combination tedder/rake

[HayDR]

As far as down time concerning a rake/tedder combination or the separate units, there is little down time. If you are purchasing new and the owner is the operator, I doubt you will have very little down time over the life of a unit. It is normal to have to replace some tines now and then but other than that with proper maintenance, we just do not see much down time with these units. If you run them into a fence post or a tree they will break. The technology varies little between brand to brand so purchase one you are comfortable with and put the hay in the windrow.

 

[Bird]

Jimg, Cowboydoc's answer doesn't surprise me in the least. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif Most of my hay work was done with a new Gehl haybine and baler and an old New Holland rake, and we spent a lot of time working on all of them. And another neighbor whose primary occupation is hay said he buys a new John Deere baler every two years because otherwise he'd have too much downtime. And even never having one over 2 years old, he and/or the dealer still spend quite a bit of time on repairs.

 

[jimg]

Hi Bird,
Can understand about the baler and mower but not the rake. They seem to be very simple (as are tedders) and its surprising they had any significant down time. What sorts of work did you do on the rake other than, as CCI said, change out teeth?

 

[Bird]

Jim, the rake was old and ground driven, so I can't say how much work would be required on newer rakes. But on that old one, I'm not sure how many bearings we replaced, and u-joints, but I know it was several. And I was surprised at how much we had to work on the baler and haybine.

 

[cowboydoc]

If you're just talking about the rake then no there isn't much downtime with them. I thought you were talking about haying equipment in general. I had to repair my wheel rake twice last year and my side delivery rake once. On the wheel rake I hit a gopher hole and bent the one wheel assembly, the second repair was a bearing. The side delivery rake the on/off pull latch got froze up.

 

[jimg]

OK, good, that makes more sense to me. This thread is about combo tedders/rakes so that was the context I was using for my comment. (Im not surprised the baler and mower need constant attention.) About how long did you have the rake when it needed the bearing? Was this a permanently sealed type or one needing grease?

 

[jimg]

Hi Bird,
As for repair on mowers and balers Im not surprised. They seem to always be wanting something whether its adjusting or repair. In fact its amazing to me that balers even work! Last year on first cut my friends baler quit w/ an acre+ still to bale. It turns out the knotter came all apart and made somewhat of a mess. While Ive never seen one up close I can only imagine how complex it is. He said it was quite involved to fix. Anyway, at this point I dont have the time or money for a baler or mower.

 

[Woodbeef]

I've had it since 2000. No,I bought it used. Got two of them actually,one for parts. I've only needed a tire. I only rake with it so far. Hmmm.....you say it only weighs 1000 lbs???? Lets put it this way I can feel it when I pick it up with a 75 hp mfd cabbed,loader tractor.....

 

[jimg]

One for parts? Are they that hard to get in your area? Have you tryed it at all for tedding? Usually combo machines are a compromise and I was curious to know if it did both tasks well.

No, the Kuhn website says 800+ pounds. My 3pt can lift (well the books says it can lift) about 1265 pounds 24" aft of the hitch.

 

[Woodbeef]

I've heard that story too about being a half way machine in both cases. But I see no problems with the way it rakes. I don't ted so I can not answer you on that fact. I wanted a 3pth rotary rake,and this one was available in my limited price range. After I made the deal the dealer through in the other one for free(I guess because he was not a Kuhn dealer he did not need it around). No, parts are readily available around here. Just never needed any yet,except for a flat tire.