accumalator grapple for small squares

rick1

Member
trying to figure a way to do up to 3000 square bales on my own to sell in the winter.seems like a accumalor and grapple would be simple for a one man operation.what do some of you guys do.
RICK
 
Years ago we used to have a NH bale wagon model 1010. They can be a little touchy getting bales to load unless conditions are just right but that is what dad bought to use on his own after him and his two brothers decided to bale separately. You can bale your hay, pick them up and either stack it or run it in an elevator without much handling. I would bet you would be able to pick one up fairly cheap as not a lot of people do small squares any more.
 
We use a kicker baler . I have 2 wagons and neighbor has 2 . Also have a mow conveyor that lets you drop 400 or so bales without stacking . The most labor unloading the wagons . Not perfect but it saves a trip back to get bales. Been thinking about a auto bale wagon since I don't always have help too. Not too familiar with grapples. I do know I don't have a lot of money tied up with my setup .
 
A NH baler with a thrower is what dads brothers ended up getting. That is another option. It does help that when you bale your bales are picked up. That was always the thing with the bale wagon. Bale one day and then go out the next day and start hauling over 1000-1200 bales home, 56 at a time.
 
I have stacked a lot of small squares with one of those forks on an F25 Farmhand. 8 bales at a time. Loaded them too. We stacked in the field. I think the kicker is a better option for one man hay if you have to haul to a barn. Oh yeah, I have baled LOTS of kicker bales too. In my heyday I had wagons for 800 bales and did most of the unloading in the morning waiting for the dew to go off. After milking of course. The last year I milked I finally made up my mind I was NOT going to live that way.
 
Depends on where you are. Kickers are nice, but if you are in an area where the hay will get hauled larger bales are also nice.
I use a pop-up and a flat bed truck. Works great, bales are easy to haul down the road between fields/stack which are often 10 or more miles apart.
Typically it takes one driver and one guy on the truck. This day we were at the end and working together on the last load.
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I have an eight bale acumlator and grapple that works very good. you need to make heavy bales 55 # plus bales . I load trailer and unload in barn. then can reload when I sale. Two strong 16 year old can do it faster but the machine is always there and stays as long as I need it.
 
(quoted from post at 18:50:15 12/20/14) trying to figure a way to do up to 3000 square bales on my own to sell in the winter.seems like a accumalor and grapple would be simple for a one man operation.what do some of you guys do.
RICK

I use a Rafter M. It's a ten bale accumulator and grapple. Works well. Only issue is I paid for it in advance to be picked up then nearly had to sue him to finally get it.

I wouldn't give him a Penney until I saw it on the lot. Never had an issue with it though
 
Accumulators and grapples work fairly well, logistically... particularly when you're spread out over a wide geographic area. You can run them as a one man band... but you'll never make a cent at it if that's how you want to run.
I run an 18 bale Kuhns accumulator and grab. That's probably an 18K purchase today... and you could do your 3k bales in one day with enough help and wagons. Doesn't really make much sense for what you're doing... or I don't think it does.
The smaller grabs... I really don't see a point to at all because you're sweeping half as many bales with the same amount of effort.
If you can find one of the two in one sweep/grapple arrangements... that might work ok for you. At least it would keep the cost under control a bit better. With the grab I'm using you also need a lot of support equipment with wagons/trailers/trucks etc and some extra bodies to keep it all moving. It can do a lot of bales in a day if the support is there but as a one man operation it's not that efficient... you'd be into one bloody long day to bale and haul 1000 bales.
The beauty of an 18 bale grab is that you can load the wagons, unload into the barn then reload back out into an 98" van trailer and never have to touch a bale IF the piles stay together correctly.
I like this system but I don't think it's the be all, end all of square bale handling systems... If I had all flat high ceiling storage close to home I'd probably have a stack wagon. If I was hand piling in a loft I'd probably look at bale baskets or thrower racks...
My big motivation for going with the accumulator (aside from not wanting to handle the damn things) was the ability to load out into a van quickly and not have to handle them much...


Rod
 
As Rod said, a crew can outrun an accumulator and grapple any day. But in most areas (at least in the US), there are a limited number of kids who will work, and in the height of haying season, you are competing with everybody else for them.

