Hi can anyone advise me please. What is the best machine for turning large swaths of wet straw. Is a single rotor rake such as the Lely hibiscus any good? Thanks.
Turning wet straw
- Thread starter Jonathansausage
- Start date
Farmerdunk
Member
- Location
- Hertfordshire
We use a Lely hibiscus single rotor, and we get on fine with it. Doesn’t need 540 on the pto, we have it on about 400
- Location
- North Yorkshire
With a bit of experience and attention if you match rotor speed and forward speed then a single rotor rake will invert the swath tidily
- Location
- Perthshire, Scotland
Swath inverter is the kiddie for that job. A neighbour has one and it’s the only machine that will really help to get straw dry in big bouts
- Location
- Acton Scott, South Shropshire
I was about to post exactly the same machine - chap near us has one and does a lot of work on turning straw - very good.Swath inverter is the kiddie for that job. A neighbour has one and it’s the only machine that will really help to get straw dry in big bouts
- Location
- Hereford
A single rotor rake on low revs is ideal
- Location
- Northumberland
You got some inside information about a wet harvest coming our way ?
Tarw Coch
Member
- Location
- Bottom of Wats Dyke
Allways got away with using a rake myself but large swaths of saturated straw take some drying, I know some prefer to go through with a Tedder and rake up when dry. I’m sure that’s not without it’s disadvantages but I have had to turn saturated straw several times over several days, I can well believe tedding it out would have been quicker and involved less time/passes.
Chae1
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
How much is a swath inverter?
We use a wuffler but inverter looks best tool for job. Going to try and fit grouper off mower on wuffler to do something similar.
We use a wuffler but inverter looks best tool for job. Going to try and fit grouper off mower on wuffler to do something similar.
Tarw Coch
Member
- Location
- Bottom of Wats Dyke
IIRC the mergers are about double the price of a rake
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Maybe a straw chopper if it’s still sitting there now?
Timbo
Member
- Location
- Gods County
Woofler is the tool you want, but with a big swath the tractor needs to be big enough to avoid rolling the straw up as you straddle the rows.
- Location
- Huntingdon, UK
About £18k. We have one but they’re an ass to drive, not sure I’d have another. They do leave a big fluffy swath that dries quick though.
A single rotor rake is just as quick but takes another day to dry.
If you need it dry quick a tedder and a rake is good, although you loose some yield.
I have this Kuhn GRS25-N rake for sale we've previously used it for turning wet straw
I had to do a small area last year after the Claas rotary had been through and left a mangled Swath (mess) that I wasn't able to get to with the baler quickly enough. Not sure, but think it was from a 36ft header.
Got wet, but what I did is split the row with a haybob then haybobbed the remaining 1/2 row. as well. Suited my little Krone round baler with a small pickup head, better! Sub 22ft, haybob with gates wide open, slow PTO and the centre guide removed if the material blocks at all, a very slow moving single rotor rake works OK too, just teasing the straw over.
Have also used a tedder and then a rake. Generates dust and stones but allows the straw to dry quickly in a catchy time...
Got wet, but what I did is split the row with a haybob then haybobbed the remaining 1/2 row. as well. Suited my little Krone round baler with a small pickup head, better! Sub 22ft, haybob with gates wide open, slow PTO and the centre guide removed if the material blocks at all, a very slow moving single rotor rake works OK too, just teasing the straw over.
Have also used a tedder and then a rake. Generates dust and stones but allows the straw to dry quickly in a catchy time...
- Location
- Acton Scott, South Shropshire
WE had similar last year - big rotary combine in oats - absolutely soaked right through - had to split the swath with haybob, then ted out with Pottinger 8 rotor tedder and row back up with double rotor rake - lots of faff but it did do a great job in a short time
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