Texas Fall/Winter thread!

[Western]

My gauge got 3-4/10" My wife's "bowl" got 3 7/8":laughing: Much prefer her figure to mine

What surprises me the most is the runoff, not near what you'd think. I haven't made it up to my little tank, but I doubt it got what I was hoping for. On the otherhand, it was a good soaking rain though.

 

[pacerron]

If your picking up rolls stored inside a barn against the wall don't make the spear too long or you will make the wall air conditioned
I thought you had pallet forks? If you lock them so they can't swing open at the bottom they are great for handling hay rolls.

 

[bindian]

If your picking up rolls stored inside a barn against the wall don't make the spear too long or you will make the wall air conditioned
I thought you had pallet forks? If you lock them so they can't swing open at the bottom they are great for handling hay rolls.

Ron,
I had borrowed a set of pallet forks. The spear I ordered is 48 inches long. The sleeve, that gets welded in, is 6 inches long. So when I am finished, I will have apporx 42 inches sticking out. I asked a friend which length was best and his mind went blank. When I ordered, I asked and was told 48 for round bales and (I think it was) 33 inches for square bales. My neighbor gets his hay delivered and put right in the large center aisle of his barn.

I got about 2 and 3/16 inches of rain. Neither pond level raised during the night. No run off whatsoever this afternoon, so the ground was less saturated than I thought. So no need to pump water from one to the other.
hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

Thanks for the idea Brandi, I was wanting my F150 to be able to dump.

Don,
I wouldn't want to lift a F150 like that.:laughing: Do you want a dump bed F150 or just be able to haul one bale on a winchable/retractable spear off of the back of the bed or bumper with the tailgate removed?:confused3:
hugs, Brandi

 

[Western]

I actually got close to 18" in my pond:thumbsup: It is small so it doesn't take much, but it was dry with only some mud in the center. We did get some run-off, but not what you'd expect, still more than it appeared around the house.


Brandi, I made a bale spike for my 140 hp 2290 Case I had, I had to cut 1 hole on the FEL and it worked great. Nice thing was , it took one 1" bolt and about 2 minutes to put on/ take off. Bought a spear like you did and it took maybe 1 hr to build.

 

[bindian]

I actually got close to 18" in my pond:thumbsup: It is small so it doesn't take much, but it was dry with only some mud in the center. We did get some run-off, but not what you'd expect, still more than it appeared around the house.


Brandi, I made a bale spike for my 140 hp 2290 Case I had, I had to cut 1 hole on the FEL and it worked great. Nice thing was , it took one 1" bolt and about 2 minutes to put on/ take off. Bought a spear like you did and it took maybe 1 hr to build.

Dennis,
That sounds like a neat, simple installation. How about a photo?

As the photo shows below, my tool carrier is open in the middle. So I am going to weld a 2x4 tube frame around the front of the QA Adapter Plate I bought last year at RB Auction. It will have a 2x4 vertical tube in the center to drill a 2.25" hole for the spear sleeve that will be welded in place. I should have the spear next Monday. The 48 inch spear with a 6 inch sleeve and two 17 inch long spikes with weldable brackets cost $91 or $123 with shipping.

I thought about buying a spear that fits my 2 inch receiver hitch tube that is welded on my FEL bucket. But that would make the spear about 2.5 feet off the ground with the spear level. I would be dragging the bucket's cutting edge each time I tried to stab a bale with that setup. So I get to fab up a neat compact spear with QA attach!
hugs, Brandi

 

[pacerron]

Ron,
I had borrowed a set of pallet forks. The spear I ordered is 48 inches long. The sleeve, that gets welded in, is 6 inches long. So when I am finished, I will have apporx 42 inches sticking out. I asked a friend which length was best and his mind went blank. When I ordered, I asked and was told 48 for round bales and (I think it was) 33 inches for square bales. My neighbor gets his hay delivered and put right in the large center aisle of his barn.
hugs, Brandi

You might want to consider a couple smaller short anti-roll spears used with your big spear. Depending on how tight the center of the rolls are and/or how loose from being moved multiple times a single spear can be a hassle. If the center of the roll is too tight you will either knock it out and have a big loose hole or have to spear it above or below center. If the bale is loose your spear will go in but in any case the roll may want to roll to get the weight balanced.
A thousand pound roll with a mind of its own can do more damage to your pretty red trailer than you will make hauling hay for your economics deficient neighbor.

