Hay Rake
- Thread starter BigMccorm
- Start date
- Views: 12195
I had some bad luck with a 256 a couple of years ago. I bought it at auction, and it had bearings, gears and shafts out of it. I bought all new parts from ford and restacked the gear box. I even put a grease fitting in the gear box, like it should have in the first place. I went out to rake and by the time I had reached the hay field, the rake had stopped working. It turns out that the new shaft/gear assembly from ford was defective! There were two high spots on the shaft 180 degrees apart , about 1/8" contact- the gear walked off the shaft. So I cleaned it up, mig welded the gear to the shaft and re-assembled. To get the hay raked in time, I used the old New idea 5 bar rake that has a belt drive. The New Idea is much more dependable than the Ford.
Farmwithjunk
Super Member
I've owned 3 hay rakes. First was a New Holland 56. It was worn out when I bought it, so I replaced it after a few seasons with a NH wheel rake. That didn't last long. Wheel rakes will find every rock, every stick, every piece of trash in the field and send it on through your baler. After 2 seasons with the wheel rake, I relented and spent the money on a NEW New Holland 256. I wouldn't take 10 wheel rakes for one good roll-a-bar rake. All you need do is go to a farm auction and see how the New Holland roll-a-bars sell compared to everything else on the market to determine how people regard them.
The "knock" on roll-a-bar rakes has always been their "roping" the windrow as it turns. Some people see that as a DISadvatage. In all actuality, that twisting of the windrow only HELPS the windrow feed evenly into the baler.
The "knock" on roll-a-bar rakes has always been their "roping" the windrow as it turns. Some people see that as a DISadvatage. In all actuality, that twisting of the windrow only HELPS the windrow feed evenly into the baler.
Robert_in_NY
Super Member
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2001
- Messages
- 8,552
- Location
- Silver Creek, NY
- Tractor
- Case-IH Farmall 45A, Kubota M8540 Narrow, New Holland TN 65, Bobcat 331, Ford 1920, 1952 John Deere M, Allis Chalmers B, Bombardier Traxter XT, Massey Harris 81RC and a John Deere 3300 combine, Cub Cadet GT1554
FWJ, the disadvantage to the roping is that it makes it harder to dry the hay down in wet areas. I do agree though that the roping makes it great for feeding into the baler. If you are in an area where you have great drying weather then the roping is not a problem at all. It only affects us guys where we need all the help we can get with drying. This is why the rotary rakes are gaining a lot of popularity.
Farmwithjunk
Super Member
Robert_in_NY said:
During the summer months, it's about as humid here as it gets anywhere. Also, this area gets 55 to 60 " of rain annually. The ground stays wet until late summer. Still, I'll live with the roping. It seems that every "advantage" you get in hayin' is offset by a DISadvantage with the same methods.
Robert_in_NY
Super Member
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2001
- Messages
- 8,552
- Location
- Silver Creek, NY
- Tractor
- Case-IH Farmall 45A, Kubota M8540 Narrow, New Holland TN 65, Bobcat 331, Ford 1920, 1952 John Deere M, Allis Chalmers B, Bombardier Traxter XT, Massey Harris 81RC and a John Deere 3300 combine, Cub Cadet GT1554
I agree, just wanted to point out the disadvantage.
I still run a NH 256 but would like to try a Kuhn 6002 rotary someday.
I still run a NH 256 but would like to try a Kuhn 6002 rotary someday.
gf5205
Silver Member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2005
- Messages
- 134
- Location
- Southwest Maine
- Tractor
- JD 5205 JD 5203 Ford 3600 JD 850 JD 755 Kioti DK65
I have a Kuhn rotary. It replaced an old International side delivery. I think it probably saves me half a day of drying early in the season. It is especially useful when the ground is wet, as it was all of last year. When the ground is wet you can tedd and tedd and tedd, but the ground is still wet. If you rake too early with the side delivery you make rope and it doesn't dry. The rotary rake allows you to rake hay when it is greener and get it off the ground. It makes very fluffy windrows. It doesn't clog. It saved my butt last year.
Greg
Greg
Renze
Elite Member
In Europe, Claas and Kuhn are already offering 4 spinner rotary rakes up to 11 meter wide...
HayDR
Veteran Member, Approved Advertiser
Yes they are available here but there are some differences between USA Farming practices and Europe's farming practices. The hay crops are different. The rainfall varies greatly across the USA. Some stuff that is being sold in the USA would not be effective in Europe and visa versa.Renze said:
stevevdw
Member
We owned an 8-wheel "V" rake & I hated it. They seem to pick up every bit of trash, rock, stick in the field. It also pulled up a lot of green leaves ect & increased drying time. It was a pain to use in irregular fields as well. We made a dual rake hitch & 2 rakes & never looked back. I really like our hydraulicly driven rake for the back rake on the hitch, handles lots of hay & doesn't stop even on hard corners. We use a roll-a-bar on the front that my Grandfather may have bought new. Can't kill it.