# What is the best hay rake?



## Guest

I seem to be partial to the rotary, but you can cover a lot of ground with a wheel rake.

I need to update soon and there are a lot of choices out there.









HHH


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## JD4755

We run two Darf 917 wheel rakes, and the only other rake i would consider is an H&S wheel rake, which is pretty much the same thing, IMO they are easier on alfalfa than a bar rake, or rotary rake and i rake 12+ mph and dont leave any behind


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## downtownjr

I would like to try a rotary since I have never owned one. Heard good things about them. I like the idea of a wheel rake due to the speed in which you can rake. The Darf's have a great rep...I do not believe there is a better hay rake. The other wheel rake that has a good rep is Circle C. But to be that large of an operation for me is just a dream right now. I do pick up a 9 foot NH parallel bar rake in July. JD 4755...I will have to come visit and see a large operation someday.


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## JD4755

Whats your budget for a rake? you can get a used darf for 6-8,000 bucks


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## downtownjr

That is not a bad price...what does it usually cost to replace the teeth on the wheels? Right now w do not have enough land to probably support one. Although my goal is to have more land. Guess I need to figure if it worth trying to get a contract with one of the dairies going in around Indiana. JD...Do you sell to dairy farms? I am not paying much over a thousand for a used parallel bar 256 NH rake for a little bit of land.


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## JD4755

The teeth are probably 9 bucks a pop, and the wheel covers are about 70$/wheel for the black plastic inserts, the plastic inserts shouldnt ever break unless they get brittle from the sunshine, and we probably replace 2-4 wheels worth of teeth every spring at the most, usually 2 wheels, we run the first 3 wheels on each side pretty aggressive to pull the alfalfa out and everything behind those arent even touching the ground, and we do sell to a few large dairies, 1000+ head, but we dont sell everything we bale since we're mostly custom work


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## downtownjr

I have looked at them and wondered how they held up. My brother and I have picked up a little custom work and I keep wondering if I can get the land to produce for some of the dairies moving into the area. The only problem with a lot of hay in Indiana is having the window to bale...springs can be very wet...have not bales yet this year but needed to start last week. If we did grow, a large wheel rake or really large rotary would be in the picture.


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## JD4755

They do hold up really well, they are tough pieces of equipment. Our biggest problem is getting enough dew to bale!


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## downtownjr

instead of Indiana. Still maybe with bigger equipment and preservative I can make the window work...


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## readytohay

Have a 7301 kuhn twin rotary great rake,i would never go back to a wheel rake hay does not dry and is roped and corners are terrible.spendy but well worth the money.


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## jd6400

We just purchased a Claas 650 dual rotary rake. Have a 350 single also. IMHO only way to go.


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## jd6400

Just purchased a Claas 650 dual rotary and have been running a 350 single for awhile now,IMHO only way to go.


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## Hayguy

Not sure if it's the best, but we use 2 basket rakes with a New Holland tandem hitch. Saves me more time making hay than anything we've ever tried.


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## ButchAutomatic

It to me really depends on field and operation. In my part of the world fields are not on circles and not in 1/2 or 1/4 sections. We have fields that the head lands are 35% of field and are selling into primary horse market, hay has to be dry and pretty. We use a Miller Pro 2260 twin rotor now, have used this type for 15 years and believe it is the most versitile rake. We are on our 4th rake like this and would like to try the wheel, but don't know about corners and drying. just my thoughts


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## Erock813

have to agree with you...neighbor runs wheel rake and then goes back to do the ends with a rotor..our hay fields ar no larger than 15 acres..we just have about 25 0f them...lol


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## IAhaymakr

I use Vermeer bar rakes. Simple, reliable and do a clean job. I tried a kuhn rotary with mixed results on the raking job and terrible results keeping it in the field instead of the shop. Still use a wheel rake for grass, but never in alfalfa, they put too much dirt in the hay.


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## JD4755

If your wheel rake is set properly, it wont put any more dirt in the windrows than a rotary or bar rake.


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## OhioHay

We run a Miller Pro 2250 twin rotary rake. Farming in Ohio with high humidities and selling into the horse market makes a rotary rake the only way to go for our area. We custom bale behind one wheel rake and it ropes the hay to bad for proper drying in our conditions.


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## haymaker 515

Boy thats a good one, wheel rakes and basket style rakes both have their advantages in certain conditions. Where Jd 4755 is in colorado maybe as he stated he has sometimes a dew problem. Wheel rakes are a good choice. Then again in Illionois where i believe hoosier is, if its wet and humid, basket rakes may be the best way to go. Basket rakes seem to fluff the hay up better for drying, but are not as gentle on the hay as a wheel. On the other hand, if its damp and humid, the wheel rake can sure rope it up. With either style i have never encounterd dirt in the windrow. I use the new holland ground style rolbar basket rakes, with the v hitch. they work well for me, Allen makes a nice set of unitized hydraulic basket rakes also. Whats the best one, i dont think there is,, they are both good when used in certain conditions.