 

[bindian]

You might want to consider a couple smaller short anti-roll spears used with your big spear. Depending on how tight the center of the rolls are and/or how loose from being moved multiple times a single spear can be a hassle. If the center of the roll is too tight you will either knock it out and have a big loose hole or have to spear it above or below center. If the bale is loose your spear will go in but in any case the roll may want to roll to get the weight balanced.
A thousand pound roll with a mind of its own can do more damage to your pretty red trailer than you will make hauling hay for your economics deficient neighbor.

Ron,
I stated above I ordered 2 each 17 inch spikes just for that. Also, I'm only moving hay with my tractor.........at this time. Someone else brought up buying or using a hay trailer.
hugs, Brandi

 

[texasjohn]

Happy, happy, happy. Decided to wander around this afternoon in my RTV 1140. All 4.2 inches soaked in sufficiently to only leave shallow tracks.:biggrin:

Checked electric fence...my Gallagher Smartfix tester REALLY, REALLY led me STRAIGHT to the problems on the fence. Highly recommended as a great time saver if you use electric fencing. Smartfix - Gallagher Permanent electric fencing components You can find it for various prices, just giving you a link so you know what I have.

I started out an hour before total dark, 34 amps were flowing on the fence, but volts were in OK range. In a series of jumps, I kept testing the fence thru numerous branches, following the flow. Found the problem about a mile away on far end of ranch. Tiny bit of wire, almost unseeable in the weeds, was shorting out against T post. Problem solved. :jump:

Along the way, I found several other places where fence was going SNAP, SNAP...and fixed these...caused by wet conditions causing arc over not there when dry. So, it's a good time to drive your electric fence and listen for problems. :raindrop: An even better time to get a fence tester that shows you not only voltage but current...and WHICH WAY THE CURRENT IS FLOWING... spent years with the neon flasher type of tester...never again!!:duh:

By the way, being able to drive along the fence in the RTV carrying fence supplies, etc. makes fence fixing much easier on hips and knees:applause:

 

[Western]

Brandi, I dont have a photo, but I could sure make a drawing for you if you'd like! Really simple if you dont mind 1 hole on the FEL. I think I had less than $75 in it (mostly the hay spike) For the "anti-roll" I just used 1 piece of 3/4 sucker rod.

 

[bindian]

Brandi, I dont have a photo, but I could sure make a drawing for you if you'd like! Really simple if you dont mind 1 hole on the FEL. I think I had less than $75 in it (mostly the hay spike) For the "anti-roll" I just used 1 piece of 3/4 sucker rod.

Dennis,
No, that won't be necessary. Thanks anyway. Without the QA Adapter Plate, doing it your way, I would have to mount the spear on one side or the other of the my tool carrier , not in the center
hugs, Brandi

 

[pacerron]

Dennis,
No, that won't be necessary. Thanks anyway. Without the QA Adapter Plate, doing it your way, I would have to mount the spear on one side or the other of the my tool carrier , not in the center
hugs, Brandi

If your handling rolls of significant size and weight, which you must be if they won't fit in your bucket, your better off doing it your way with the spears attached to the plate. Rolls on a spear in front of a bucket apply additional leverage and stress to your system.
As far as your pointing out the pins in the message you posted above the one I did last night, have you ever been typing a response to a post and once you send it you find a number of other posted replies including more explanation from the OP?
Sorry for looking stupid to you, just trying to help from my past experiences.
We will be looking forward to seeing pictures of how good a welder you are on the project.
Ron

 

[Western]

Dennis,
No, that won't be necessary. Thanks anyway. Without the QA Adapter Plate, doing it your way, I would have to mount the spear on one side or the other of the my tool carrier , not in the center
hugs, Brandi

OK.
The only times I used mine was when I wanted to move 2 bales at a time (front and back), or to load 2 bales high on a trailer.

 

[pacerron]

OK.
The only times I used mine was when I wanted to move 2 bales at a time (front and back), or to load 2 bales high on a trailer.

There you go. We put the spear on the back and carry one roll on it and another in the bucket from the field to the trailer. We stack the rolls 3 high in the barn with the bucket and pull them back and over onto their end in the bucket when taking to feed. Some guys up here stack their rolls on end in the barn but I like them stored upright the way they come out of the baler and stack them 3 rows high and 3 rows deep along the barn walls. No problem reaching in that far with the bucket if you take them down in the right order.
Everybody has got their own way of doing things depending on habit, equipment, and maneuverability room. Whew, I doubt if I spelled that right.:confused2:

 

[bindian]

If your handling rolls of significant size and weight, which you must be if they won't fit in your bucket, your better off doing it your way with the spears attached to the plate. Rolls on a spear in front of a bucket apply additional leverage and stress to your system.
As far as your pointing out the pins in the message you posted above the one I did last night, have you ever been typing a response to a post and once you send it you find a number of other posted replies including more explanation from the OP?
Sorry for looking stupid to you, just trying to help from my past experiences.
We will be looking forward to seeing pictures of how good a welder you are on the project.
Ron

Ron,
Since our posts were posted 27 minutes apart, I will give that one to you. Bare in mind I am the one typing here taking major drugs for a recovering nasal infection. Sometimes, when typing lengthy replies, I take time out to do other tasks. When I finish a reply, I proof read it usually twice so I won't come across talking silly. So I apologize for me pointing out you were clueless.

