Who makes the best power rake / soil conditioner?

[cstamm81]

I've been slowly researching power rakes, also known as soil conditioners or Harley rakes. I'm curious to hear from those who have run or laid eyes on the different styles and brands, as to which is the most effective at leveling soil for seed prep. I have a 60hp Kubota I would be looking to run it behind. I own 10 acres, but am planning on buying neighboring properties as they become available over the coming years. I have a few acres of lawn that could really use resurfacing, and a 7 acre field that has been in corn / hay / beans over the past 20 years. I want to add a few areas of lawn to the field area as well, and as you can imagine it's anything but smooth dirt.

From everything I have seen, a power rake is literally the best tool for these jobs. There seem to be a few different manufacturers out there making these for tractors.

1. Harley Rake - seemingly the original, I sometime see used ones, and they look to either have a paddle style rotor or the more standard carbide beaded tip rotor. I can't find them inline new, I'm wondering if they are not made anymore?
2. Erskine - Link they have some good videos online, and every piece of equipment I have seen from them looks to be the highest of quality
3. MTW - Link I just found out about this outfit recently, they have some videos on their site and youtube, but not much info all together. The build quality looks to be there, and the most intriguing part to me is the fact that you can swap the conditioner rotor out for other styles, or even a tiller or brush.

Anyone have any input here? This would be one heck of an expensive purchase, so if I would pull the trigger I obviously want to make sure I get the right tool for the job!

 

[dodge man]

I have no personal experience but have seen them used a lot. They do work really well. They are also expensive. I’m not a huge fan of renting them but you might look into it. You would probably have to rent the machine and rake though. They also look like they work well on tool carriers.

 

[Thomabear]

I'm also in the market for a power rake. I've researched them until my head started hurting trying to find good value without skimping on quality. From my research I found out that it is key to have properly sealed and protected rotor bearings, no oversized rotors to prevent stalling and over taxing the tractor/power rake drivelines (Blue Diamond speaks to this), no-flat tires and preferably but not necessary replaceable carbide teeth. Blue Diamond and York are good options other than what you have listed. I'm a little skittish on that MTW but maybe I'm reading into it too much. I would personally prefer using a rake for its intended purpose which for me is to level fields and maintain my long driveway. Here's a couple videos on the rakes mentioned.

blue diamond power rake - Search Videos

www.bing.com

york power rake - Search Videos

www.bing.com

 

[screamin400]

I may be able to help. I run a power rake on a trac loader though. I run one a lot. Last year I purchased a new Harley brand. I figured it would be the best since they were the originator. What a piece of junk I bought. I make my living with this machine and it started falling apart before my check cleared. The machine is robot welded and no one checked the welds. The two pieces of metal are not touching each other. Both front wheels fell off. The side wings fell off and went through the machine. I contacted Paladine and they would not get back to me. My first contact was three days after purchase. I kept welding and welding. Harley recommends you grease the bearings I think it was every 40 hours. Mine got greased every single time it went out. 11 months in they both went bad. I now have it at a dealer who was able to get in touch with paladine and they are warrantying the whole machine and rebuilding it.. I had to go purchase another machine.
I looked, hunted, researched everything I could find. I finally settled on a Reist Roto Rake. Machine is massive compared to the harley. It also offers a tilt. I have had it approx 45 days with no issues at all. It is much more to carry around but that is fine with me. It has no chains and a dual drive hydros so no bearings.It has a larger diameter drum that I also like.
I believe the York power rake is also a harley brand. Yes, harley made nice things until Briggs bought them out a couple years ago. I know dealers who have since dropped them due to issues like mine. There are many great brands out there but Harley is not one of them

 

[cstamm81]

I may be able to help. I run a power rake on a trac loader though. I run one a lot. Last year I purchased a new Harley brand. I figured it would be the best since they were the originator. What a piece of junk I bought. I make my living with this machine and it started falling apart before my check cleared. The machine is robot welded and no one checked the welds. The two pieces of metal are not touching each other. Both front wheels fell off. The side wings fell off and went through the machine. I contacted Paladine and they would not get back to me. My first contact was three days after purchase. I kept welding and welding. Harley recommends you grease the bearings I think it was every 40 hours. Mine got greased every single time it went out. 11 months in they both went bad. I now have it at a dealer who was able to get in touch with paladine and they are warrantying the whole machine and rebuilding it.. I had to go purchase another machine.
I looked, hunted, researched everything I could find. I finally settled on a Reist Roto Rake. Machine is massive compared to the harley. It also offers a tilt. I have had it approx 45 days with no issues at all. It is much more to carry around but that is fine with me. It has no chains and a dual drive hydros so no bearings.It has a larger diameter drum that I also like.
I believe the York power rake is also a harley brand. Yes, harley made nice things until Briggs bought them out a couple years ago. I know dealers who have since dropped them due to issues like mine. There are many great brands out there but Harley is not one of them

Great info on the Harley / York brands, very good (and sad) to know the quality has gone downhill. The Resist you got looks very nice, but it doesn't look like they make the same PTO style for a tractor.

 

[cstamm81]

I'm also in the market for a power rake. I've researched them until my head started hurting trying to find good value without skimping on quality. From my research I found out that it is key to have properly sealed and protected rotor bearings, no oversized rotors to prevent stalling and over taxing the tractor/power rake drivelines (Blue Diamond speaks to this), no-flat tires and preferably but not necessary replaceable carbide teeth. Blue Diamond and York are good options other than what you have listed. I'm a little skittish on that MTW but maybe I'm reading into it too much. I would personally prefer using a rake for its intended purpose which for me is to level fields and maintain my long driveway. Here's a couple videos on the rakes mentioned.

blue diamond power rake - Search Videos

www.bing.com

york power rake - Search Videos

www.bing.com

Good info, thanks. Did you get pricing on the 3pt hitch Blue Diamond brand rakes? I'm with you, something doesn't sit well with those MTW rakes, maybe just not enough info / videos out there to make me a believer. My gut tells me the Erskine unit would stand up to anything and everything I could throw at it! I'm curious on the comparable pricing of the Blue Diamonds though.

