Hay Bale Stacker

zzvyb6 · Oct 19, 2007

About 10 years ago, I bought an old rusty machinery thing just for the chain sprocketsit had on it. Later, I figured out it was a pickup truck hayloader. Basically, it was a ground driven hay elevator that ran along side the truck and delivered square bales up to a person in the truck bed. Maybe somebody should resurrect this notion and build a prototype. I could probably get a picture of it if anybody's interested.

charlz · Oct 19, 2007

zzvyb6 said:
About 10 years ago, I bought an old rusty machinery thing just for the chain sprocketsit had on it. Later, I figured out it was a pickup truck hayloader. Basically, it was a ground driven hay elevator that ran along side the truck and delivered square bales up to a person in the truck bed. Maybe somebody should resurrect this notion and build a prototype. I could probably get a picture of it if anybody's interested.

Balevator or bale-a-vator is what we called them, attached to the side of the hay wagons. Massive improvement from bucking the hay off the ground but still a ton of work.

Renze · Oct 19, 2007

one of the 2 most popular silage methods are conventional pit silage for those bigger farms who feed TMR. The rest use wrapped square bales, sized 80x90cm.

With the big squares, taking flakes off is easy as with small conventional bales. If we feed in the field, we cut a hole in the plastic about 2/3 of the surface, kind of like a T shirt with a head hole, that hangs around the shoulders of the bale. It works great, because the horses have to pluck out the feed out of the bale, they spill less than if you feed them loose silage under the fence in a windrow.

Plan is to build a feeder this season, with a spill bucket underneath.
I'm still looking for designs so... if anybody has a good suggestion of what might work...

Again, since i built that front loader, none of us wants small bales anymore because of the labor involved, and the dust in dry hay. We try to get the haylage dried to a level that it is allmost hay, but its just moist enough to bind dust particles.

chowl · Oct 20, 2007

Buying the metal and welding it together is not a problem. I have few good
sources for the steel and all the equipment to do the welding. The only real
problem would be setting everything inline to work right. Get the right grease
bearings for the unit and the teeth might be a problem. Maybe I could just order the teeth from Steffen. I think the hydraulics might not be that big a deal either.

I would take my JD 4720 hydro over to the JD dealer and have him rig the
hydraulics on the tractor ( around a $1,000 bucks ) I have already check with
them.

The guy I'm buying my hay from now has a Steffen 5508 stacker ,and a 950 Accumulator. I might beable to use his as a model to build the stacker.

If I buy equipment rightout from Steffen and JD dealer. It would cost me over
$5,000 for this stacker. I think I could save a lot of money if I build the stacker myself.

Then it might be better just to buy the thing and save myself the time and
work into building the unit, and everything should work right from the getgo.

Mike120 · Oct 20, 2007

Other than NH stacker wagons I have limited experience with stackers. However, if you are going to unload with one, it seems to me that you are better off using the same thing to unload as what was used to load.

hydraulics are generally always an issue. To operate my weed wiper I have to run hoses all the way back to my rear remotes.

flusher · Oct 20, 2007

charlz said:
Balevator or bale-a-vator is what we called them, attached to the side of the hay wagons. Massive improvement from bucking the hay off the ground but still a ton of work.

I think this is what you have in mind. Neato. Photo taken in the 1930s in Central CA.

flusher · Oct 20, 2007

chowl said:
Has anyone ever build a bale stacker for your front loader on your tactor? One that is like the one Steffen sells for arround $4,000.00.

I've given that issue some thought since I'm planning to put 7 of my 10 acres of pasture land into hay next year.

Gonna make the standard size rectangular bales and need some way to get them off the field and stacked under cover. I have a 2005 Kubota B7510HST with an LA 302 FEL (21 hp engine) and a 1964 MF-135 diesel (45 hp engine, 3pt but no FEL).

Since there will only be around 100-150 bales per cutting I don't need to handle more than one bale at a time. What I'm thinking is buying or making a single-bale hay squeeze that attaches to the LA302 FEL. Unfortunately, the FEL bucket is not easily detachable so I might have to invest in one of those quick detach adapters.