I'm new to all this round bale thing and only have experience hauling, stacking, and using small square bales for our horses in the past. So some questions came up in your reply to Western. Why do some folks stack bales on end? Do they transport them on end? Seems like additional work stacking on end? How do you do this with the bucket and pull them back and over onto their end in the bucket when taking to feed with your loader bucket.? I am intrigued
hugs, Brandi

 

[pacerron]

Ron,
I'm new to all this round bale thing and only have experience hauling, stacking, and using small square bales for our horses in the past. So some questions came up in your reply to Western. Why do some folks stack bales on end? Do they transport them on end? Seems like additional work stacking on end? How do you do this with the bucket and pull them back and over onto their end in the bucket when taking to feed with your loader bucket.? I am intrigued
hugs, Brandi

Brandi,
Some folks stack their rolls on end because of the height available from the ground to the bottom of the trusses. Usually their rolls are bigger in diameter than they are thick so they can get another layer high that way. Some feel the stack is more stable that way if they put each additional layer overlapping two rolls below. Some stack it that way in columns so they can just knock over a column with their FEL bucket as needed and pick them up from the ground level.
As I said, I stack mine 3 layers high standing up as they are when ejected from the baler. The bottom of the rolls in the second layer sit in the curved V between two rolls in the layer under it. My first layer sets on skids rather than the dirt floor.

The bucket I normally use to get the bales down from the stack is a multipurpose bucket which has a flat bottom because it has
a whole bunch of tapered manure tines on the bottom. They fit into a slot across the front of the solid bucket part that is bolted onto the back of the bucket to carry dirt or whatever. So I can just put the front edge of the bottom of the bucket down on the top of a roll, apply a little downward curl while backing up a little and then curl upward as I back away. The roll just flops over with it's flat side nearest the bucket into the bucket. I've done this for 20 years so am pretty good at it.
I have a regular "U" shaped bucket on another tractor which will also do it but much trickier. I don't use a grapple.

The #1 thing to keep in mind when transporting a roll in any bucket is to be sure the roll and bucket are lower than the top of the barn door opening when you go outside or the barn owner will have a :hissyfit: and a weird shaped door opening to boot
Ron

 

[bindian]

Thanks for explaining that. I was trying to figure it out for a regular bucket. Below is the frame for my QA Adapter Plate I cut out today. It is 2x2 tube with 1/8" wall with the center 2x4 tube 1/4" tube for the spear sleeve.

Oh yeah.....I don't have a welder........yet. I never have used MIG, just Arc in high school ag shop. Done some gas welding in A&P school and have made a few tools brazing since then.

I'm leaning towards buying a Hobart Handler 190 or even a Hobart IronMan 230 MIG Welder. Tractor Supply sales Hobart's and I can get zero interest for 6 months.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Western]

Brandi, if you where closer, I'd drag my Bobcat 250 over, you'd have a "hay-day" ((Sorry)) Playing with it! I also have a Miller 185 mig, love that thing, wonderful machine.

I have looked at those Hobarts (actually had 2 of their Handler 120's years ago) Good running welders. I like them even more now that they are owned by Miller Welding. That 230 would probably weld anything you ever need (except maybe to hard-surface a cutter) Or go the 190 and get one of their small stick welders too Both should take a 40# roll, but doubt you'd use that much, before it started to corrode, that's allot of wire!

0% interest!! What ya wait'n for:laughing: same as cash!!!

 

[Western]

Ron, I have only ever seen one guy that stacked hay vertical, but I can see the reasoning as you describe. Personally, I think it would be a bigger pain then benefit from what I've seen, Couldn't imagine trying to stack 800-1000# bales on end in more than 1 row high.

I have flipped them also like you described, usually when feeding in a hay ring, I'll flip it up, drop the ring back over and remove the wrap.

 

[Western]

I'm not sure which one of you guy's North of me left the door open, but Gee wizzz, close the pneumonia hole already.:laughing:

Good chill in the air, add the breeze and it's down right cool. Had a decent amount of sleet last night around 1am, wasn't expecting that!!