hay windrow width and help

DJL · Jun 25, 2008

Guys, I've got a JD 336 small square bale and do a little bit of custom baling with it on the side. What I'm running into, is as these guys are raking the hay, they are driving to fast and/or using a large rake that they generally use to windrow for a large round baler. I don't have any capacity problems (that 336 will chunk 'em out pretty good) but I'm leaving some hay behind in the field because my pickup isn't wide enough on the baler. Going to a larger baler isn't an option. Any thoughts on helping this? It's generally just a small tuff of hay here and there, sometimes I have to miss it on the inside of the pickup, sometimes on the outside. Don't tell me to drive straighter, because I DO drive straight, the windrows are just a bit too wide in places. Could I add a finger wheel to help guide the hay in (like on some round balers) just on the outside of the pickup? Then I could always fudge a bit to the outside? Would that help funnel it into the pickup?
Thanks
DJL

DJL · Jun 25, 2008

I believe the wheels I speak of are called converging wheels. Any body know if there's an aftermarket kit available or do I go to a salvage yard and just get one and try it?

Walt Davies · Jun 25, 2008

I wouldn't worry about if they do the raking then its their job to see that it fits your baler.
Walt

Anonymous-0 · Jun 26, 2008

My Massey 10 has a converging wheel on the outside of the pickup.

TGIN · Jun 26, 2008

You can spend your money for a wheel or tell them to do a better job of raking . A wheel would be nice but they are not cheap .

dwrk · Jun 26, 2008

Depending how far you want to go, a wheel might help but I suspect you'll still find some too wide.
Some guys rig up an old wheel rake on the front of the tractor on a snowplow mount or something similar to kick hay over, there are a few commercial units available too.

showcrop · Jun 26, 2008

I have one, But in NH I'm probably a long way from you

randallinMo · Jun 26, 2008

I know your concern as I have that situation too. I tell the rake people to either cut down on the size of the windrow or to expect some hay to be left in the field. Which by the way isn't much. last year my son got all bent out of shape because too much hay was sliding past the baler pickup. So he went in and re-raked a 6 acre field that was the worst. I got another whopping 3 bales (small bales) from the re-raked windrows. Then it was my turn to get bent out of shape!
I looked into the converging wheels, but soon figured out that the pickup attachment was not strong enough to support the weight. We've resorted to using our old 9ft bar rake in some of the heavier stands. It takes longer to rake, but EVERYTHING works better from there on out.

Nebraska Cowman · Jun 26, 2008

I discovered years ago that a person won't learn how to rake until he has run a baler. And then sometimes they don't learn.

dcarp · Jun 26, 2008

Just tell them to slow down if they want all the hay in the bale. Wheel rake I have is temperamental, drive to slow it just slides hay to side, too fast it throws hay too far and makes a wide row like you described. You just have to experiment with speed until you get it right.

hay windrow width and help

DJL

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DJL

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Walt Davies

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Anonymous-0

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TGIN

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dwrk

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showcrop

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randallinMo

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Nebraska Cowman

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dcarp

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