# Accumulator Grapple Efficiency



## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

You folks with accumulator grapple set-ups, I struggle to understand how much time they add to baling. For example, you have a 10 bale accumulator and grapple (mounted to a tractor front end loader vs skid steer). I know some of you are baling many thousands of bales with a 10 or 15 bale accumulator.

I've just assumed that to bale after the day job in the evening, there just wouldn't be enough time to get up the bales after baling and maybe the accumulator/grapple setup is not a good system for the time challenged where if you have the space, a bale basket or kicker wagons could get the hay off the field as you bale it.

If you've got (as an example) 300 bales on the ground, how quickly can you get those onto wagons? How much more time to unload? Is a tie wrap type grapple essential? Are they reliable?

When I get to a one man army - me, how does an accumulator grapple set up fit for baling after the day job?

Thanks,
Bill


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## oliver1955 (Jan 7, 2015)

I have run a Kuhns 18 bale accumulator the last 4 years. I'm mostly a two man show. I like to have one guy running the baler while I pick up the hay. As long as I have trailers parked strategically throughout the field I can pick up and stack them as fast as the accumulator dumps them out. I could stack 300 bales in an hour pretty easy. A tie wrap grabber isn't essential,(I don't have one) but making uniform bales and doing a good job stacking is a must. Most of my hay gets delivered straight out of the field so for me loading the hay right on gooseneck/semi trailers is better than using a bale wagon. I generally run two ratchet straps front to back and throw two across the middle and the load rides fine. There is a learning curve to stacking a load correctly. Ive got my grabber mounted on a tractor front end loader, I much prefer that to a skidsteer. If you start to stack very high with a skidsteer your visibility is really poor. I think what you do depends alot on what happens with the hay after it's baled.

Hope this helps


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## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

I have a 10-bale accumulator and two grapples. The skid steer is much faster at both loading and unloading, but unless I am at one of the field RIGHT next to the house, I use the tractor loader in the field and the skid steer at the barn. Two people make the system work better for me.
Dad shows up and rakes while I bale (after work). By the time he is done raking, he sits in the shade until I'm done baling. Then, I unhook the baler and put the grapple on the tractor (quick attach) and load. By this time, he had dropped the rake and pulls a train of wagons through the field. Depending on how many wagons I need to clear the field, I will load two or three (from the back of the train) and pull them pin. I go on to load the next-rear wagons on the train. Then pull wagons (2 or 3 in a train) to the barn to unload with the skid steer and other grapple.
300 bales in an evening is plumb easy to bales, load, and unload. I did that just this evening. Was done baling and home having a barley-water with dad for @1/2 hour; he went home to do his chores and I unloaded wagons, fueled the tractors, greased the baler, etc...and am ready for tomorrow. I didn't make in into the house til @10pm, but I had my sheep chores, hog chores, and chicken chores to do. While feeding the hogs, found '***** getting into the corn...choosted 3 out and came to the house.

FYI, I get off at 230 here and it's dark by 9 right now. Dad is 71. We can do 1000 a day on my day off with only him and me.

Personally, I cut accordingly to my schedule...if I reckon it will be dry on a workday, I try to cut @300 bales worth. If I reckon I'll be baling on my day off,,,let 'er rip tater chip!!!

To me, though, there are two things that REALLY sped up my process. I built a steffen-style grapple. It makes unloading SOOOOOOO much easier because it will sit flat on top of a stack (that you can't see) no matter what. I rarely miss a bale in a grab from the top stack any more. Also, I believe the skid steer is easily twice as fast in the field and more in the barn. (I just don't want to have to haul it to the field when I already have a tractor there...besides, two extra round trips to haul it there and back and unhooking the other grapple from it would eat the time savings)

I know I'm rambling...without the accumulator and grapple, I would have to give up squares.