With the squeeze I can stack bales on my 5x10ft flatbed trailer that is hitched either to the F150 or the MF-135 and move the load to my storage area. I'll unload the trailer and stack the bales with the sqeeze.

I'll be looking for that type of squeeze store-bought. Anyone out there know who might make this kind of equipment?

Anybody ever build a homemade squeeze like this?

Grrrr · Oct 20, 2007

flusher said:
I've given that issue some thought since I'm planning to put 7 of my 10 acres of pasture land into hay next year.

Gonna make the standard size rectangular bales and need some way to get them off the field and stacked under cover. I have a 2005 Kubota B7510HST with an LA 302 FEL (21 hp engine) and a 1964 MF-135 diesel (45 hp engine, 3pt but no FEL).

Since there will only be around 100-150 bales per cutting I don't need to handle more than one bale at a time. What I'm thinking is buying or making a single-bale hay squeeze that attaches to the LA302 FEL. Unfortunately, the FEL bucket is not easily detachable so I might have to invest in one of those quick detach adapters.

With the squeeze I can stack bales on my 5x10ft flatbed trailer that is hitched either to the F150 or the MF-135 and move the load to my storage area. I'll unload the trailer and stack the bales with the sqeeze.

I'll be looking for that type of squeeze store-bought. Anyone out there know who might make this kind of equipment?

Anybody ever build a homemade squeeze like this?

IMO, it would be a waste of time to build a loader mounted squeeze for small bales.

They really aren't that bad to handle and if you can get someone to help for an evening, it wouldn't take long at all.

We have an accumulator and grab but only use it in the bigger fields.

This year we picked up about 500 bales by hand between 3 of us one evening, one driving and two stacking. It really didn't take long.

I should think you could do 100 - 200 in less than two hours by yourself depending on how spread out they are.

I reckon it would be a lot slower using the loader and a miniature grab.

chowl · Oct 20, 2007

Maybe we could get a volume discount from a dealer or Steffen themself if a few of us what some of their equipment. There would a lot of happy hay people.

flusher · Oct 20, 2007

Grrrr said:
IMO, it would be a waste of time to build a loader mounted squeeze for small bales.

They really aren't that bad to handle and if you can get someone to help for an evening, it wouldn't take long at all.

We have an accumulator and grab but only use it in the bigger fields.

This year we picked up about 500 bales by hand between 3 of us one evening, one driving and two stacking. It really didn't take long.

I should think you could do 100 - 200 in less than two hours by yourself depending on how spread out they are.

I reckon it would be a lot slower using the loader and a miniature grab.

Thanks for the input. Points well taken.

However, my haying is strictly a one-man operation.

Don't want to schlep bales by hand myself. There has to be a better way that doesn't cost a fortune in equipment.

Don't want to get into CA workers compensation issues by hiring help.

Don't want to have to increase the liability insurance I carry now by hiring help or having neighbors participate.

Time is not really an issue (I'm retired) unless weather conditions cause a hurry-up situation during the hay harvest. Hope to be able to avoid this problem.

And, finally, I enjoy the challenge to figure out how to get my hay stacked using my existing equipment and a (hopefully) relatively inexpensive additional implement for stacking, like a miniature hay squeeze.

Something like a Hay Buddy might work

HAY BUDDY - Home

Mike120 · Oct 20, 2007

Well, I think I got mine solved. I mentioned my problem at the feed store and got put in touch with a guy about 100 miles away that has a NH stacker wagon. He's got a Bale Band-it and doesn't need it any more. I'm going to go look at it next week as it's supposed to be in excellent condition. It's not a perfect solution but it gets them out of the field and next to the hay shed. Even the human stackers can deal with that. I'm starting to look forward to next year, I'm getting way too old to fight bales.

Grrrr · Oct 21, 2007

flusher said:
Thanks for the input. Points well taken.

However, my haying is strictly a one-man operation.

Don't want to schlep bales by hand myself. There has to be a better way that doesn't cost a fortune in equipment.

Don't want to get into CA workers compensation issues by hiring help.

Don't want to have to increase the liability insurance I carry now by hiring help or having neighbors participate.

