making hay

motorman

We are thinkin of making some square bales of hay this year.
A neighbour is kindly gona let us use the baler and i have a tractor to work it.
I need to get my hands on a mower and shaker..
Only plan on making 20 acres maybe. Woulld i get away with 1500 for a shaker and mower. what makes are best to go for and what should i look out for when buying??

Box09

You could get a pz haybob or a fransguard hay rake and perhaps a vicon drum mower. I doubt you would get them for €1500 in total second hand. I reckon it would be €2500 to €3000 for both for good machines.

iano93

Ya a pz haybob are the best, have 1 there at home which i use, i gave it a lick of paint and twas like new in perfect working order! I also have a zetor mower which i painted too and it works perfectly! I,m using both of them now as i make all round bales so i cut and rake it myself!I find them both great machines to work! It saves a bomb of money to cut it yourself!:D You also get drier bales if you cut yourself! i wouldn say you would get both for 1500...nearer to 2500 i'd say! IF you do buy a bit of advice wash both machines thoroughly after use and give them a good greasing! Finally get both machines in for the winter if u can!!..All u'l need is the weather den!!;)..Lets hope it comes

motorman

really I thought i would get away with payin less.. im not after perfect machines. As long as it is in good working order that will do.

dasheriff

PZ is definately the best haybob to get but its impossible to get one for less than €950 and a mower in fair condition will cost you around the same anull be lucky at that lad to be honest.

roosterman71

I have to disagree (respectfully of course) on this PZ haybob talk.

We used to have one and found them completely useless at turning hay. They always left it in a swarth and often times contained lumps. So we bought a Lely turner. This is a thousand times better at turning. It flings the grass back 10/12 feet behind it and scatters it across the ground. It does a much better job than the haybob. The down side is that the Lely is not worth a sh!te to row. Where the haybob is brilliant at it!

The Lely is a bigger machine (wider) and the rakes are nearly 5ft wide. When working, the back of the rake is 2 foot off the ground so the hay is thrown up into the air at the back. This gives it the distance and allows it to spread out. It also ensures the majority of lumps are broken up.

Oh, and our mower is a 5'6" Bamford drum mower. We use that for the hay as its easier turn the swarths left with that than with a bigger machine.

Just my 2 cents

Edit: I see some other boardsies agree

Johnnyr

motorman wrote: »

really I thought i would get away with payin less.. im not after perfect machines. As long as it is in good working order that will do.

Very cheap second-hand machinery such as a haybob and mower will only be cheap the day you buy them. When making hay you need to be able to take advantage of the good weather and cannot afford breakdowns. Old haybobs often have problems with bearings, crown wheels, etc.

roosterman71 is right about the turners such as the lely. But at the same time a lot of hay is still made with PZ/Fransguard type turners, albeit somewhat less efficiently.

roosterman71

This is similar to my Lely, although its alot newer

Here's a class picture showing how it throws back the hay

Jack C

"PZ is definately the best haybob "
Have to also diagree. Mechanically very sound but a disaster when it comes to making hay. Will shake it out from the mower ok but after that will only make grasscocks.

massey 133

vicon haybobs are by far the best we use one and they are the best. you are kidding yourself at 1500.

Casinoking

The Vicon and PZ haybobs are the same thing, Vicon bought out PZ years ago. As I said in another thread, the Lely lotus is by far the best machine on the market for turing hay. They're a bit more expensive starting out but will save you a lot of time and hassle in the long run. I'd agree with what most people are saying, a cheap haybob could break your heart during a bad summer as they are notorious for turning wet lumps of grass into haycocks. They also give a lot of crown wheel trouble, we had a couple over the years that didn't even last their first season. They'll row grass cleaner that a Lely alright, but you'd cover a lot of acres before you'd make a bale from what it leaves behind.

DanFindy

Pz haybobs are good if you get a good one and pay the money and awfull hardships if u get a bad one, not great turning heavy hay yes the lely is much much better. The pz however is top dollar for rowing in hay lely a bit trickier.
The vicon is nothing like a pz ours has plastic tines different shape of reel and different system of gates, great shaker but bit trickier to get used to in tight fields
Mowers are hit or miss its all dwn to the way they were maintainein the past, the saucers can be rotten bearings goosed etc etc but if you shop around you could get both for 1500 i know i probably could maybe a small bit more il keep my eyes peeled for u

maidhc

Jack C wrote: »

"PZ is definately the best haybob "
Have to also diagree. Mechanically very sound but a disaster when it comes to making hay. Will shake it out from the mower ok but after that will only make grasscocks.

You are either going too fast or not reving enough. I'm not saying they are the best machine in the world, but are far from a "disaster". They are actually very good at what they are meant to do.

I have two PZs, one the old style and one "300". The older one is better IMO, but about two feet narrower.

One thing to be aware of when buying a PZ is that many have been welded where the chassis is bolted to the tube joining the two rotors. The standard of welding generally is dog rough and the machines are invariably off square.

You should get a decent old PZ haybob for about €700. Now is the time to be looking for them.