 

[Thomabear]

I got pricing on the 6 foot models and the York was $10,895 with free shipping. The Blue Diamond is right at $12,000 delivered to your local dealer. I didn't price the Erskine but I agree it seems to be very well built. The link you posted on the MTW got the better of me so I decided to give them a call seeking more information and in the process I opted for a 7 foot model to enable covering my tire tracks which is 72". I called them for more literature on their rakes which I found to be very helpful. Now I'll have to back off on my earlier statement as to their quality. They make 3 different units from light to heavy. I chose to focus on the medium weight unit which I found to be very well made. The 7 foot model weighs 1155 pounds. After finishing my research for which I was pleasantly surprised I decided to price it and it was right at $10,000 for the manual angle unit including shipping. The additional hydraulic angle is over $500 additional. I'm waiting on a price for skid shoes which attach to the side shields. Things I liked about the MTW is the heavy frame, replaceable tooth option, no flat tires and machined steel bearing housings with replaceable bearing inserts. They will even paint it the color you like at no additional charge. Adding everything up gives me the confidence I was lacking on my original statement. My apology for rushing to judgement based on the bling factor.

Here is a link with additional information on these units.

https://static.wixstatic.com/ugd/5ad4ec_ecee3d6d539d4e15917d0dd437b02a89.pdf

 

[Gee Ray]

It seams to be a great deal of money for a machine that will have limited use. As the op buys land it could be a long time to recover the money. I would buy a tiller at a much lower cost and much easier to resale. Set the tiller to cut 3 or 4 inches deep and then run a drag over the yard or field. Pretty much the same results.

I would need to sit and think a long time before spending $12,000 to do what a $2 - 3000 tiller could do. Yes I understand I am not comparing apples to apples but $9000 is a bunch of money to spend on a not often used machine.

 

[Thomabear]

I thought the same initially then I literally tore up a quality gear driven tiller trying to penetrate and level 10 acres of hard clay soil. I never got to finish as I became tired of repairing and waiting on parts to continue. I feel tillers are more suited for gardening and even food plots rather than trying to level acreage. Even today when I cut this property it will jar my back and kidneys into a 2 day recovery. The power rake will be used to level out the cleared land as well maintain a VERY long wash rock driveway and other access roads outside of the maintained area. I think even the most robust tiller would easily loose this battle. It all comes down to using a tool for its intended purpose and pay me now or pay me later. In hindsight I wish I would have placed the money I wasted on my tiller toward a power rake which is capable of easily handling all the chores I throw at it without keeping me in my shop doing repairs. But I do agree this investment isn't for everyone.

 

[Cataclysm]

I only have experience with this Woods PTO power rake. I've owned a PTO driven power rake for several years now and use it commercially. I have a 72" Woods power rake. I added power angle to it. I run it on a 55hp Cab tractor with HST. I run it in everything from hard clay to sandy loam to loose gravel.

Here's a few things I have learned for what its worth. Toughness wise its about 1/2 as tough as a power rake on a skid steer. A skid steer power rake is in a different (much tougher) class.

Your going to want a HST to run it properly. The harder the material the more it wants to jump up and down. Simply slowing down until it doesn't jump works great. As a consequence the first pass on unbroken ground is quite slow.

Make sure it has a properly adjusted clutch on the PTO shaft. Eventually you will hit something that stops the drum/tractor engine. Run it at PTO speed. The drum isn't turning all that fast even at PTO speed.

I can peel a compacted gravel driveway but I feel it is too hard on the power rake so I avoid doing that.

Hard clay is very doable as long as there is some moisture content. The power rake will work on dry, hard clay but again the rake and tractor are taking a beating. I all but avoid using it on undisturbed, dry, hard clay.

Big chunks of hard dry clay from any excavation will be pulverized by the power rake. Your going to want a cab to survive the dust cloud from pulverizing the dry clay.

Any semi loose gravel up to 2" is easily workable. Be ready for a rock to stick between the drum and frame. When that happens you will hear a shrill screeching sound.

Any soil or soil with grass that has a reasonable moisture content is completely workable with the power rake. Grass longer than 12'' (Johnson grass ect.) will roll up on the drum rendering it ineffective. A quick trip power raking through gravel will quickly peel the long grass off the drum.

Wet, almost muddy soil of any type is surprisingly workable. Any wet/boggy ground your tractor can drive over with out getting stuck is workable. You can work a muddy spot on a windy day and usually dry it out in a couple of hours.

I grease the drum bearings before every use with marine grease. I think the current bearings have been on there at least 2 years and are still good.

The power rake excels at rolling up wire of any type. You will need to keep a couple pair of strong wire cutters, pliers and screwdrivers to dig the wire out from around the bearings at the end of the drum.

Power raking any soil will bring all the rocks, sticks and other debris to the surface. With the power angle and some patience you can lightly run the power rake across the top of your material and windrow the debris then scoop the debris up in the bucket. Little or no rock picking by hand.

Once I get the material loose I lighten up on rake and go up a gear. The faster you go the further you move the material. Every pass is smoother and smoother.

Your on the right track to smooth out your property. Happy to answer any questions.

Here's a video of smoothing out a rough backfill on a project we did.