Mark


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## Waldo (Apr 29, 2016)

Big numbers of bales nothing beats stack cruiser,sp .but at the price of a new cruiser and the fact that all the secondhand are getting a bit old in the teeth.the accumulators are taking over here.the thing I do,nt like with the accumulators when you have broken bale,s the time you lose tidings the pack up (I do have a elevator that goes on the accumulator so it can be run by the tractor and not on the baler we could run 2,3 or 4 balers and the bloke on the tractor ran around and bunch the lot up)even doing it that way the cruiser was still quicker


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

Bill, I have been contemplating the same thing. Ask me after this season and I'll have a better idea. I picked up a baler, 10 bale accumulator, and grapple as a package this winter and will be trying it out this season.

When I have an empty kicker wagon behind me, it seems I can make good time. However the time I lose to wagon changeovers, stops to build up the front of the wagon to increase the wagon capacity, and to pick up the occasional fly away, all adds up. If my time savings from eliminating all the stops offsets the time to go back and pick up the groups, I'll be happy.

I am in the same boat as you, baling after my day job or taking days or afternoons off to do it, then unloading the kicker wagons in the evening with the wife and kids.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

paoutdoorsman said:


> When I have an empty kicker wagon behind me, it seems I can make good time. However the time I lose to wagon changeovers, stops to build up the front of the wagon to increase the wagon capacity, and to pick up the occasional fly away, all adds up. If my time savings from eliminating all the stops offsets the time to go back and pick up the groups, I'll be happy.


This could not be more true. Kicker wagons are most efficient when the baler operator has a second person chasing them around the field with empty wagons. The baler almost never stops. But that is no good when one's goal is a one man operation. As I've come to see it, a kicker is only one step up on the efficiency scale from hand stacking on wagons. If one is moving from wagon stacking to something else, aim higher than the kicker. The accumulator seems like a fair compromise in many cases.


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## Beav (Feb 14, 2016)

can pick 300 in hour easy we have a 10 bale flat works better with 2 people one bales the other loads. 3 is even better then one pulls wagons home.We sell a lot of hay out of the field so we can do 700 or 800 bales when we are working. 3 of on our days off can do 1000 to 1500 a day. we have 10 racks we can put 1700 without stopping to unload. I don't know how we ever got along without it. I don't see a need for a tie grabber.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

For truly one man show accumulators aren't the be all end all for sure. 300 bales an hour loading wagons with grapple means its no faster than the baler.

Talking solo work here, kicker system you end the hour of baling with two loaded wagons. Accumulator you need 1hour to bale and another 1 hour to load and leave field with your loads. The accumulator system speed comes unloading. Kicker setup, if you are stacking in a barn, you need extra people. Accumulator you can unload those wagons yourself in an hour or so.

I run baskets, which the same 300 bales are loaded at the end of an hour baling. But you need 3 baskets to work that amount solo. I have 6 which take a while to get staged in the fields on your own. Works great delivering to customers where you can pull the lever and leave, 30 seconds at their barn.

No perfect solution for everyone.


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## Beav (Feb 14, 2016)

I had baskets fine if you don't sell bales looked like shit when you dumped bales out and you would need 10 or more if you sell out of the field.used once and sold, did nothing for me. Same as a kicker small bales wagon full of misshaped bales hard to sell and PITA to unload.Kuhn accumulators works for me I will quit making small squares without it


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## Waldo (Apr 29, 2016)

Stack cruiser,load into shed on the flat, bales that is then grab load on truck .still a pain in the a..... would like to try a block squeeze, but we can only go 8.2 wide,may be old mate with the tape around the bale would help


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

We have 6 baskets - no trouble with misshaped bales but we make short bales.

Not sure why you would need 10 baskets, delivering 45 min round trip away we can usually get 1200 or more bales in 4-5 hours baling and not use the 6th basket.



Beav said:


> I had baskets fine if you don't sell bales looked like shit when you dumped bales out and you would need 10 or more if you sell out of the field.used once and sold, did nothing for me. Same as a kicker small bales wagon full of misshaped bales hard to sell and PITA to unload.Kuhn accumulators works for me I will quit making small squares without it


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## Beav (Feb 14, 2016)

yesterday my nephew loaded a little over 700 in hour and half with our 10 bale grapple, the wagons were in the field and I was making deliveries. he is better at it then I am and he can still check his phone with the other hand


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