# Has anybody here used the 18 bale Kuhn's accumulator and grab?



## Hayboy1 (Jul 19, 2008)

Just wondered how many if any one on here is using the 18 bale accumulator and grab from Kuhn's yet? If so how do you like it, and what capacities am I going to need on my loader? I have a 265 JD loader on a JD 2950 4wd. Will that tractor handle the weight of the grapple and hay without becoming too light in the backend? How do they line up on the wagons? We make a 34" 50lb bale. How do they compare vs. the 15 bale grab....is it worth the extra money? Anything else you can throw at me would be great...I am looking at getting an accumulator and grapple for the first time this spring, and I am also keeping 7 kicker racks for the 2nd baler and plan on running 7 flat racks, 28' gooseneck, and a 22' dumptruck if need be. TIA


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## Production Acres (Jul 29, 2008)

We used to use a 18 bale grab from steffen systems on a jd 6400 mfwd tractor. It handled it ok, but in heavy hay, the tilt cylinder didn't quite have enough muscle. That tractor weighs about 15,000 with fluid in the tires.


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## Hayboy1 (Jul 19, 2008)

Do you think it would matter if it was self leveling?


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## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

Does that grapple stick outward? In other words, do you come at the 'pack' of bales the same direction as the baler and accumulator? I was watching a video of a 15 bale on a Massey, and it seemed alright. the big thing is that you will have a lot of 'torque' to overcome, seeing as the load would stick out the front so far. I'm betting it would be OK. I'm sorta thinking that self-level wouldn't have much effect - don't they use the same cylinders?

When we got the stackwagon, we were using 2 balers with throwers. We thought we'd use the one with the thrower, but more often than not, it sat in the shed. While the 1/4 turn baler got over 40,000 bales on it, the thrower only had about 7,000.

I don't want to tell you how to do things, or what to buy. BUT, I would look into trying to make things as mechanical as possible. Look into which system, or the arragement of the bales fits into how you truck them the best. If you truck the hay, you want a system that allows you to load the trucks mechanically. Labor will always be an issue, and young muscles and bones soon become old. Handling hay makes that process go much faster. Many guys use a 10 bale pack to load their trucks - and it works well. if you could go to 15 bales flat that would do the same thing. Unless most of your hay goes out in small lots, or the customer picks it up, you don't want bales on edge. You also have to figure out which arragment will work the best in your storage.

Rodney


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## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

Rodney, You said that you dont want bales on edge, is that because of an unstable stack on the truck, trailer, etc?


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## Hayboy1 (Jul 19, 2008)

We are more than overdue to mechanize our operation. My father turns 66 this June, and the lifetime of throwing hay is "beginning" to wear on him. I get too busy, mowing, tedding, raking, baling, to babysit the boys unloading. I get so tired of picking guys up, feeding them, dropping them off, hearing them whine all day that it's too hot. And then they want to get paid at the end of each day. I do realize that using the second baler with the thrower will probably not get used as much but the intentions are there!! We do roughly 40k small squares a year and I just need to move forward rather than backwards.
As for the stacks we load either goosenecks, van trailers or box trucks (26') normally on on edge in the boxes, 6 wide. I also stack everything in my barns on edge. Bales seem to hold their form better, and they also seem to cure better on edge from what I can find. We also stack in a quanset style barn and we have an overhead loft as well. This spring we will be putting up a pole barn with probably 18-20' ceilings, just in case we ever go to a stackwagon or telehandler. I am nearly 100% sold on the Kuhn's system. I love the idea of no electrical or hydraulics, and the forgiveness of the bale size. We sell everything by the bale so smaller means smarter sometimes.


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## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

NDVA hayman - yes, for me anyway. Most of our hay gets loaded onto a flatbed truck, and goes down the road to a customer, most are within 60 miles. I've been trying to think of how we can mechanize stacking on the truck and unloading the truck. I think that a piggyback forklift might be the answer to unloading, but trying to mechanically load trucks with bales on edge, 5-6 high seems to be a major stumbling block, and the fact that it'll leave a lot of extra space on the side of the bed. That's whay I'd like bales to be flat - so it works better to put them on the truck. I was looking at the Kuhn's tie grabber, but I still have the problem that the grab won't fill the truck bed.

Hayboy: it sounds like the 6 on edge version is the one you need. I think the thing that PA was getting at was that the dump cylinders might not be able to angle the grabber 'up' once the bales are in it. Down would be no problem, and I think he was saying that it would 'hold' the angle. That grabber gets really out there, if the bales were the other way (3 wide) then it would be no problem. - we have an 18 bale grabber on a 7410/740 and it acts like it's not even there, cept when you try to back uphill..... The neighbor has a similar grabber ona 2555/640 and he gets along OK.

