Anyone using a Rappa Raceweigh yet

[Boydvalley]

Got one ordered on the scheme. Does the design mean they stand naturally central. The sides and rear gate aren’t on the platform so any touching of the sides would transfer weight off or is this in reality not a problem.

Been trying to make my own squeeze clamp weigher that fits in the Prattley trailer but I am now coming to the conclusion that a simple suspension crate is the lightest most reliable way and thinking along the line of a Ritchie draft Pro with the weigh cells above.

Any feed back on the Rappa would be appreciated.TIA

 

[beltextexel]

Yes I have one and don’t like it to be honest. If lambs touch the back gate it really alters the weight. It also only has one load bar on, I think it would be a lot better with two. I’m used to using the weigher on the Combi clamp which is much faster and more accurate.

 

[Poorbuthappy]

@Tim W has a similar set up in his scotpen

 

[Tim W]

My set up has been good for 10 years but is starting to be unreliable which i think is just a dodgy load bar
It has 2 load bars
Lambs pushing up against a side/end will make it inaccurate but this doesn't seem to be a problem too often (1 in 50 very young lambs goes a bit loopy in the crate but they soon calm down and after a few weighings they get used to it )
I like the look of the Rappa system and am keen to hear other peoples views of the weighcrate and the gripper they now have

I can either buy a whole new Rappa system or replace the weighcrate in my Scotpen
The main reason i got a Scotpen to start with was that they were the only manufacturers that would consider building an in race weigher at the time

 

[Keepers]

Have provisionally ordered one if we get the grant, if we dont get the grant then I guess will order it anyway!

I really really liked it when I have been to see it working a couple of times, being a smaller person and having a bad back, I cant be done with lugging the weigh crate around and shifting it everywhere. Many a time I had to leave it behind and get someone else to pick it up and drag it into a trailer at the end of a long day as they are just such heavy things

I like that all the parts of the raceweigh come apart easy and can be stored elsewhere when not busy weighing times, and none of the parts are very heavy, means weigher and rappa are moved into field in one go.

Very much looking forward to its arrival

 

[Bob]

Yes I have one and don’t like it to be honest. If lambs touch the back gate it really alters the weight. It also only has one load bar on, I think it would be a lot better with two. I’m used to using the weigher on the Combi clamp which is much faster and more accurate.

You’ve got something set up wrong. The back gate should not be touching the weigh platform it sits in a lug on the bottom frame

Been using the raceweigh with tru test ew7i for about a month and I reckon it’s an excellent design

 

[Poorbuthappy]

You’ve got something set up wrong. The back gate should not be touching the weigh platform it sits in a lug on the bottom frame

Been using the raceweigh with tru test ew7i for about a month and I reckon it’s an excellent design

I think the point is if a lamb is sitting against the back gate, it is transferring some of its weight onto the gate and off the platform.

 

[Boydvalley]

Yes I have one and don’t like it to be honest. If lambs touch the back gate it really alters the weight. It also only has one load bar on, I think it would be a lot better with two. I’m used to using the weigher on the Combi clamp which is much faster and more accurate.

Do you think the advantages of having it in the race for speed of setup, and not lugging a crate around, out way the disadvantages. Do you have confidence in the weights it produces.

 

[Boydvalley]

My set up has been good for 10 years but is starting to be unreliable which i think is just a dodgy load bar
It has 2 load bars
Lambs pushing up against a side/end will make it inaccurate but this doesn't seem to be a problem too often (1 in 50 very young lambs goes a bit loopy in the crate but they soon calm down and after a few weighings they get used to it )
I like the look of the Rappa system and am keen to hear other peoples views of the weighcrate and the gripper they now have

I can either buy a whole new Rappa system or replace the weighcrate in my Scotpen
The main reason i got a Scotpen to start with was that they were the only manufacturers that would consider building an in race weigher at the time

To be honest Tim I can’t see how aRappa would be an improvement over what you’ve got. You can stand behind to control the gates and the lambs have to go down the race a bit before exiting drawing the next lamb in. Getting flow is the hardest part of weighing esp. if your on your own. Good setup.
Had along chat with Clive at the Royal Welsh but I can’t get past having a big band of Ali at the top of the hurdles. Mine bulk at the Prattley hurdles now and their not exactly shiny anymore.

