Wheel rake vs rotary rake?

[AKfish]

Seems like there's wheel rakes comin' out everywhere..! And Kuhn is out with a bigger and (maybe) better rotary rake.

Any opinions on what's a better rake?

Thanks in advance.

AKfish

 

[Farmwithjunk]

If you have rocks anywhere, a wheel rake will find them. (and relocate them to the first available hay bale)

Prefer roll-A-bar rakes myself.

 

[cowski]

wheel rake is the best for me.cheaper to operate and does a good job.before i got my 8 wheel rake i was always waiting on the rake,now i can not keep up with it.

 

[slowzuki]

Neighbour has wheel rake, with the right person driving it does a great job in a hurry. Wrong driver and its a pain. No troubles with rocks despite our fields being full of them.

 

[art]

A rotary rake will give you a faster drying time! Without the roping effect given from the wheel rake as well as a roll-a-bar rake you could gain up to 4 hours faster drying time according to our customers!! As well as no stones in the windrow.

 

[Mickey_Fx]

I think what works best is a local thing and depends upon weather and crop. When I was haying, there was a lot of clover and alfalfa being grown and with the wet cool springs these crops would be very leggy with about half the crop laying on the ground come time to cut. No wheel rakes in the area at the time and convientional parallel bar rakes would just rope the crop and it would never dry. I found a very unique imported rake from Demark which used 2 belts with articulated fingers and the belts traveled side to side. As the fingers reached the end of their travel, just as they were moving around the drum, they give the hay a little kick. Never any roping and could take a heavy rained on, flat as a pancake row and fluff it up close to 2 ft in height. Haven't seen a rake like this in yrs and don't know it they are made or imported any longer.

If roping and drying are issues you have, need to find something that doesn't rope the hay.

Here's a pic of a rake like the one I had (this one not mine)

 

[slowzuki]

Yup still make them. I've got one, two neighbours have them. Slow as the dickens to rake with but reliable and good windrow.

There are about a dozen manufacturers, generally called a belt rake.

 

[Barry Bowen]

The problem with wheel rakes, at least around here in MD, is that they pick up green material and mix it in with the dried hay. This is a recipe for moldy hay around here. If you are using a V wheel rake, all the material in the middle of the V is not raked. Okay when you are in an alfalfa field where the irrigation is turned off days before you bale, and there is nothing wet on the ground to begin with. I have been using a rotary rake now for 6 years and would not have any other kind. They are fast, clean, and efficient. They really fluff the row up and get the stuff off the ground. I have saved many rained on fields with mine (MillerPro 1100) Second choice to a rotary rake would be a PTO or hydraulicly driven rollbar, not as fast, but can do a pretty fair job.

 

[Grateful11]

If you have rocks anywhere, a wheel rake will find them. (and relocate them to the first available hay bale)

Prefer roll-A-bar rakes myself.

Exactly what I was going to say. We have too many rocks, just took delivery of a new NH 256 with Dolly wheels last month, replaced a 25-30 year old 256. It's not as fast as a wheel rake but my wife doesn't like to find rocks in her hay. If moneys no object a Krone Rotary is an awesome rake, my neighbor has a twin rotor Krone, it's very nice but about $19K.

 

[bill in ny]

i like my kuhn rotary rake. it is fast and also speeds up the drying time. hardley any hay left in the field.

 

[AKfish]

If moneys no object a Krone Rotary is an awesome rake, my neighbor has a twin rotor Krone, it's very nice but about $19K.

Money always factors in the decision at some point... and that's a pretty large factor for that Krone!!

Likely that the Kuhn is on the higher end of the price range, too.

AKfish

 

[5030]

A rotary rake will give you a faster drying time! Without the roping effect given from the wheel rake as well as a roll-a-bar rake you could gain up to 4 hours faster drying time according to our customers!! As well as no stones in the windrow.

I second that.

I had a side delivery roll-a-bar and it was junk compared to a Kuhn rotary. Slower, roped the hay, slowed drydown and left a tight (not wanted) windrow.

You want a fluffy windrow the wind can blow through to dry the hay down. I do everything concerning hay with Delmhorst moisture electronics. Never touch a windrow until the Delmhorst says it's ok.

 

[Grateful11]

I second that.

I had a side delivery roll-a-bar and it was junk compared to a Kuhn rotary. Slower, roped the hay, slowed drydown and left a tight (not wanted) windrow.

You want a fluffy windrow the wind can blow through to dry the hay down. I do everything concerning hay with Delmhorst moisture electronics. Never touch a windrow until the Delmhorst says it's ok.

Junk, I think not. These windrows look good enough for air circulation to me.
I've heard that roping effect thing for years but we'll stick with our 256 with
dolly wheels. They checked at 15% after baling. My wife has been baling long
enough that she knows when it ready by doing a break test with her hands.
It's not as fast but it gets the job done and with proper maintenance you
should 30-40 years out one, the last one did.

 

[Verticaltrx]

If you have big acreages to do absolutely nothing is faster than a large wheel rake. We use an 18' JD wheel V-rake and in smooth fields you can go upwards of 15mph with it. With that kind of capacity you are talking 20-25ac/hr in a good field. Even at this speed the wheels are just gently moving the hay along.