Rodney


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## Hayboy1 (Jul 19, 2008)

I could put the loader on my 4250, just not sure if the 265 is strong enough. I know the Hydraulics on that tractor are excellent. I was at one point considering the Steffen grab with the rotator on it, but at $7k, I thought that was a bit much personally. Guess there is only one way to find out huh? So if you see one for sale come late May....you will know the outcome..lol


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## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

I'm betting the 2950 and the 4250 have about the same hydraulic pressure. I'd bet that the 4250 will flow a little better..... if you need a 280 loader for the 4250 we have one here that we don't use.

Rodney


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## BCFENCE (Jul 26, 2008)

I dont know if this helps you all, but i use my 15 bale grabber on my 6430fwa with no problem at all, I would think 3 more bales plus the bigger grabber would not matter much.
THOMAS


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## kingranchf350 (Dec 13, 2009)

Hayboy1,
I have a friend here who is a dealer for Kuhn's. He has actually been doing some work with Kenny in regards to the 15 bale accumulator. They had run into a problem with the bales not wanting to slide on the table. I think they fixed it by putting poly sheets in critical areas. He is also running Kuhn's 15 bale grabbers - he did say you would need a pretty good size tractor due to the center of wieght being shifted with the grab sticking out so far. This same fella is the guy who came up with the idea of the Tie - Grab that Kuhn's is marketing. If you would like to talk to this guy let me know and I will get you his contact info.


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## BCFENCE (Jul 26, 2008)

I also had problems with the bales sliding a few times this year, I sprayed a little armor all on a rag and wiped it around the top alittle and it fixed the problem for the day.
THOMAS


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## Hayboy1 (Jul 19, 2008)

I think I am going to be ok with the 2950 to be honest, worst case scenario..lol I will just pour some concrete into some weights and hang em off the back...kidding! What activates the teeth on the grab? do you need an extra remote from the back? I have the joystick on my 265.


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## BCFENCE (Jul 26, 2008)

I have the 3rd function control on my loader joystick, All it is a hydraulic cylinder.
THOMAS


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## Hayboy1 (Jul 19, 2008)

Thomas is that something that can be added to it?


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## Hayboy1 (Jul 19, 2008)

kingranchf350 said:


> Hayboy1,
> I have a friend here who is a dealer for Kuhn's. He has actually been doing some work with Kenny in regards to the 15 bale accumulator. They had run into a problem with the bales not wanting to slide on the table. I think they fixed it by putting poly sheets in critical areas. He is also running Kuhn's 15 bale grabbers - he did say you would need a pretty good size tractor due to the center of wieght being shifted with the grab sticking out so far. This same fella is the guy who came up with the idea of the Tie - Grab that Kuhn's is marketing. If you would like to talk to this guy let me know and I will get you his contact info.


I would love the guy's contact info. Thank -you


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## kingranchf350 (Dec 13, 2009)

Mike,

Sent that info to you. Hope it helps.


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## BCFENCE (Jul 26, 2008)

Hayboy i really dont know, All you need is a extra outlet, If your 2950 is like my old 2840 you can tie into the side, under the floor board of the tractor, All you do is tie in to get hydraylic power but you still need to put a hydraulic spool close to the seat you could use.
You maybe able to add a extra spool onto the one for your loader control valve then all you woud do then is just run your two lines to the cylinder.
THOMAS


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## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

If you have the joystick it's no problem, just use an outlet on the back, and if you're looking into a tie grabber you'll need to use both outlets on the rear. I assume your 2950 has a cab? That would make it a little different than the 2840 that BC mentioned.... I think the 2940 was pretty close to the 2950, but I'm not sure? Like was mentioned, it's just a hydraulic cyliner - Deere had made a provision to have an extra handle on the joystick, but I think it's just as easy to use the tractor remote? You'll find a nut welded up front on the loader, just below the torque tube, on the right hand frame, on the inside, and that is where you can put your disconnect for when you have the grabber off the loader.

Rodney


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## Hayboy1 (Jul 19, 2008)

pretty sure I do not want the tie grabber, I will just run an extra line into the back remotes. I like to do things the right way, but that is by far the easiest way to go about it I think. Thanks for your help again!


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## Kalla Walla Farm (Sep 27, 2010)

We have been using a Bobcat A300 and Kubota M59 backhoe for loading with the 18 bale unit the past 2 years with no problems. As noted by another in this thread, this is providing they are well cured bales.


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