10m rake for baler

[Chae1]

Looking at buying a used Krone rake. Its 10m twin rotor. Would this be a issue for a modern baler?

Worried if only taking 3 bouts of silage and it isn't in middle getting uneven swaths.

 

[Mur Huwcun]

As long as it closes down enough that the swath is not too wide them shouldn’t be a problem. There’s usually more chances of uneven swaths with a rake if it’s been badly tedded out rather than raking it straight after a mower

 

[Martin Holden]

Looking at buying a used Krone rake. Its 10m twin rotor. Would this be a issue for a modern baler?

Worried if only taking 3 bouts of silage and it isn't in middle getting uneven swaths.

I’d have thought in any reasonable crop it maybe too much grass even working on the narrowest setting. I tend to recommend around 8.5m for balers although I admit we have 2 customers with 10m but big square balers which I am assuming have bigger throats than round balers

 

[Boohoo]

Assuming it's 10m max width so will be about 9m closed in, but what will the swath width be then? Will it be too narrow?
I rake 3 into 1 with a 7.6m rake ahead of a round baler, but an 8m would be better.

 

[s~~t shoveller]

We use two lely 1015 hibiscus rakes with our round balers and if it's a very very thick crop then the row is a bit big but have always managed to bale it.we are In the dry east though so not many big crops of grass in general.only struggled very occasionally with really exceptionally thick crop and been using this size ten years or more.

 

[Chae1]

We use two lely 1015 hibiscus rakes with our round balers and if it's a very very thick crop then the row is a bit big but have always managed to bale it.we are In the dry east though so not many big crops of grass in general.only struggled very occasionally with really exceptionally thick crop and been using this size ten years or more.

Dry east here too!

 

[Zebbedee]

Baler will probably take it but forward speed understandably will be slow which is good but quite difficult to get even height bales as so much material going in an extra foot further forward into bout and bale is a good bit bigger, so actually nicer with slightly smaller bout

 

[milton-95]

Depends if your taking bulky cuts or not, the problem with having a wide rake is you've to narrow it in to just take 3 bouts which then means the rake makes a high narrow bout which then leads to egg shaped bales, better to have a slightly narrower rake and work it wider so the bout is wider and flatter.

 

[DrDunc]

Been there, tried that

Single cut stuff for dry cows was a problem. Needed a crop roller to get the tractor over the row. Constantly watching the pickup for wee bits dragging at her sides, and any fluffy lumps.

If it's 3 or 4 cuts of leaf, it'll make a bale, but I found both output bales per hour and bale shape and density were improved using a smaller rake.

You also need somebody who can operate a rake if it's 30 foot of long grass, whereas a boy racer can still make a row that's just about manageable if it's only a 20 foot rake.

If you don't ted out first and desperately want to bale 3 rows at once then you'll have less problems in a 30 foot row. However that begs the next question of why aren't you tedding out? Far less plastic and higher quality feed pays for the diesel over and over.....

 

[s~~t shoveller]

Shows how things differ in different areas by the comments.suspect a thick crop here in Lincs is probably not as thick as in other areas.you do get on quicker with less rows when it's not as thick but have to agree a with bale size comments .you need to stop precisely to keep size even and can be slow forward speed but you still get the same number per hour so it makes little difference as long as it fits under your tractor and in your baler.