Hay rake question

[jrn28]

This year will be my first year baling and I will be needing a hay rake. I will be doing mostly sudangrass/haygrazer type hay. Will a regular v-rake handle this hay type? Or is there any particular type that I will need?

 

[skyhightree1]

If my memory serves me correctly when I bought my v rake the guy told me its only good for certain grasses and if not mistaken he said sudangrass was a heavier grass and gave it some issues sometimes. He told me for heavier forages the ground driven hay rakes were best. I only have fescue and orchard here and it does perfect for me.

 

[dun]

Neighbor has one field that's johnson grass and alfala. The wheel rake plugs about every hundred feet or so. Last year after fighting the dam stuff I went and got my old standby side delivery rake. Finished the field without a single problem.

 

[skyhightree1]

thats the word i was looking for dun side delivery like the NH 256

 

[Angus Cowman]

if your going with a wheel rake buy a Kuhn they have a higher center and won't plug like a lot of the other wheel rakes also set the width at the back as wide as your baler can handle it
I have raked everything from clover to milo stalks with a wheel rake with NO problems
Not knowing how to se on is why people have problems with them

I have raked millet that was over 6ft tall and made 3.5 to 4 tons pr acre and never had a problem or I should say the gateopener never had a problem

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Rake into the tops will help a lot to.

 

[Angus Cowman]

Rake into the tops will help a lot to.

yep

 

[Cabo]

The 3 point, pto driven New Hollands are good for thick course hay like Johnson grass. Have never raked any Sudan.

 

[jrn28]

Angus Cowman, I was actually looking at a Kuhn sr110 or a Vermeer 10 wheel. A friend told me they make some gaurd that they need when raking sudan , is that true? If so where does this gaurd go? Thanks to all for your response.

 

[Tim/South]

Angus Cowman, I was actually looking at a Kuhn sr110 or a Vermeer 10 wheel. A friend told me they make some gaurd that they need when raking sudan , is that true? If so where does this gaurd go? Thanks to all for your response.

We have an SR110. It does a good job. We only have one small field with Johnson Grass. The rake does well.
Wheel rakes seem to do better when the wheels are adjusted to less angle. When they are fanned out they do not move thick hay as well.

 

[Angus Cowman]

Angus Cowman, I was actually looking at a Kuhn sr110 or a Vermeer 10 wheel. A friend told me they make some gaurd that they need when raking sudan , is that true? If so where does this gaurd go? Thanks to all for your response.

never heard or seen any type of guard
you are money ahead to buy the Kuhn and forget about the Vermeer if the sudan is heavy enough you can just use one side of the rake and leave the other side up
I traded my Kuhn off 2 yrs ago and I have a NH wheel rake now it is built like the Kuhn but each wheel floats independently instead of 2 wheels on the wishbone like the Kuhn does

the only thing I like better about the NH is that you can use the left or right side as a single by shutting off either hydraulic cylinder where on the Kuhn you can use only the left side as a single if I remember correctly by pinning the bar in a different position

goodluck

 

[Rajela]

Angus Cowman, I was actually looking at a Kuhn sr110 or a Vermeer 10 wheel. A friend told me they make some gaurd that they need when raking sudan , is that true? If so where does this gaurd go? Thanks to all for your response.

never heard or seen any type of guard
you are money ahead to buy the Kuhn and forget about the Vermeer if the sudan is heavy enough you can just use one side of the rake and leave the other side up
I traded my Kuhn off 2 yrs ago and I have a NH wheel rake now it is built like the Kuhn but each wheel floats independently instead of 2 wheels on the wishbone like the Kuhn does

the only thing I like better about the NH is that you can use the left or right side as a single by shutting off either hydraulic cylinder where on the Kuhn you can use only the left side as a single if I remember correctly by pinning the bar in a different position

goodluck

I run the Kuhn SR10 and I have a friend that has the Vermeer VR1022. My next rake will be a vermeer VR1224. The Kuhn is a good rake but I think the vermeer is better built. If you can afford it get the 12 wheel. You can always adjust down to a smaller raking swath and windrow if you need to and the wheel rakes rake better when they are spread open as much.

 

[Angus Cowman]

I run the Kuhn SR10 and I have a friend that has the Vermeer VR1022. My next rake will be a vermeer VR1224. The Kuhn is a good rake but I think the vermeer is better built. If you can afford it get the 12 wheel. You can always adjust down to a smaller raking swath and windrow if you need to and the wheel rakes rake better when they are spread open as much.

It seems Vermeer has copied Kuhn with this rake just like NH and a few others have After baling 20,000 plus bales behind a Kuhn rake it would be hard for me to buy a Vermeer the only reason I bought a NH this time was we don't have a Kuhn dealer close and I needed a new rake when I was trading balers and they made me a good deal my next rake will more than likely be a Kuhn unless I go back to a hyd drive V rake and then it would be a Vermeer or JD which are the exact same rakes just a different color
Plus the Gate Opener likes her Kuhn rake better than the NH except rough ground then she says the NH doesn't skip as much as the Kuhn did

 

[jrn28]

Bit the bullet and bought this.

Thank you for all of y'all's input and feedback!

 

[denvermartinfarms]

Bit the bullet and bought this.

Thank you for all of y'all's input and feedback!

That will be my next rake.

 

[Nesikep]

We have a JD EO 567 wheel rake.. not very good, and a real mismatch for 7 1/2' swather, Ours has the 'curly spring' tines... they keep breaking off... I've resorted to welding them back together (which seems to work!)... If you have a wheel rake with the 'curly spring' tines, wrap a length of high tensile wire through the spring coils... this prevents the tines from getting lost in your fields and found in your feeders, or worse, your tractor tires (they always seem to end up there).

I found I had better success raking with our wheel rake when I went backward (counterclockwise) from the inside of the field... it also means I didn't have to drive over any hay to get out when I was done and the rake worked better.. less plugging and bunching up in the corners

 

[Angus Cowman]

wheel rakes are not real good on corners I rake the outside 3 passes first and bale them then go in and rake everything back and forth plus I like baling that way better
now and then we rake the center and then go make rounds on the outside