Straw blowers?

[MLB]

Anyone have experience with any? (feed bales in, shoots straw out for covering grass seed)

 

[8226hamer]

I use one in my business. I install lawns. I have a Pro Chopper It works good unless you have straw that has gotten wet. You have to be careful and make sure you don't let any straw build up near the muffler or it WILL catch on fire. I have a fire extinguser mounted on the side of mine and yes I have had to use it, not on my ProChopper but I had a Goosen Chopper that did go up in flames, but overall it beat shaking straw by hand.

 

[Justaplain]

Your post is just in time. I have been looking at bale choppers to use putting straw into horse stalls. I wondered what the safety factor was, now I know. If I get one guess it will be pto powered. Any experience with those?? bcs

 

[MLB]

All I had seen was the towed blowers. Some of the big units ,but what you can rent is the smaller units that you have to feed small bites of bale at a time. 4 men needed, 1 to drive, 1 to load the bales from the truck, 1 to feed the straw in, 1 to run the shooter.
In searching I've seen a 3pt model that you can run the shooter from the tractor seat. "Think" it took full bales too. Looked pretty neat. One other man to feed the bales and you'd be set I guess.
Also, all I've seen are ones with the "cannon" type shooter, anyone used one with a tube you can drag around? Opinons?
THANKS IA

 

[MLB]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I use one in my business. I install lawns. I have a Pro Chopper It works good unless you have straw that has gotten wet. You have to be careful and make sure you don't let any straw build up near the muffler or it WILL catch on fire. I have a fire extinguser mounted on the side of mine and yes I have had to use it, not on my ProChopper but I had a Goosen Chopper that did go up in flames, but overall it beat shaking straw by hand. )</font>

I'm getting into installations too, thus my interest in owning one. How do you like your ProChopper? Goosen is a big name, can you compare them functionally. Seen or used "the best" that you'd buy if you bought another?
THANKS
THANKS

 

[MLB]

Just went to their website and checked it out. Looks interesting as I'm small scale and looking at the small end of the market. How does it work? Clog much? Like the tube type vs the cannon type? Reliable?
Do you use a tractor? Did you consider a PTO unit?
Finally, how much?
Thanks

 

[rockinmywaypa]

MLB I think what you should do is to look around your area for a dairy equipment dealer. They'll also likely sell straw choppers used for laying bedding under cows in the barn. These rigs are small, sit on a couple wheelbarrow tires, hold one small square bale of straw and can be handled easily by one person. I've seen them carried on 3ph carriers also if travelling around the yard. powered by a 3or 5 hp gas motor.

 

[MLB]

Not THAT small. I've got to be able to do 2 acre lawns! Small as in http://www.kingmachine.com/chopper.html as opposed to blowers the size of a car mounted on 20' trailers with 100 hp motors that blow whole bales 100'.
Different range of small /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[8226hamer]

I haven't had any problems with my Pro Chopper and I think it does just as good as the Goosen I had. The Pro Chopper is Made in Scottsburg IN. and I live about 80 miles from there so if I did have a problem I could get parts that day. I hate down time. My blower has a 13hp. Honda engine that powers it. I wouldn't get one unless it was powered by a Honda. They are hard to beat. I use 6" black corragated pipe for the hose, and like I said if you use good dry straw you won't have any problems. I have my blower mounted on a 15' trailer with a receiver mounted on my tractor FEL that I push-pull around. It will hold about 20 bales wich will do an average yard. I can use this set up by myself if I have to, it's best to use string bales I can through a whole bale in and when the cutters cut the string I can pull them out before they get pulled into the cutter knives.

 

[Justaplain]

Check out Patz------- DC Atlas Co Inc [800-236-1136]---- Beg and Bennett Inc.[Dale Bennett 800-724-4866] The name is the key some call them bale choppers and some Bedding Choppers. Patz and Goosen have a blower like your talking with a pipe goose neck and/ or a 20' hose. Run about 5K/13HP Hondas.bcs