Time is not really an issue (I'm retired) unless weather conditions cause a hurry-up situation during the hay harvest. Hope to be able to avoid this problem.

And, finally, I enjoy the challenge to figure out how to get my hay stacked using my existing equipment and a (hopefully) relatively inexpensive additional implement for stacking, like a miniature hay squeeze.

Something like a Hay Buddy might work

HAY BUDDY - Home

That Hay Buddy loooks a lot like something that was used a lot in the UK before acumulators, a bale slave.

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:dQb-tHcn8VgOzM:http://www.greenheyes.com/images/baleslave01.jpg

To use it you just bale the field as normal, then walk around and put the bales in stacks of six. Then you use something like what is in the picture to place them on the trailer and then you can use it to take them off again.

There very simple and work surprisingly well. I could get you more photos if you needed it. I think we still have one somewhere

The other thing you could make is a double spike to go on your loader

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:8l0KRg37CXL_kM:http://www.kenttractors.com/Album%25201/Bale%2520spike.JPG

It would be easier than a grab and faster to use. Just stab the bale and put it on the trailer. How all hay and straw that is not wrapped is usually moved.

Does your MF135 have multipower? Makes it a great baling tractor as you can speed up and slow down without clutching depending on the weight of the hay.

(The images don't seem to want to showup, it might be because they are from Google?)

Renze · Oct 21, 2007

Hmmm... I was checking back to see if you guys found the movie i posted yesterday, just as amusing as i did... But it seems the post failed.

Here again: a JF bale thrower. Super simple, easy to make your own, and very amusing to see in action

YouTube - Bale Thrower

The comments, loosely translated from German, says:
"This machine isnt widely known, however makes a great help on our farm. It's suited for use on slopes and requires minimal HP. It just requires careful operation"

First time i saw this, i thought it was photoshopped !!

tallyho8 · Oct 21, 2007

Yesterday I bought 100 bales of hay and my seller had a hay bale stacker for the first time. His hay was on a large flatbed trailer and he was able to easily move 100 bales from his trailer to mine without us touching the hay. Sure made it easier for me.

Rara Avis · Oct 24, 2007

Mike120 said:
Well, I think I got mine solved. I mentioned my problem at the feed store and got put in touch with a guy about 100 miles away that has a NH stacker wagon. He's got a Bale Band-it and doesn't need it any more. I'm going to go look at it next week as it's supposed to be in excellent condition. It's not a perfect solution but it gets them out of the field and next to the hay shed. Even the human stackers can deal with that. I'm starting to look forward to next year, I'm getting way too old to fight bales.

I've heard there have been some initial teething problems with the Bale Band-it...How many bales has this guy run thru it???

If it worked...that and a JD Telehandler would solve my problems...

flusher · Oct 24, 2007

Grrrr said:
That Hay Buddy loooks a lot like something that was used a lot in the UK before acumulators, a bale slave.

Does your MF135 have multipower? Makes it a great baling tractor as you can speed up and slow down without clutching depending on the weight of the hay.

(The images don't seem to want to showup, it might be because they are from Google?)

Yes, it has multipower.

Re: hay spears-point well taken.

But there's no challenge in buying a hay spear. Much more fun to design and build a home-brew hay clamp.

Mike120 · Oct 25, 2007

PaulChristenson said:
I've heard there have been some initial teething problems with the Bale Band-it...How many bales has this guy run thru it???

If it worked...that and a JD Telehandler would solve my problems...

Paul,

He bought it last year and has probably run about 6-7,000 bales through it. He's had some problems with it but figures he can get it all fixed this winter. It does make nice packages. He supplies a number of feed stores so it has really cut down on his handling effort.

I'm going up to look at the stacker wagon next week (before he changes his mind). I'll ask him about specific problems with the Bale Band-it and let you know.

slowzuki · Oct 25, 2007

The J-F thrower is painfully slow to watch! How would you ever get your fields cleaned up before rain?

Renze · Oct 25, 2007

Slowzuki, it may appear that it isnt quicker than manual labor, but have you ever loaded 500 bales with pitchforks ? Then after the first 100 bales, this thrower is definately quicker