# Milstak



## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Has anyone tried a Mil-stak large bale loader attachment on a NH stacker? I'm sorta thinking about putting one on my NH 1089 stacker. They are about $21,000.


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## bryce (Jul 10, 2012)

I told my grandpa he ought to put one on his, he said no way. Right now he loads a NH stacker with a skidsteer. I would if I were you, I'd see if you could get a used one cheaper though.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

My dad doesn't like the idea either. I haven't been able to locate a used one at all. I didn't think they were too bad priced compared to other large bale stacking systems that would work for me without having to buy a larger tractor. Though it would be better to have one of the newer NH hay stackers.


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## jeff outwest (Sep 13, 2009)

There are a couple around here. Good alternative. But a Bale scoop seems to be the choice for quick hauling.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Yes our neighbor has a bale scoop and while it's good we have two very large hay sheds that work better with a NH stack wagon. There would be a tremendous waste of space with the bale scoops. Plus around the buildings there isn't that much room to turn around and back in with a tractor and the scoop. Plus I think a bale scoop would require me to buy a somewhat larger tractor. The bale scoops appear to be great for outside stacking with lots of room though.


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## LeadFarmer (May 10, 2011)

Pro-Ag Bale Scoop is where it's at. Fast, simple, realiable.

Milstak looks like it is very hard on the machine. Each time it picks up a bale the entire frame flexes, and if the bales are heavy enough the front left tire can come off the ground. Plus, the guys running a Milstak around here can't stack six high, most of them do four, and one guy does five.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Except as I said about Pro Ags stuff won't work as well in our buildings. They aren't tall enough for 6 high. Good for outside, but not as good for our buildings. I do 3X3 bales so not the heavier 3X4 ones. You are right it does look hard on the machine. That's what I'm worried about them somewhat.


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## Alfalfaspain (May 13, 2011)

Have you ever heard about this?


They are quite popular in Europe.


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## haystax (Jul 24, 2010)

There are quite a few guys running the Milstak around here as we do both 3 string and 3x4 bales and almost everyone has a NH balewagon.

I was scared to put a Milstak on my 1095 and many people were wary of the design and the frame loading. That being said, it seems like the frame brace actually works well and I haven't heard of any issues on machines that have been operating for a few years now.

The newer machines - BW and H series are much better suited due to the real frame and axle upgrades.

I am still happy with my Freeman. It is much faster than the Milstak but the new tie tier option Milstak has for the new wagons would be nice.

The bale scoops work best with an accumulator on the baler and a big, fast tractor pulling the scoop. I think the scoops are the most expensive option out there when you look at all factors involved.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

haystax said:


> There are quite a few guys running the Milstak around here as we do both 3 string and 3x4 bales and almost everyone has a NH balewagon.
> 
> I was scared to put a Milstak on my 1095 and many people were wary of the design and the frame loading. That being said, it seems like the frame brace actually works well and I haven't heard of any issues on machines that have been operating for a few years now.


haystax. You actually have one on your 1095? I think the 1095 is just like my 1089 except narrower for the 3 string bales? If you did how long have you had it on the 1095 and how many bales a year do you stack with it? I'm really leaning toward getting one this winter on the 1089. You are right about the costs for a bale scoop. Large tractor=expensive Bale scoop itself=expensive. Putting a milstak on my 1089 is about $22,000 or so I'm told. Much cheaper. And faster then the tractor and trailer way I'm stacking now I'm sure. They tell me though the milstak doesn't work the best with an accumulator and I'm not all that crazy about the accumulator on our Massey 2150 (the weakest part of the baler). Maybe if the milstak works better without the accumulator I could sell the accumulator to make up for some of the costs of the milstak.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

If I ever went to large squares and had the money, I think this would be the shizzle.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Yes that would be ideal as you can receive, but the money as you mentioned......


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## haystax (Jul 24, 2010)

Teslan -

I don't have a Milstak on my 1095 but after seeing them used on some 1085s of my neighbors' I would be less hesitant to buy one. I really think it is the most cost effective way to stack midsize big bales. I think the 1089 is basically the same as the 1095 but Im not sure if the milstak will work on the 3 wide machines. I don't have any experience with the 3 wide machines so don't trust me on that. The milstak is relatively slow, the hydraulic flow to lift and clamp rams is small so the big ram takes a while to lift and then you have to be real careful on your pressure when it breaks over or the bales will slam down on the second table.

