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roll bar or rotary hay rake

M

MI AC Parsons

Member
Gotta get a hay rake and was looking at a 256 NH roll bar. Talked to my neighbor and he is convinced that I need a rotary since we have such short windows for making hay in MI. Says it drys much quicker than the 'rope' windrows. If this has been discussed tell me where, I haven't been here in awhile. Mixed timothy, alfalfa, grass. thanks
 
I run a 56 rake , hear the same about roping but I don't rake until it's dry . I Ted as
soon as I jump off the haybine leave it set till dry . Rotaries do make fluffy windrows I
guess if that's what you're after . The roll bar rakes can be had a bit cheaper than a
rotary , I have no problems with mine . But the rotaries are all over , Must be something
to it .
 
I have a roll-a-bar type rake. Maybe it makes ropes out of the hay when it windrows, but I can't say I see that?

I have heard pretty much nothing but great things about rotary rakes. Don't think we could use one on our farm, it
is just to lumpy and bumpy.

YMMV
 
If you rake with a bar rake you go over your field twice to make the windrows. With a V rotary rake you go one time over the field. Saves time and fuel.
 
If a good solid rotary is in your budget its a no brained if not a rol bar will be more
reliable and you can trust it to do the job acre after acre. Some of the older rotary's
were made light and fall apart fast. Arms break and tines break so if 5k is affordable
Get one and you won't be disappointed of 1500 is get the rollbar.
 
I always had rollbar rakes and always got satisfactory results with them. However after I
quit milking cows I helped a neighbor with haying for a couple years. He had a Kuhn rotary
rake. After using that I think they are the only way to go. Nice clean corners with very
little bunching and more consistent in general. Now those results depend on either rake
being properly adjusted to field conditions. But I also have to say it depends on your
budget and what is available on the used market. The rollbars got the job done just not
quite as nice to use. I would stay away from some of the low cost Italian made rotaries,
they are built light and don't seem to hold up well. That's my 2 cents worth anyway.
 
I don't know why they even still make a roll bar rake. Each pass of the arms on a rotary makes a little standing tent of hay so air can pass through. If you read the manual,you're supposed to keep ground speed up and PTO speed down on those so they are moving a fair piece of hay with every swipe.
I've always said a chimpanzee could rake lawn clippings with one of those things.
In fact,two different people have borrowed mine to rake lawn clippings when the grass has gotten away from them.
 
Used to use a NH 256 and a NH258. Both good rakes. Bought a used Kuhn rotary and really like it. At first I too did not really believe the roping everyone claimed with the roll bar rakes. After using the Kuhn it is very easy to see the difference. I think the rotary rake does more for drying hay than a tedder does.
 
I use a rollabar. I rake when about halfway dry and when it finished rake again in the opposite direction using about a third to half the width. I just turns the windrow over and undoes most of the roping. If it get a heavy dew or a little rain I use the tail to just flip the windrow after the top dries. I don't think that would work with a rotary.
 
The rotary will tear the windrow right apart and make a whole new one that'll dry down like it was never rained on.
 
If you can afford the rotary at all, get it. You won't regret it. The only reason to own a rope maker today is because they're (or you're)
cheap.
Anyone that can get away with raking wet hay with a roll bar and waiting simply doesn't understand why you need the rotary or a tedder in
some climates.
The bottom line here is that anything that can be done with a side delivery roll bar rake can be done much better with a side delivery rotary
rake, and done faster.

Rod
 
I use a NH 56 roll bar. I have been looking for a wheel rake for a bit now but do not really need it. After 15+ years of doing hay I still wonder at all the fuss over tedding and raking and re-raking. I have simple goals. Spend as little time in the field as possible and handle the hay as little as possible. So I run the mower conditioner and leave it lay a day or so. Then I flips it over with the rake and leave it lay a day or so. At that point it is darn dry and I bale it. Pretty good at weather prediction so only once had rain on the hay and that was such a prolonged soaker that no amount of tedding/raking could save it.
 
If you were to apply your methods here, the only thing you'd get is mold bricks.... Different climate, different methods. It's not uncommon to have hay lay out for 3 days here after cutting it with a mo-co and tedding it every day. Making alfalfa hay is a dream we hear about in some far off land...
It's also not uncommon here to have all signs of good weather for 5 days only to have it pour before you get the field flat....

Rod
 
I don't know where "here" is...you aren't on the map. But it is interesting to hear how people in other parts of the world do things. Weather in Michigan is no great shakes either. Anything can, and does, happen.
 
I use a NH 56 rake wouldn't trade it.
But of course I crimp my hay 2 hrs
after cutting with the haybine.I am
also baling on the third day.
 


If I could afford a rotary, I'd get it in a heart beat. They do a better job from what I've seen than any roll bar type.
 
'Here' is eastern Nova Scotia.... a very different climate than you're dealing with.
We deal with fog nearly every day, particularly early in the season until the prevailing wind shifts.
Last year it was September before we got any really favorable weather to dry anything.

Rod
 
I thought maybe it was. Interesting stuff! I think I would have to throw in the towel on hay before I could deal with coastal weather. Makes me appreciate Michigan more!
 
(quoted from post at 20:53:52 04/07/16) I don't know where "here" is...you aren't on the map. But it is interesting to hear how people in other parts of the world do things. Weather in Michigan is no great shakes either. Anything can, and does, happen.
Click to expand...

Where do you think Ron In N.S. could be?
 
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