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## Feed Hay

This year it has not worked so well.







We have had alot of rain, I am down near Mt Vernon, east southeast of St Louis about an hour. It ropes up when damp and does not dry well. The things being said about a rotary may be the way to go for me. I bought a tedder this year. It is a small two basket made by Kuhn. I guess a rotary would keep it fluffy as well. I feed 37 boar goats, some are for show and breeding, and my four horses. Have to have some good hay for the horses and show goats.


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## 4020man

We went to a wheel rake from a side delivery and never looked back. We can get a lot more hay raked in a short amount of time.


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## Traveller11

The Kuhn two basket tedder that you purchased...can it be adjusted to rake as well? If so, what do they adjust on the tedder to give it this capability?

I would think that a tedder with raking potential would be the best hay rake....two machines in one. Anybody?


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## JD6430

My grandfather has one, not sure the brand or how the adjustments work, just know that he has to keep the RPMs and ground speed way down to try keep the grass in a semblance of a windrow. Conversely, you can keep the RPMs and ground speed way up on a rotary rake with swath board to catch the hay. So it would depend on how much acreage you need to cover before that storm hits in order to still have time to bale.


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## Itsalwayssomething

Two days ago I decided that my JD bar rake was worth more as scrap than it is to me for raking/drying hay. I've had it with it! I may break my keyboard just typing about it. I'm going to get a better rake. Please, give me your opinions, suggestions, warning, etc., about rotary rakes, wheel rakes, tedders, and row inverters. At the dealer I only get information about the implement they have there.

Thank you in advance!


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## Daner

I can Rake at 10 mph with my Khun Rotary....Its the only rake I have ever used, but It works good, It also has the hydraulic lift,so when you turn into the headrows you can lift It, saves pulling new grass into the windrow
With my 85 hp JD I get It up to D range 1st gear some times 2nd If I need to boogie,and most of the time as we all no you cant hang out while raking unless your out In the desert, I try to keep the Rpms around 1800

Daner from the bear country


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## OhioHay

We run a 2250 miller pro twin rotary. I have run bar rakes, wheel rakes, and rotary's. In our area of high humidity, I prefer the rotary. Seems to help with the drying process. In a different region of the country, with less humidity and better haying conditions that Ohio, I could see where I would probably choose a wheel rake, due to cost.


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## chh

I use an H&S 10 wheel rake. We do grass hay in Oklahoma and it is a simple to use and maintain rake that does a very good job under most of our conditions.


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## jd6400

We run a Claas 650 two row 7th gear on a 3020 and 800 rpms, pretty nice I can listen to the radio,no need to blow it up against the curtain just ease it up.


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## 4020man

We run a Vicon 8 wheel rake but we are looking to upgrade to an H&S wheel rake because of the fact that parts are easier to find around here. We like it much better vs the side delivery that we had been using. I can run in 7th on a 4020 wide open if i have too and I don't have a problem with it plugging. We also have a little JD 770 utility tractor that we use for running augers in the fall and sometimes we pull it with that also. 
Here's a video of our rake.


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## Cliff SEIA

We've ran wheel rakes and bar rakes in the past and now run two Kuhn 4120 rotary rakes over 600-800 acres per year and have no intention of using anything else. The rotary rakes may be a little slower than a wheel rake but we have alot of small, odd shaped fields where a big V rake won't work very well. In alfalfa we usually rake at about 6-7mph but any faster than that in alfalfa with any rake is going to result in leaf loss. We've cut half a day off our drying time with the rotary rakes while improving the consistancy of our hay and the hay raked with the rotary rakes is nicer to bale too.


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## jd6400

Rotary by far in my neck of woods,check out classifieds,stil got the Claas for sale. Jim


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## kfarm_EC_IL

Were using Massey 8 wheel rake. I would suggest a center kicker if purchasing this type of rake. I did have the opportuntity to bale behind a rotary this summer. Nice fluffy windrows. My trouble was getting the density of the bale up. Shows my lack of experience, but I had an awful time with it. With a rotary I assume there would be no need for a Tedder?


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## OhioHay

I believe that the rotary does allow us better drying because the hay isn't roped, but it won't eliminate the need for a tedder or atleast not in eastern Ohio. Mow one day, ted next day, rake and bale on the third day. That is our system 95% of the time.


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