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Central Kansas | Zoom....yes, the push over arm is a little more problematic with the Hoelscher than the old Farm hand accumulator as the Hoelscher actually flips them up on edge after they emerge flat. They will all catch the push over/flip over arm if the length of the bale and position adjustment of the push over/flip over arm are not just about right. Once you get this set, there is only an ocassional problem with this.
You can imagine what a broken bale....unseen, like at night......can do to one of these rigs. It is a good thing to be able to see the bales come out and enter the accumulator. I ditched my Hoelscher and am now using a pretty good old Farmhand accumlator so I can see the twine as they are flat on the deck. I have terraced hay ground and was just having a little too much trouble with my help (wife) knocking bales over on the sloping ground. This is just our deal...these accumulators are very, very good machines. We also sell to the horse market and have a fair number of customers who arrive in their little Toyota Tacoma for their 10 bales of alfalfa. I prefer to have them stacked in the shed with the string side up....just an old man's piccadillo I guess.
As to the fork.....having the capablility to pick them up from either direction might well be a real advantage to the way some folks store their hay. For us, loading gooseneck trailers, etc....we prefer to have them all oriented the same way in the shed so the older, 4 hook rail forks work fine. You may use the other type to your advantage.
Have you looked at the Steffens systems from the NorthWest? They have an accumulator that turns two tie bales E/W while the other 8 on the accumulator deck are N/S. This would build a tie or rail of bales on a semi and you could rotate from one side to the other side of the trailer. They make grabs as well. Also, a Missouri (I think) outfit makes a drag around 8 bale accumulator called the Accumu8 or something on that order and sell a hay grab as well.....both on the moderate to low end pricing compared to hydraulic operated accumlators.
I certainly agree with your impression of the handiness of using a grab or claw. Fitting your current baler with an accumulator might well streamline your operation some....but you would have to have trailers to get the bales from the field to the barn. Two loader tractors is a plus...but not essential of course. Good luck with your haying enterprise this summer. | |
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hoelscher bale accumulator
