Wheel Rakes for Dummies...

[OklaBrangusBreeder]

So tomorrow, I will be using my new wheel rake for the first time. For someone like myself who has never used a wheel rake, the whole concept seems very odd to me. If you were going to give some "pointers" to someone using a wheel rake for the first time, what would they be? Spare no detail. I'm curious about things like:

* How low do you lower the wings? Do the wheels just barely skim the ground, or do you put a little pressure on the arms?
* How much ground speed do you travel? Since it is "ground driven", I assume traveling slow is a bad idea?
* I've heard people complain about "clogging" at times. What causes that, how do I avoid it.

ANY words of advice you might have that could make my day go better tomorrow would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[upfrombottom]

Just let it down, give it the juice and hang on. By the end of the day, you'll get the hang of it, it ain't rocket surgery.

 

[Angus Cowman]

you let the wheels float (place your hyd lever in the float position ) that way the rake can follow the contour of the ground and if you hit something it can bounce over without damaging the wheels

as for speed we rake any where from 8-10 miles pr hr if the hay is heavy we will run around the 8-8.5mph mark

space the rear wheel about 6-12" closer together than the pickup on your baler

easiest way to bale behind a wheel rake is to make 3 passes around the field then bale them to get them out of your way and then rake back and forth across the field not round and round
I HATE BALING CORNERS

good luck

 

[Angus Cowman]

as for clogging if you have the front too wide and the back to narrow it will clog the hay in the rake because it can't get out fast enough
if you are clogging you need to narrow the front and open the back and slow down

 

[upfrombottom]

AC, you dissing my advice? First you hang up on me, and now this. I'm sorry I said anything about northerners, if that's the problem. :lol:

 

[Angus Cowman]

AC, you dissing my advice? First you hang up on me, and now this. I'm sorry I said anything about northerners, if that's the problem. :lol:

Nope just telling him my experience
and I told ya I had to go and then I tried to call you back twice and you were pouting and wouldn't answer

neighbor who was hauling hay for me was calling and I figured he had trouble again is the only reason I clicked over

 

[upfrombottom]

I saw where you called back but was pouting over a cloud coming up, with 60 mph wind, and blew all the hay I just cut in the river. It at least could have rained first and stuck it to the ground, but not with my luck.

 

[kenny thomas]

So tomorrow, I will be using my new wheel rake for the first time. For someone like myself who has never used a wheel rake, the whole concept seems very odd to me. If you were going to give some "pointers" to someone using a wheel rake for the first time, what would they be? Spare no detail. I'm curious about things like:

* How low do you lower the wings? Do the wheels just barely skim the ground, or do you put a little pressure on the arms?
* How much ground speed do you travel? Since it is "ground driven", I assume traveling slow is a bad idea?
* I've heard people complain about "clogging" at times. What causes that, how do I avoid it.

ANY words of advice you might have that could make my day go better tomorrow would be GREATLY appreciated.

Got a new one and have used it on 75 acres but do not have a clue. The company rep set it and the new baler up, told me not to be messing with it and a farm hand has done all the raking. First year in 10 years I have hired anyone to help but it seems to be doing great.

 

[1wlimo]

Simple as the others have said, but

go to fast and you can damage the leaf,

and adjust the pressure on the wheels so that they are as light on the ground as possiable and they will still move the hay. This reduces damage to the regrowing plants and reduces soil contamination

 

[dun]

Another hint is to be rolling when you put the wheels down. Seems that when we had most of the broke was when the jer guy running it would slam it down before he was moving.

 

[bigbull338]

you lower your rake wheels down all the way.the hardest part will be adjusting your windrow width.but the main thing to remember is always keep your inside wheel in the hay.do not panic or get madd when you turn with the rake because it doesnt make corners at all.when your through baling rake your corners an then bale whats left.

 

[JSCATTLE]

After raking around 3 rounds and you start going back and forth as you get close to the out side or edge of the hay pick up the rake until the last or back wheel is barely off the ground . That way you don't damage the rake when u make a Sharp turn . It doesn't take long you will be able to raise and lower it with out stopping the tractor . I don't even slow down .

 

[Angus Cowman]

After raking around 3 rounds and you start going back and forth as you get close to the out side or edge of the hay pick up the rake until the last or back wheel is barely off the ground . That way you don't damage the rake when u make a Sharp turn . It doesn't take long you will be able to raise and lower it with out stopping the tractor . I don't even slow down .

I make my rake hands raise it all the way off the ground it is hard on them rake wheels even if they are touching a little
like you said they can pick it up and put it down without ever slowing down and that is running around 9 mph or better

 

[JSCATTLE]

If you are working by your self. You can rake back and forth first . Still picking the rake up and turning around . When you finish going back and forth you can rake the 3 rounds around the outside . I've done that many times when I only had one tractor . Keeps you from changing back and forth from bale to rake .

 

[JSCATTLE]

After raking around 3 rounds and you start going back and forth as you get close to the out side or edge of the hay pick up the rake until the last or back wheel is barely off the ground . That way you don't damage the rake when u make a Sharp turn . It doesn't take long you will be able to raise and lower it with out stopping the tractor . I don't even slow down .

I make my rake hands raise it all the way off the ground it is hard on them rake wheels even if they are touching a little
like you said they can pick it up and put it down without ever slowing down and that is running around 9 mph or better

I pick it up all the way off the ground also . Sorry if I wasn't clear .

 

[OklaBrangusBreeder]

Thanks for the great insight guys....

My Dad had tried to rake the field Monday with our new rake while I was at work with mixed results. Special thanks to Angus Cowman who diagnosed the clogging issue. When I got there Tuesday morning, the rake was in fact set too narrow at the back which was causing the plugging. We made an adjustment to widen the back end and narrow the track just a bit to stay within the two windrows of the cutter. With those tweaks, the rake was a champ the rest of the day. In fact, I only used it for maybe 15-minutes until Dad wanted to take over again. I went ahead and started baling what he had raked the day before while he finised up the raking chore.

Your comments in this thread allowed me to know how to adjust the rake to get to work much quicker. Thanks so much.