Big Muddy rancher
Well-known member
What is the hay rake of choice for windrowing hay behind mowers?
Hay rakes ???
- Thread starter Big Muddy rancher
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Soapweed
Well-known member
We like our H&S rake, and have had several through the years. Our latest one has black teeth instead of yellow. These teeth are a bit bigger in diameter, and don't break as easy. Our rake was new last year, and we didn't break a single tooth.
Big Muddy rancher
Well-known member
Soapweed said:
Do you remember the model number?
Is the middle hay that doesn't get raked just sacrificed or does it have middle kicker wheels?
Soapweed
Well-known member
Big Muddy rancher said:
Our rake is an H&S 1660 HIGH-CAPACITY BI-FOLD RAKE. It has eight wheels on each side. We don't have the middle kicker wheels, and see no need to have them. One of our earlier rakes had these kicker wheels. They didn't accomplish much, were in the way, and we took them off never to put them on again. Save your money and don't buy them. Another money saving suggestion is to not buy the big solid plastic wheel add-ons that supposedly help keep from tangling hay in the wheels. They don't make much difference, and are a major nuisance when it comes to changing teeth. Besides, they are rather expensive little doo-dads. For the H&S rake itself, we rate them very high in performance, durability, value for money spent, and trade-in allowance. I think if you buy one, you won't be disappointed.
Sandhills boy
Well-known member
The H&S with black teeth might be good, but I had an H&S high capacity with yellow teeth and I hated that thing with a passion, the frames are junk they break all the time, and the stress rod down the middle will become your worst nightmare, after a few years of use. Save the dollars buy a real rake and get a rowse. We have the wind guards and guards that protect the bolts on back from wrapping hay. These are all a plus in my book. We broke 11 teeth in three years and it was used when we got it. The first year we had it, it was dry so we raked a lot of bogy ground that would have broke 100 teeth out of our old rake. Rowse also has a pivot point in the middle of the rake so it has movement in the frame. Spring tension is set a 15lbs per wheel and is a much improvement over h&s design. But this just my 2 cents and that is all it is worth. Good luck hunting!
It would depend on the type of hay that you are raking as to whether you need a center kicker or not and how tall and thick it is. Would also depend on whether you are raking to help the hay cure or just raking for baling.
Big Muddy rancher
Well-known member
Raking mostly grass hay and my old (piece of junk) 
rake leaves that bit between the last wheels.
I like the idea of the H&S Y rake with the extra wheel on one side to finish the window but it has the lighter teeth.
The Rowse looks good and this outfit Circle C http://circlecequipment.com/usedhayrakes.html , make quite the rakes but Oregon is a long ways away. :?
Finishing up what I have cut with a 24 rowse dump rake. Rakes nice but tough to make round baler friendly windrows. :?
rake leaves that bit between the last wheels. I like the idea of the H&S Y rake with the extra wheel on one side to finish the window but it has the lighter teeth.
The Rowse looks good and this outfit Circle C http://circlecequipment.com/usedhayrakes.html , make quite the rakes but Oregon is a long ways away. :?
Finishing up what I have cut with a 24 rowse dump rake. Rakes nice but tough to make round baler friendly windrows. :?
I've got a gehl 10 wheel rake 520 is the number rakes 2 11' discbine swaths. Our windrows are heavy this year 43 1200# bales off 8 acres in one field. I always wanted a 20 wheel v rake now I want hay fileds that produce otherwise I'll just graze them.
Hereford76
Well-known member
Denny said:
Dryland? That's 3.25 ton. Best ever put up here was just shy of 1.5 ton. The quality is typically pretty good tho. Maybe kinda like the native grasses... They are short but potent. First hay field this year went 0.388 ton - hardly worth it.
By the way have a nh ht 154 16 wheel rake. 25'ft draper triple delivery Macedonia and can swath it so I can rake 3 25'ft windrows. Happy with the rake.
Hereford76 said:
Yeah it's dryland but it has'nt quit raining all year here we got 2 4/10 on thursday night west of me some got between 5 and 7 inches. The field was about 75% grasses and 25% trefoil. Jake was cutting one yesterday that he figures is even better, that one is about the same amount of grass with alfalfa and red clover thrown in.I only have about 200 acres of high land type hay and the way its looking we'll average 4 bales per acre.
We spread 140#s per acre of AMS which is basically straight nitrogen but the 8 acre piece and the piece he's cutting got double due to wet conditions on other fields.
PureCountry
Well-known member
I always wondered what one of these would work like, a Vermeer "Twin Rake", same as the old side discharge but 2 of them acting like a v-rake:
http://www2.vermeer.com/vermeer/LA/en/N/equipment/rakes/r2800_twin_rake
Saw one just like it but in JD Green a few days ago, and can't find a sniff of info anywhere on the web that JD made one with 2 pickups acting like a v-rake.
http://www2.vermeer.com/vermeer/LA/en/N/equipment/rakes/r2800_twin_rake
Saw one just like it but in JD Green a few days ago, and can't find a sniff of info anywhere on the web that JD made one with 2 pickups acting like a v-rake.
PureCountry
Well-known member
Just found this one, twin basket style with 7 bars instead of 5 like the old ones had, made in Yakima, WA:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/IToxvTtEmpI
http://www.youtube.com/embed/IToxvTtEmpI
PureCountry said:
A neighbour has one just like the one pictured in the link. I watched it work for a bit one day and was impressed with how gentle it appeared to treat the hay. Very smooth looking action.
