Setting up an old Vicon Acrobat properly

[PROFarms]

Now don’t start hating on me for asking about everyone’s favourite piece of kit, the old acrobat...
I’ve been told that when set up properly that they make a good row and isn’t ropey like most people seem to say!
Now what I want to know is how do you set one up to rake nicely? Is it a case of trial and error or is there some skill and tricks to doing it well?
I look forward to hearing all your responses!

 

[Dry Rot]

Vicon Acrobat Owners Handbook

A copy of the original owners handbook to suit the Vicon Acrobat

old20tractorparts.com

If you go the same way each time you will make a very good rope! Need to turn the swathe the other way each time, if you follow me.

 

[balerman]

The big spring needs to be in good condition and not stretched,when slack the coils should be touching.Cant remember the setting but there should be something like 5-7mm gap between coils when raking so its not scraping the ground too hard.

 

[Drillman]

Simple.

Hitch on

Reverse to gap in hedge/fence

Hitch off

Job done?

 

[2wheels]

Simple.

Hitch on

Reverse to gap in hedge/fence

Hitch off

Job done?

 

[stevedave]

Alternatively load on to Transit tipper Take your £20 and go to pub.

 

[yellowbelly]

The big spring needs to be in good condition and not stretched,when slack the coils should be touching.Cant remember the setting but there should be something like 5-7mm gap between coils when raking so its not scraping the ground too hard.

...............and, if I remember correctly, the top link should be set so that the wheels are angled back slightly - so the bit that's touching the ground is in front of the top, IYSWIM.

 

[essexpete]

The critical part is to have just enough pressure on the spider wheels to work cleanly but not overload the tines. I did just the latter as a student raking straw and broke rather a lot of tines.

 

[Qman]

Alternatively load on to Transit tipper Take your £20 and go to pub.

They were the bees knees when they first came out, much better than a Dickie swath turner.

 

[betweenthelines]

The big spring needs to be in good condition and not stretched,when slack the coils should be touching.Cant remember the setting but there should be something like 5-7mm gap between coils when raking so its not scraping the ground too hard.

Wasn't there also a chain that attached to the top link to help control the height?

 

[yellowbelly]

Wasn't there also a chain that attached to the top link to help control the height?

IIRC, the chain was to stop the spring being over-stretched when you lifted it up at the ends.

 

[organicguy]

Good news, they are now available again so we can all have one. Saw in Proforge brochure yesterday!

 

[Pan mixer]

Simple.

Hitch on

Reverse to gap in hedge/fence

Hitch off

Job done?

You missed the bit about planting a piece of willow or poplar in the frame so that it will grow into a tree in no time flat thus preventing any wise arse ever using it again

 

[Rust]

Let the hay in the mower swath get extremely dry almost like a board. It will then flip it over upside down rather than making a sausage.
It's a patients game, dad was her relaxed about hay making and made it look easy.
Very dry in swarth flip it over "arse to the sun" two into one and bale it.
I was young and impatient and convinced him to buy a haybob . He said your always out there now ?

 

[Rust]

.

 

[Larel]

We had a Bamford wuffler at the same time as the acrobat. When turning we used to alternate between the acrobat and wuffler. On the baling day when putting two into one you had to make sure you drove in a dead straight line because if you flicked the steering wheel the movement was amplified at the back of the acrobat and you’d end up throwing the windrow away out.
Other issue was on heavy crops the windrow would catch below the rear frame kicking out a huge lump designed to break shear bolts on the square baler.

 

[yellowbelly]

Bamford wuffler

Now there's a 'blast from the past'.............

..............took forever to do the field 'cos you only did one 5' swath at a time, whereas, when you got the Acrobat on for rowing up, you did two swaths at a time - positively flying

 

[Dry Rot]

Well, they couldn't have been that bad because the technology is still used in some modern machines!

Qmac 12 Bords Caddy V-Hark Acrobaat | Qmac Quality Machines

De Qmac 12 Bords V-Hark Acrobaat is ideaal voor harken van stro of wiersen | Werkbreedte 6.00 - 7.40m | 890 kg | Groot dealernetwerk | Snelle levering

www.qmac.nl

My neighbours were laughing when I bought a Robin Hood (similar to the Cock Pheasant) in a farm sale for £30. That year, I was the only one who got their hay. They seem to have been replaced by wufflers which, I am told, don't actually do as good a job!

 

[Exfarmer]

We always reckoned the wuffler did the best job of the lot, but it was slow!
always put it through last after rowing up as it made a super row to bale

 

[cousinjack]

Acrobat is THE machine for turning OSR straw if it gets wet .....