I plan to cut my hay with a sickle bar cutter and I would like your opion on the best windrow rake to use. I have a 20 acre field that can produce 2 tons/acre. I am tired of waiting for the custom guy to arrive when I need him. I am a novice so any imformation is appreciated.
- Thread starter jacksfork
- Start date
James Howell
Well-known Member
We rake several small fields and use a <a href="http://youtu.be/D-5HQ9Q7OGY">JD 640 hay rake</a>.
It is a 4 bar, left side delivery, ground driven rake.
<a href="http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/aa5/jameslloydhowell/John%20Deere%20Equipment/640%20Hay%20Rake/?action=view¤t=IMG_1003.jpg" target="_blank">
![IMG_1003.jpg" width="650" border="0" alt="Photobucket](https://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa5/jameslloydhowell/John%20Deere%20Equipment/640%20Hay%20Rake/IMG_1003.jpg" width="650" border="0" alt="Photobucket)
</a>
Works good for our purposes and is a low maintenance, inexpensive rake.
It is a 4 bar, left side delivery, ground driven rake.
<a href="http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/aa5/jameslloydhowell/John%20Deere%20Equipment/640%20Hay%20Rake/?action=view¤t=IMG_1003.jpg" target="_blank">
Works good for our purposes and is a low maintenance, inexpensive rake.
Wheat Farmer
Well-known Member
I have a Kuhn GA 300GM, Works great with the three point hitch. If I get the hay in a windrow and get a big rain on it, I can remove the swath screen and blow the windrow back out.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
A lot depends on the size of the tractor you are using. Wheel rake will push a small tractor around. I have used both styles and find a 4 bar rake does the better job of cleaning up the field.
Paul from MI
Well-known Member
Just about any parallel bar rake will destroy less leaves on alfalfa than others, but I've made a lot of pretty good ha with an old JD #594 4 bar steel wheel rake. There's lots of newer designs that have advantages, but for just a few acres these old ones, like the Howells, work fine.
I'm going to agree with what Paul said, but I want to add something. If you get a bar rake, pass on one that has a solid shaft as a drive axle. If it has a shaft that's staggered and connected together with U-joints which drives a gearbox you're most likely OK, no matter what color. If it has a solid shaft that is connected to the bars with chain or a belt, don't walk away, RUN. The old steel-wheel rakes worked and still work good, but there was a "dark age" for bar rakes between the steel-wheelers the later models.
I still use a bar rake (JD 662) and it works great, but I know I could save a whole lot of fuel and time going to a modern V-rake (wheel rake) and most people in my area have.
I still use a bar rake (JD 662) and it works great, but I know I could save a whole lot of fuel and time going to a modern V-rake (wheel rake) and most people in my area have.
I have to say that you are not giving the solid axle rakes a fair shake. I have one, the only piece of equipment that my dad had, 5 bar and it works great. I just used it today raking straw. Are there better rakes out there? Sure but a str8 axle belt driven one works great too!
Rick
I think you'll find cost to be a determining factor.
To hay 20 acres, you can't justify a $10,000 rake.
Might be hard to justify a $5000 rake
Figure out exactly what you CAN justify - and that's pretty much going to determine which rake you buy.
I think you'll find a solid cheap 4 bar rake meets your needs just fine.
To hay 20 acres, you can't justify a $10,000 rake.
Might be hard to justify a $5000 rake
Figure out exactly what you CAN justify - and that's pretty much going to determine which rake you buy.
I think you'll find a solid cheap 4 bar rake meets your needs just fine.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
I would suggest converting it to a five bar if you bale alfala. Easy to do you all ready have the holes. Did it on a JD 896A. Bought parts from salvage yard. Probably overkill for my infrequent use, baling straw.
rustyfarmall
Well-known Member
Are you going to bale it yourself also? If you mow it down, rake it, and then have to wait for the baler guy, you might just lose the entire crop.
Thank you all for your comments. I neglected to say that I have a grass field, a small tractor and a smaller budget. I believe that a two wheel pto driven wheel rake is the least expensive but will it do a good enough job? Could a 35hp tractor pull a bar rake? I am looking for a used small baler. Any suggestions?
jacksfork
jacksfork
chevytaHOE5674
Well-known Member
I have a 4 bar rake that I have pulled with my ATV just to see if it would do it.
Plenty or people raking hay with N series fords which are less than 35hp.
Plenty or people raking hay with N series fords which are less than 35hp.
Your tractor will pull just about any rake, with maybe exeption of the LARGE v-rakes. We've got a 5 wheel farm-hand style wheel rake (made by Morill in Cali) that we got at auction for $7.50. We've replaced a bunch of teeth over the years, but it's been good to us.
Still well under $1000 invested in it. The one thing it needs is to have the centers of the wheels either bored and bushed, or cut out and replaced and bushed. Being I run a larger machine at work, it may be possible for me to bore them out myself and fix it up, but it may be easier to cut out the old and weld in new.
It does very well in heavier windrows. Not so much in thin hay, or like it would be for you behind a sickle bar. I really doubt it would be heavy enough to push around anything more than a small lawn tractor.
Donovan from Wisconsin
Still well under $1000 invested in it. The one thing it needs is to have the centers of the wheels either bored and bushed, or cut out and replaced and bushed. Being I run a larger machine at work, it may be possible for me to bore them out myself and fix it up, but it may be easier to cut out the old and weld in new.
It does very well in heavier windrows. Not so much in thin hay, or like it would be for you behind a sickle bar. I really doubt it would be heavy enough to push around anything more than a small lawn tractor.
Donovan from Wisconsin
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