I do like rotary rakes as well, but they are more pricey and more maintenance. We have an old 9' rotary rake as well and it sure does make a nice windrow. It's about as slow as a side delivery rake also.

Lastly, I do have an old #56 New Holland rake that must be almost 50yrs old by now. I've had to do some work to it but it still gets the job done. It's a nice rake for small field and also can preform a task that none of the others can, inverting a windrow. By driving just along the edge of an existing windrow you can perfectly invert it to dry the underside. This is great if you end up raking a bit before it was ready, or if you have windrowed hay that gets rained on.

 

[5030]

Junk, I think not. These windrows look good enough for air circulation to me.
I've heard that roping effect thing for years but we'll stick with our 256 with
dolly wheels. They checked at 15% after baling. My wife has been baling long
enough that she knows when it ready by doing a break test with her hands.
It's not as fast but it gets the job done and with proper maintenance you
should 30-40 years out one, the last one did.

I'd say you have an acute eyesight problem. One, the windrows are roped, two they are at least 2 times as tight as a rotary windrow and three, you need to pull some maintenance on your mower. It's painfully obvious (from the picture) that the mower is stripping the field. You can see the uncut swath between every row.

I'd be ashamed to post a picture like that and my contract customers would never be happy with shoddy cutting like that.

Finally, is that hay? Sure looks either rained on or over sun bleached....or both. It's also apparent that your windrow is causing barrel shaped bales. A problem ascerbated by tight rows and poor feeding practice. Try altering your weave pattern to put less material in the center and more on the ends. Your rounds look less than comercially saleable.

Your 'roper' would make a nice yard ornament. I had one for years and then tried a rotary from a dealer who dropped it off for a trial. Never went back.

 

[5030]

If you have big acreages to do absolutely nothing is faster than a large wheel rake. We use an 18' JD wheel V-rake and in smooth fields you can go upwards of 15mph with it. With that kind of capacity you are talking 20-25ac/hr in a good field. Even at this speed the wheels are just gently moving the hay along.

I do like rotary rakes as well, but they are more pricey and more maintenance. We have an old 9' rotary rake as well and it sure does make a nice windrow. It's about as slow as a side delivery rake also.

Lastly, I do have an old #56 New Holland rake that must be almost 50yrs old by now. I've had to do some work to it but it still gets the job done. It's a nice rake for small field and also can preform a task that none of the others can, inverting a windrow. By driving just along the edge of an existing windrow you can perfectly invert it to dry the underside. This is great if you end up raking a bit before it was ready, or if you have windrowed hay that gets rained on.

Personal choice at best. I have had no maintenance problems at all and I still have an use a very old Geihl single rotor that's upwards of 50 years old and nothing (other than tires) has been replaced. Granted, the gearbox oil is changed bi-yearly, but that's it.

Straight line raking is a wheel rake forte'. Our fields are irregular shaped requiring many turns. Consequently, a wheel rake becomes a PITA. A rear mount rotary is much more manuverable

I'd never rake at 15 mph. For one, most hay here is on top of no till fields, 15 per and you'd be out of the seat or have bruses on your thighs from the seat belt holding you in the seat and at 15 per, you have no time to ascertain what's going on out back. I like to smell the roses a bit. 3mph is just fine with a rotary.

Europeans are almost all rotary. Maybe they know something you don't.

 

[Duffster]

Personal choice at best. I have had no maintenance problems at all and I still have an use a very old Geihl single rotor that's upwards of 50 years old and nothing (other than tires) has been replaced. Granted, the gearbox oil is changed bi-yearly, but that's it.

Straight line raking is a wheel rake forte'. Our fields are irregular shaped requiring many turns. Consequently, a wheel rake becomes a PITA. A rear mount rotary is much more manuverable

I'd never rake at 15 mph. For one, most hay here is on top of no till fields, 15 per and you'd be out of the seat or have bruses on your thighs from the seat belt holding you in the seat and at 15 per, you have no time to ascertain what's going on out back. I like to smell the roses a bit. 3mph is just fine with a rotary.

Europeans are almost all rotary. Maybe they know something you don't.

Spelling Eh?

 

[5030]

Spelling Eh?

No Canadian Bacon here........eh?

 

[foreman Etexas]

Both!!!If hay is ready dont think it matters what rake windrows it!!! Tedder would be better first before both!!Those fluffy windrows in the wind just makes for re-raking.Just my :2cents:

And im thinking the cone shape bales or not the windrows fault but maybe the one baling it!!Looks like maybe running it to heavy on the one side!!

 

[AKfish]

Both!!!If hay is ready dont think it matters what rake windrows it!!! Tedder would be better first before both!!Those fluffy windrows in the wind just makes for re-raking.Just my :2cents:

And im thinking the cone shape bales or not the windrows fault but maybe the one baling it!!Looks like maybe running it to heavy on the one side!!

One man's "fluff" is another man's "good air circulation"! As long as it will all fit into the pickup reel..

Agree with the cone shape bales - gotta weave a bit down the windrow if you're having problems getting an even feed into the bale chamber.

AKfish