Friend had a grapple/accumulator set up, and he used 2 tractors- one on the baler, and one on the grapple. After baling (or when hay got too tough to bale), used the grapple to pick up the bales and put on a flatbed trailer. Towed the trailer home with the grapple tractor, unhooked from the trailer, and stacked in the barn. Back to the field in the morning, and haul the rest of the bales while waiting for the dew to go off so he could bale some more.

But if you could pick up a self-propelled stack wagon, I think you'd be ahead. With the decline in small squares, they're available, and less monkey motion than the grapple thing.
 
When I was a kid living with my aunt and uncle we used a ferris wheel bale elevator to get them off the ground and up the the trailer for stacking kind of like this one. Worked pretty good. We had a few different areas we could pin it along the the side of the trailer as it filled up deceasing the amount of time spent walking around. It was still a two person operation though at best and worked better with three. We would switch off from driving the truck and stacking the trailer for a rest except for the days when I got home late the night before and had a hangover the next day. On those days we didn't trade positions as often and he drove a little faster.

Greg
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Nonsense. We have a neighbor who sells 10K+ bales a year. Does it by and large alone with accumulator and grapple, maybe a friend to help a little here and there. This man is in his 70's and does well with it. Like everything else, your attitude and how you run your operation can make a world of difference.
 
I have the same situation, do about 3000 bales a year. Can not justify a loader tractor, accumulator and grapple. My neighbor has one and it is a slow and expensive process.

Instead, I bought 6 wagons and built a 6 bay drive thru shed. With one guy in about 2 to 3 hours we can bale 6 wagons full, stacking off the chute at the end of the baler. Pull the wagons into the shed, out of the weather and wait until i can get a 3 man crew to stack it. Means I only cut about 600 bales worth at a time, but that's about all my old carcass wants to bale anyway. And i don't lose the whole field if the rains come unexpectedly.

Shed costs about $2000 per bay, and i slowly fill it with hay as I go. Wagons $500 to $1000 and you will need them with a grapple anyway.

One man on a grapple can spend a lot of time moving from machine to machine.
 
I have an accumulator have baled as many as 800 bales and put in flat stack barn with grapple tractor in 1 day solo.I have used high school kids but after five grnnies die one summer that was it for hired help.Do 15000 bales a year
 
One man square baling. It's on my radar too. I'll have my boys for several more years, but after that, I'm on my own. With or without my boys, a day job throws a wrench in the amount of time available. That coupled with the predictable - unpredictable weather and time or lack of it is a premium.

IMHO - the $$$'s is in square bales, the longer I/we can do it, I want to do so.

Got a couple of tractors, sickle mower, rake, baler and other equipment. Most of this stuff is in the dry, but the old buildings are in really bad shape - we need a new barn/equipment shed. It probably doesn't make sense to spend a ton of $$$$$’s on a new one and then get taxed like crazy on them for the rest of my life (a personal pet peeve of mine - work your tail off, improve the place and they tax you like you've done something wrong and then take the proceeds and give them to someone that won't hit a lick - but that's another post).

In as much as I need something to keep water off the equipment and have some hay storage AND want to minimize the hay handling AND keep a speedy pace on getting the hay baled, OUT of the field and under cover before the evening thunder shower ruins everything.

Best case, we should be able to get about 2,000 bales of hay a year after we wip them into shape. Different from you, we will try to sell ASAP so as not to keep hay over the winter.

Here' same thought I've had:

If I were to erect 4 or 5 of these low cost metal carports, I'd have enough space to keep everything out of the rain. If I acquire 4 or 5 hay wagons, I can bale continuously (one field at a time and minimum one person driving the tractor while I stack - could be my Wife or daughter). Depending on the size of the wagons, 150 to 200 bales on each wagon, I could wagon load all of the hay available for a given cutting and more. As each wagon is filled, it is dropped and another is loaded. The wagon is pulled along with the baler, so no picking up off the ground. Having someone to stack the wagon vs throwing maxes the number of bales on each wagon and minimizes the number of wagons needed. A tarp is handy for each wagon in case of a sudden rain. Once the wagons are filled and the baling is done, each wagon is pulled under a carport - out of the weather. The sides of the carport would/could have tarps hanging off them like a shower curtain when hay is under them to keep sideways rain showers off the hay, yet let the bales breath vs having a tarp laying directly on them. The hay would be sold off the wagons and when a wagon is emptied, a piece of machinery is put under it, out of the weather again. One field is going to be Timothy and the other Orchard grass. Reason is timing on one hand and the other is not to have all my eggs(hay) in one basket. Timothy and orchard grass mature several weeks apart, so I've hopefully got time to get each field up in their own timeframe when they mature and have buyers lined-up to empty the wagons too - for the next field's cutting.

The above is IMHO a two person operation at minimum when baling only. Sounds good to me on paper, we'll see.

If there were more square hay potential than shelter, then I'd get a round baler.

BTW - as a one man operation, how come you're not doing the round bale thing - just curious.

Good luck,
Bill
 
LOL!!!!!

I just posted an idea like you're doing a minute ago and was reading the other posts afterward and saw this one! The drive through carports has been on my mind, but never knew anyone that actually did it!

I swear I didn't read your post and then write mine - LOL! Just proves one of two things, I got no original ideas or brilliant minds think alike!

Thanks,
Bill
 
buy a stackliner a small one picks up 56 bales and you need a 16 ft ceiling to lift the hoist. let the buyers load there own hay.
 
Explain exactly what part is nonsense... because I've done over 10k a year too, mostly alone... and I can tell you it's no picnic. Perhaps if you live in an arid climate where it never rains... no big deal. In the real world... not so much.

Rod
 
(quoted from post at 20:59:57 12/20/14) One man square baling. It's on my radar too. I'll have my boys for several more years, but after that, I'm on my own. With or without my boys, a day job throws a wrench in the amount of time available. That coupled with the predictable - unpredictable weather and time or lack of it is a premium.

IMHO - the $$$'s is in square bales, the longer I/we can do it, I want to do so.

Got a couple of tractors, sickle mower, rake, baler and other equipment. Most of this stuff is in the dry, but the old buildings are in really bad shape - we need a new barn/equipment shed. It probably doesn't make sense to spend a ton of $$$$$’s on a new one and then get taxed like crazy on them for the rest of my life (a personal pet peeve of mine - work your tail off, improve the place and they tax you like you've done something wrong and then take the proceeds and give them to someone that won't hit a lick - but that's another post).

In as much as I need something to keep water off the equipment and have some hay storage AND want to minimize the hay handling AND keep a speedy pace on getting the hay baled, OUT of the field and under cover before the evening thunder shower ruins everything.

Best case, we should be able to get about 2,000 bales of hay a year after we wip them into shape. Different from you, we will try to sell ASAP so as not to keep hay over the winter.

Here' same thought I've had:

If I were to erect 4 or 5 of these low cost metal carports, I'd have enough space to keep everything out of the rain. If I acquire 4 or 5 hay wagons, I can bale continuously (one field at a time and minimum one person driving the tractor while I stack - could be my Wife or daughter). Depending on the size of the wagons, 150 to 200 bales on each wagon, I could wagon load all of the hay available for a given cutting and more. As each wagon is filled, it is dropped and another is loaded. The wagon is pulled along with the baler, so no picking up off the ground. Having someone to stack the wagon vs throwing maxes the number of bales on each wagon and minimizes the number of wagons needed. A tarp is handy for each wagon in case of a sudden rain. Once the wagons are filled and the baling is done, each wagon is pulled under a carport - out of the weather. The sides of the carport would/could have tarps hanging off them like a shower curtain when hay is under them to keep sideways rain showers off the hay, yet let the bales breath vs having a tarp laying directly on them. The hay would be sold off the wagons and when a wagon is emptied, a piece of machinery is put under it, out of the weather again. One field is going to be Timothy and the other Orchard grass. Reason is timing on one hand and the other is not to have all my eggs(hay) in one basket. Timothy and orchard grass mature several weeks apart, so I've hopefully got time to get each field up in their own timeframe when they mature and have buyers lined-up to empty the wagons too - for the next field's cutting.