The accumulator doesn't really help with a Milstak machine but is a great advantage with a bale scoop. I like the Milstak and Freeman method of picking the bales in the same path as the baler especially when the wheel tracks on pivot irrigated ground are really deep.

If it will fit the 1089 I'd say it's your best option


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## haystax (Jul 24, 2010)

Mlappin -

The Eagle stackers are a decent unit but there is a lot of stress on the main loading arm and frame of the truck. They make a big claim of "safest" as the bale doesn't pass over the cab but for the money Haying Mantis makes a much better unit for the money and a Stinger is much faster but doesn't retrieve or stack as quickly

The "best" unit IMO is the self propelled MVE unit. It will stack 12 3x4 bales and put in a tie tier automatically. Tandem walking beam rear suspension and air ride front. I don't think they make them new anymore but the tractor scoops they make are pretty decent.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Milstak says it works for the 1089 on their website. The 1089 is just wider then the 1085s or 1095s. In fact on Milstak's website they have a used 1069 with a milstak for sale. The 1089 is the newer model of the 1069. The 1085s and 1095s are a better fit for the large bales as the tables aren't as wide. No one around here does 3 string bales so those models of NH stackers are very rare here. Thanks for mentioning that it is slow. I was looking at our machine today and noticed the hoses to the bale pickup are small and I was thinking about the flow.


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## wadek (May 28, 2015)

I know I am replying to an old post but some of the information in this thread is out of date and might be confusing. I will try to address the issues already mentioned here for future reference.

We have installed on hundreds of NH wagons and have had no reports of our clamp causing additional problems with the wagon frame. Many of the older wagons we install on have already had plates added to the frame rails or other modifications. We don't believe our clamps are causing any more stress on these older wagons than the small bale loading does. We do also add a booster to the table to help lift the heavier bales up to the stackbed. As of the H9880 and H9870 wagons, our clamps are factory approved by New Holland and installation is plug-and-play. You can check out the official listing on the New Holland site here: http://agriculture1.newholland.com/nar/en-us/equipment/products/haytools-and-spreaders/sp-bale-wagons/features/h9800-series-mil-stak-attachment. The BW and H series wagons have an upgraded frame and front axle and we would recommend these over a 1095 model for heavy use.

The speed of the clamp on New Holland wagons can be increased several ways. There is an official New Holland valve that increases the flow to the clamp from 6 GPM to 9 GPM. The only downside to this is that the original valve must be put back in before you can go back to stacking small bales. We also have an aftermarket valve that has an adjustable flow rate. This way you can simply adjust the valve for small bale or large bale stacking. Some customers have reported almost doubling the speed of the clamp using one of these options.

The New Holland wagons can only stack 3x3 or 3x4 bales 5 high. This is one of the trade-offs of a machine that can stack both large and small bales. I don't know of any other options on the market that can switch between big bale and small bale mode in less than 30 minutes. If you really want to stack 6 high we would be glad to talk to you about the Mil-Stak pull-type and self-propelled models. If you really have to have a New Holland wagon that can stack 6 high there are some threads on this forum discussing the option of stretching the stackbed and it can and has been done.

Hope this helps! If you have more questions PM me or contact us at [email protected] or (208) 452-6045.

Thanks,

Wade


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

wadek said:


> I know I am replying to an old post but some of the information in this thread is out of date and might be confusing. I will try to address the issues already mentioned here for future reference.
> 
> We have installed on hundreds of NH wagons and have had no reports of our clamp causing additional problems with the wagon frame. Many of the older wagons we install on have already had plates added to the frame rails or other modifications. We don't believe our clamps are causing any more stress on these older wagons than the small bale loading does. We do also add a booster to the table to help lift the heavier bales up to the stackbed. As of the H9880 and H9870 wagons, our clamps are factory approved by New Holland and installation is plug-and-play. You can check out the official listing on the New Holland site here: http://agriculture1.newholland.com/nar/en-us/equipment/products/haytools-and-spreaders/sp-bale-wagons/features/h9800-series-mil-stak-attachment. The BW and H series wagons have an upgraded frame and front axle and we would recommend these over a 1095 model for heavy use.
> 
> ...


