraulic basket rake, especially on heavier cuttings, but it will handle 3+ ton alfalfa fine. They look like they are built pretty light, and they are, but that is also an advantage. Keeps them from dragging dirt in. They will float over gopher mounds, yet follow the ground well. |
|
| |
|
Driftless SW Wisconsin | I have a new Holland procart wheel rake that works very well. It has independent wheel springs. One wheel can go up without the next one going down. Angle and width are easily adjustable. I suggest getting the optional center wheel.
Edited by Jim 3/30/2016 01:22
|
|
| |
|
Northeastern Pa. | Not a Gehl. Hay balls up under the frame and or plugs going out the back. Center wheel has no value on the Gehl. I like a wheel rake for round baling because it feeds better and a rotary rake for square baling for drying hay better.. Haven't found the ideal rake yet. Good luck. |
|
| |
|
NE Iowa | I have an Ogden hay runner, individual springs on every wheel, multiple width adjustments are easy to make. each side lifts independently so it can be ran as a side rake if needed. and the wheels run in front of the bar so it has higher capacity than most carted rakes.
ETA: I don't have one but they offer 2 different styles of center kicker depending on what you are looking for.
Edited by countryraised 3/30/2016 08:49
 (20150708_183254.jpg)
 (20150709_173511.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
 20150708_183254.jpg (144KB - 465 downloads)
20150709_173511.jpg (193KB - 452 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
central ohio..between Springville and Millbrook. | Jim - 3/30/2016 01:21
I have a new Holland procart wheel rake that works very well. It has independent wheel springs. One wheel can go up without the next one going down. Angle and width are easily adjustable. I suggest getting the optional center wheel.
+1. I know they look chinzy but the pro carts do a great job. Dealer lent me one 2 years ago when one of our rakes broke....I used it for 2 days and ended up buying 3 of them. They do a fantastic job.
The suspension on each wheel is a little time consuming to adjust...but once you get it set right you won't pick up any dirt and will rarely have to adjust it from then on. Definatly get the center kicker wheel.
Good luck
|
|
| |
|
KS/ NENE | How wide are your windrows? Or are you raking bar cut hay? How much alfalfa makes up your hay mix? What kind of features and price are you looking for? We run a Darf 1017 and love it, we use an old H&S Hi-Cap when we get behind also. Most of our fields are probably similar to your "beach" sand. The Darf does very well at picking up the hay and leaving the sand, the horizontal angle that the wheels run at do a nice job of getting under the hay at the edge of the windrow, but not flipping up sand into the windrow. It also works very well when we get rained on hay to get under and not leave any. We also like the rubber mounted tines vs the steel spring tines of our H&S. It took a little setup time, but once its dialed in, its great. We do like how much adjustment it has if we do need to fine tune for a certain cutting or crop condition. The control box takes a little getting used to, but not horrible. It is nice to run everything hydraulically and never have to get out to swing or lock the wings for single windrow pickup. The only down side for us is they are not cheap. H&S, Rowse, and Golden Eagle all make a copy, but after demoing them, we chose to spend the extra and get the Darf. We pickup 16' windrows that are laid 8' wide in alfalfa that ranges in that .75-2 TPA. |
|
| |
|
Southern Nevada desert | We also use a 17 wheel Darf rake in alfalfa, 1.5 to 2-1/2 tons acre, 500 to 1000 acres 3 or 4 times a year for 16 years now with few complaints.
Edited by Two Hawk 3/30/2016 15:06
|
|
| |
|
| We have a New Holland high capacity rake. It does a good job in heavy and light hay. The only issue I have with it is that you cannot turn real tight with it. The bright side is that you can pull it pretty quick in the field.
Edited by Kb8010 3/30/2016 20:30
 (image.jpeg)
Attachments
----------------
image.jpeg (157KB - 425 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Mobile | High Cap new Sitrex MKE12 wheel, otherwise Ogden Hayrunner for a carted high cap rake. |
|
| |
Best Wheel Rake
