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NW IA | My experience in moving from a New Holland with rubber rollers to a Massey branded Heston/New Idea with steel is a dramatic reduction in leaf loss.
My humble opinion, but here goes. The steel rolls crimp the stem, releasing moisture without damage to the leaves.
The rubber rolls crushed the leaves and they were always too dry before the stem was dry, causing leaf loss.
Following a steel roller mower conditioner with a rotary rake has been amazingly positive on all points.
I have read opinions on this site that rotary rakes strip leaves. My Krone has failed to accomplish that feat in all conditions, such as the times when you are forced to rake alfalfa (and occasionally red clover in my case) when too dry due to an approaching rain event.
I will mention that when I bought the rake the dealer told me that optimum performance was at 470 PTO RPM's and I've always kept that as the maximum speed I will run. Perhaps if run at high PTO speed coupled with high ground speed a mess could be made.
My New Holland with rubber rolls replaced a steel on rubber crimper that we used to follow a pull type sickle mower. Alfalfa drying took much longer. | |
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Those of you with rotary rakes