As regards a mower, you should pick up some sort of a PZ 5'6 clone for another €700. Again we had a Jones one (made by Bamfords of Uttoxeter, but similar to PZ). It imploded, but it was more the fault of the operator who felt he should try and cut a little too close to a gap full of stones. I can only surmise the two drums got jammed and every gear in it sheared. Again though, they are good for what they are meant for. We now use a Krone 8' MoCo, but I'd stay away from a disc mower unless you know how to look after them.

Khan77

Haybobs appeared 35 years ago plus when a 6 ft mower was the norm and this is what they were built for. They will do the job OK for kicking out and rowing up but like all compromise machines are a jack of all trades master of none. To be honest for 20 acres you'll probably do OK although with 3000 small bales on he ground I'd want a decent sledge as well

maidhc

DanFindy wrote: »

The vicon is nothing like a pz ours has plastic tines different shape of reel and different system of gates, great shaker but bit trickier to get used to in tight fields

The more modern PZs are badged as Vicon (since the Greenland takeover).

vincenzolorenzo

maidhc wrote: »

I'd stay away from a disc mower unless you know how to look after them.

Why do you say that?

maidhc

vincenzolorenzo wrote: »

Why do you say that?

They need a lot more maintenance than a drum mower. You need to be constantly watching the bed for oil leaks and dodgy bearings as they get older. If you are not comfortable with stripping the bed yourself they start to become an expensive prospect.

Rujib1

maidhc wrote: »

You are either going too fast or not reving enough.

That's a key point. Getting the revs up, whilst keeping down ground speed is the absolute key to getting a good job shaking with the PZ.
AND, don't go along like a few people I know, with some tines missing, toplink set too long or too short and the tines set for rowing up as opposed to shaking.
Take the time to do the basics right and you will get a plenty good enough job shaking with PZ.

R1

aristo

roosterman71 wrote: »

I have to disagree (respectfully of course) on this PZ haybob talk.

We used to have one and found them completely useless at turning hay. They always left it in a swarth and often times contained lumps. So we bought a Lely turner. This is a thousand times better at turning. It flings the grass back 10/12 feet behind it and scatters it across the ground. It does a much better job than the haybob. The down side is that the Lely is not worth a sh!te to row. Where the haybob is brilliant at it!

The Lely is a bigger machine (wider) and the rakes are nearly 5ft wide. When working, the back of the rake is 2 foot off the ground so the hay is thrown up into the air at the back. This gives it the distance and allows it to spread out. It also ensures the majority of lumps are broken up.

We have pz and its just taking too long to get through the turning with, i have started keeping an eye out for a 6m lely lotus combi. Just wondering about them is it only the combi's that can swarth it or can swarthing gates be put on the non combi versions? do the tines need repositioning like a pz for swarthing? also are the tines expensive because of the bend on the end of them?
Thanks

dasheriff

aristo wrote: »

We have pz and its just taking too long to get through the turning with, i have started keeping an eye out for a 6m lely lotus combi. Just wondering about them is it only the combi's that can swarth it or can swarthing gates be put on the non combi versions? do the tines need repositioning like a pz for swarthing? also are the tines expensive because of the bend on the end of them?
Thanks

Its only the combi that can swarth, the other ones are only meant for turning, Ya it works the exact same as a haybob mechanically anyway,i dont know about the price though..

jpd500

dasheriff wrote: »

Its only the combi that can swarth, the other ones are only meant for turning, Ya it works the exact same as a haybob mechanically anyway,i dont know about the price though..

is the lely a good machine ie able to do both jobs well

cj plant agri

donedeal.ie will sort out your wants, alot of people selling their drum and disk mowers and rowers, to raise a few pound cash, you could possibly get a decent mower for 700-850 and the shaker/rower for round the same money, they may need some light work doing on them but its to be expected , running repairs and all that. people asking 1200 for a mower are aiming to get between 800-a grand but when the cash is put on the table they normally jump to any decent offer, thats the way the country is gone. you might even buy a baler for 500-1000 if the budget stretches that far, i have seen a few machines of this price range on done deal lately

kincaid

my uncle uses a pottinger haybob( think thats the correct spelling)its much the same as the pz to look at and worked well but due to it being a noisey bugger i wouldnt advise buying one, cost about 200stg 5 years ago and still going well..


i like the pz and purchased a good one about 2 years ago for 350stg up north but are getting harder to find good ones these days..

we also purchased a new holland 4 disc mower which i found to be alot better, better cut than a twin drum mover, this cost us 300stg and is a real tight machine..wouldnt part with it now...

these were cheap items i think and as long as you care for them you could have many many trouble free years

keep looking the free ads papers and the internet as the bargains will eventually come along

cj plant agri

there is a mower and a haybob in offaly this evening on done deal 100 for the haybob and 800 for the 5foot 6 mower, the haybob need a bit of tidying but it looks workable.

tomo75

Rujib1 wrote: »

the tines set for rowing up as opposed to shaking.
.

R1

Which position is which? Forward/back?
Tomo.

limerick farmer

the hole nearest the haybobs wheel is for rowing .The outer hole is for turning or shaking out