Is the aftermarket valve very hard to install to increase the clamp speed? I would really like more speed. I have to slow down quite often to wait for the clamp to go down. I think you should also let it be known that if you don't modify the over head cross member on the load rack to give a couple of more inches in height or take the side racks off completely (this is what I've done) you won't get 15 on a NH stacker. Just 14. The last bale won't clear. I was a little disappointed to find out that after the fact. Though since my hay is stacked inside it doesn't make much of a difference. However for those stacking outside and tarping that is a much larger issue.


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## haystax (Jul 24, 2010)

Wade-

Thanks for chiming in on here. I'm still on the fence about what to do but the more I'm around the Milstak machines the more I appreciate their value. I was super impressed by your self propelled machine at Tulare. It is a very well put together machine, have heard great things about it through the year as well. we were leaning towards a pair of H series wagons with clamps but I'm gonna look real hard at the self propelled.


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## haystax (Jul 24, 2010)

Also I've never seen any neighbors stack 10 bales at a time. Is this really possible or do you have to fight to hold the last two on the load rack using the second table?


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

haystax said:


> Also I've never seen any neighbors stack 10 bales at a time. Is this really possible or do you have to fight to hold the last two on the load rack using the second table?


What you have to do is put the last tier up and hold the 2nd table up while raising the load rake up until those two bales fall back. Then you can put the 2nd table and load rack back down. The bales will hang over the front of the load rack 3-4 inches. That's what I have to do with my 3x3s. Or just not put the 2nd table up and carry them on the 2nd table until you are ready to dump and put them up at that time and still do the same thing, but not put the load rack down. I recommend it highly Haystax. So fast compared to trailering them off a field.


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## wadek (May 28, 2015)

Thanks Teslan for sharing some real world experience here. Since I work mostly with our SP and PT models, I don't get a lot of experience with the New Holland machines myself.


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## wadek (May 28, 2015)

Teslan said:


> Is the aftermarket valve very hard to install to increase the clamp speed? I would really like more speed. I have to slow down quite often to wait for the clamp to go down. I think you should also let it be known that if you don't modify the over head cross member on the load rack to give a couple of more inches in height or take the side racks off completely (this is what I've done) you won't get 15 on a NH stacker. Just 14. The last bale won't clear. I was a little disappointed to find out that after the fact. Though since my hay is stacked inside it doesn't make much of a difference. However for those stacking outside and tarping that is a much larger issue.


This valve is very easy to install. Just pull the old one out and drop the new one in. The valve we are talking about is the one labeled MFD and is on the small hydraulic valve block on the front right side of the wagon. I will find the part number for the larger, official New Holland valve and post that here in a bit. If you are interested in our aftermarket valve, please call us or talk to your Mil-Stak dealer.

We do have a package we call a side rack lift kit that can help with the issue Teslan mentioned with only being able to get 14 3x3 bales on a load. Talking to some of the guys here at the shop they say certain balers do seem to create tighter bales than others and this can make a difference too.


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## wadek (May 28, 2015)

Original Part#
86556502

Flow Regulator, 6.0 GPM, Main Flow Divider

Production Part

Optional Service Part#

47369926
Flow Regulator, 9.0 GPM, Main Flow Divider

Optional Service Part

This part number is for the BW and H series wagons.


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## wadek (May 28, 2015)

And here is a link to the New Holland parts store page that shows these valves:

http://partstore.agriculture.newholland.com/us/parts-search.html#epc::mr63924ar1241403bi206356-12


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## wadek (May 28, 2015)

Our aftermarket valve should have similar performance to the alternate NH valve just with the advantage of being able to dial it back down for small bales without removing the valve.

I have heard varying reports back on how much this can speed up the cycle time so I don't have any concrete numbers to share here. If anyone gives either of these valves a try please post your results!

We count cycle time from the start of lifting a bale from the ground to when the clamp is back to the ground ready for the next bale. Stock NH wagons seem to cycle in around 20 seconds. Changing the MFD valve should cut 5 seconds off of that time - some claim even more.

For reference:

With the Mil-Stak PT and SP models hydraulic systems being designed for large bales, we have been able to get our cycle time down to about 9 seconds.


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