The above is IMHO a two person operation at minimum when baling only. Sounds good to me on paper, we'll see.

If there were more square hay potential than shelter, then I'd get a round baler.

BTW - as a one man operation, how come you're not doing the round bale thing - just curious.

Good luck,
Bill

Bill, a carport, the ones that come in a box, is what? 7-8 foot tall and maybe 9 foot wide x 12 foot long? 150-200 bales on a flat rack is going to be close to 12 foot tall, 9-10 foot wide and 16-20 foot long. That's why drive through hay barns have 16 foot ceilings and at least 12 foot passageways.

I would also note that while Timothy and Orchard are supposed to mature at different times, it depends on where you are and the year. Up here one year the Timothy will be ready as soon as the fields are dry enough to got on and the Orchard will follow in a couple weeks. Other years the Orchard will be in bloom in June and the Timothy won't head out till the middle of July. And then in a 3rd year both will come at the same time.

It all looks simple reading about it in the books. Real life is different. I would also suggest that if you're going to try to do this for money you get a haybine or disc mower and something other than a 68 baler to depend on. They were great balers in their day and you know my main baler is a 68 too. But that was pushing 60 years ago.
 
All good points - well taken.

You have to start somewhere. I knew an electrical
sales/service guy one time and he related a funny story to me
regarding troubleshooting some electrical stuff with the end
user. He would ask how long they have been an electriction
and they would say 30 years. He said what they meant to say
was - they had been an electriction 30 times. I've had
encounters with folks like that over the years, more recently
with some of the local hay folks. While they are the salt of the
earth and would give the shirt off their back and are successful
at making hay, many are not getting quality hay or the yields
they could. I tell my boys to learn/understand everything you
do and let your experience temper your knowledge.

So we have some plans. They may or may not work - but at
least we are not flailing in the wind - guessing every next
move.

The 68 baler - I know the capacity limits of it and the risk of
breakdown in an old baler, when you need it the most. Better
and newer equipment will come in time.

Thanks again for your wisdom (and everyone else too) - I'm
listening.

Bill
 
You'll do okay Bill. Why do I know that? Because you LISTEN. You aren't like I was or my new neighbor is. I KNEW how things HAD to be because I read it in books and magazines. My new neighbor gets every bit of his information off the internet. mostly stuff that can never apply to heavy clay soil in a northern climate. He's having a hard time, just like I did. You seem to listen and that's why you'll do better faster.

A lot of people can't grasp that when someone says something isn't going to work like they think it's because of bitter experience on the part of the person giving the advice.
 
I am not sure if you have a barn already or need a place to store your bales, but I am very pleased with the drive-thru shed I built in the edge of my hay field. It is 72 ft long, 6--12ft bays, open sided with ends closed. 12 ft high. It is 24ft wide with 1 ft overhangs making a 26ft dry space.

At the end of a long day of baling it is nice to be able to just pull the wagons in, no backing or pushing. 12 ft bays are just wide enough, very little extra room, but little wasted space. when stacking on the floor (pallets over plastic) each bay will hold about 500 bales...3000 total. Much faster and easier than putting hay in a loft, or closed barn.

I would build it the same again, with the possible exception of making it 26ft wide (trusses) with 1 ft overhangs. I don't think that would be much more expensive. Another advantage .. as the hay is used or sold, it is a great equipment storage and work area
 
I am a one man operation. It took a while but I now bale with a jd 348 and drop them on the ground. I pick them up with a 1046 stackliner that hauls 80 14X18 bales that weigh 75 to 80 pounds. I have a bale clamp that will pick up the 10 bales that the wagon puts on a tier. Most of the time I have to rearrange the tie tier but the rest of the bales get put on a trailer with no physical handling. Most of the time I start to bale about dark and go until I finish the field or the hay gets to much dew on it. What I bale at night I can pick and stack the next day. Works for me but may now work in your area. Bud
 
Have used one since '99 best day was 720 bales in 13 hours started baling 8am by 9pm 720 in barn or on trailers one man show. PS 8 bale then, 10 bale now. Without it would plowup hay
 

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