 

[Tim W]

To be honest Tim I can’t see how aRappa would be an improvement over what you’ve got. You can stand behind to control the gates and the lambs have to go down the race a bit before exiting drawing the next lamb in. Getting flow is the hardest part of weighing esp. if your on your own. Good setup.
Had along chat with Clive at the Royal Welsh but I can’t get past having a big band of Ali at the top of the hurdles. Mine bulk at the Prattley hurdles now and their not exactly shiny anymore.

I like my Scotpen and everything works well with it ----the sheep flow in well enough , i am always working on my own and it's very robust
The 2 things i don't like are
1) It's heavy to put away at the end of a days work , this has only happened in the last year or so ----i swear that 10 years ago it was lighter
2) The winch system on the Scotpen is poor and needs replacing

It's your's at a price ----

 

[Boydvalley]

It's heavy to put away at the end of a days work , this has only happened in the last year or so ----i swear that 10 years ago it was lighter

Haha we must be suffering from the same syndrome. I’ve ordered my Rappa with 5fts instead of 7 because they’re supposed to be easier to pull.

 

[neilo]

I like my Scotpen and everything works well with it ----the sheep flow in well enough , i am always working on my own and it's very robust
The 2 things i don't like are
1) It's heavy to put away at the end of a days work , this has only happened in the last year or so ----i swear that 10 years ago it was lighter
2) The winch system on the Scotpen is poor and needs replacing

It's your's at a price ----

You might be onto something. My RAPPA yard has certainly got heavier in the last 7 years too....

 

[Tim W]

You might be onto something. My RAPPA yard has certainly got heavier in the last 7 years too....

It's obviously highly infectious ---i will make a report to NADIS 1st thing tomorrow
Hope it doesn't instigate a national handling system movement shutdown

 

[DanM]

Put the prattley up in 20 minutes today (including the weigh crate!)....Perhaps if you old codgers would retire, then the next generation could drive the industry forward rather than giving your profits to rappa....

 

[Boydvalley]

Normally takes me 20 mins to decide where to put it And what combination I’m going to use

 

[Al R]

Put the prattley up in 20 minutes today (including the weigh crate!)....Perhaps if you old codgers would retire, then the next generation could drive the industry forward rather than giving your profits to rappa....

Double fill with all the hurdles out? That’s good going! I put mine away in 22 minutes by myself this afternoon

 

[Boydvalley]

As I asked the original question, here is my thoughts on the raceweigh now I’ve had it 6 weeks.

Overall a good bit of kit given the confines of putting it in the race. Gates are easy to use and lambs seem to run well working with a small pen behind the race. Makes setting up quick. The lambs are at a nice height for handling and grading once in the crate

Downsides, one in ten will push back onto the back gate that isn’t on the weigh cell and transfer weight. Most need a just nudge forward to allow the weigh head to settle.

I don’t think Trutest weigh heads are the best for single bar weighing. They are too affected by the initial shock load of the animal jumping on. If your not sure hit escape and it will re-weigh.

It is a 15-20 minute job to put it into the race on your own. Quite a few fiddly clips. If you need to take it out regularly something to consider. The draw bar needs to come off To fit it. I put the front of it on a block of wood to save dropping the yard on the floor. Not very HSE as rappa yards are quite light on the nose.

For me the advantages of having the crate in the race far outweigh the disadvantages as I’m often on my own and I hated lugging crates. If I was doing big numbers I would put my money into something Like a Prattley crate. Two weigh cells are better.
As it was basically for nothing on the grant scheme I’m very happy with my purchase!!

 

[Al R]

You can’t have it permanently setup with drawbar on the front etc? It has to be constructed each time?

 

[scholland]

You can’t have it permanently setup with drawbar on the front etc? It has to be constructed each time?

It can stay in for transport etc. Ours was in for the whole weighing season. Took it out before we set up for scanning

 

[Al R]

It can stay in for transport etc. Ours was in for the whole weighing season. Took it out before we set up for scanning

That’s what I thought so what was boydvalley on about assembling and disassembling each time?