Dairy Grant and Fullwood milking machine

cows

I was wondering did anyone apply for the grant or what are the chances of getting it? We have an existing milking parlour and are going to put in a complete new milking parlour and dairy, making it bigger.
The type of milking machine we will be going for is Fullwood we think..Does anyone have this type of machine ??Or what does people think of it ?? does it give much trouble etc??

bbam

cows wrote: »

The type of milking machine we will be going for is Fullwood we think..Does anyone have this type of machine ??Or what does people think of it ?? does it give much trouble etc??

All machines will give trouble from one time to another..
Having worked for Alfa Laval in the past and done maintenance on all the major brands in the market place I'd be ranking Fullwood 3rd.. Alfa Laval would be premium equipment (price too), Dairymaster would be next based on build quality followed by Fullwood..

Probably most important is to go with a good local agent who gives a decent prompt and affordable service, there is no point buying a machine of someone too far away to get to you for a breakdown when the cows are in the parlour..

sh1tstirrer

I was thinking that Dairymaster would be top of the list.

5live

sh1tstirrer wrote: »

I was thinking that Dairymaster would be top of the list.

Dont believe the hype (and teagasc). I have a Delaval in 8 years now and the exact same spec was 3k dearer from Dairymaster then even though they had huge advantages in location and dealers.

Tipp Man

Isn't a dairymaster way faster than a fullwood or a Delavel??

whelan1

our milking machine is a mix of every type of milking machine... but works grand and does what its supposed to do... when i win the lotto , i would love a 20 unit double up- have a 15 unit at the minute

jeff greene

Tipp Man wrote: »

Isn't a dairymaster way faster than a fullwood or a Delavel??

Spec for spec, can't see why. I like DeLavel, its appears to be higher quality, I don't know is there much between any of them, should come down to price and backup

Tipp Man

jeff greene wrote: »

Spec for spec, can't see why. I like DeLavel, its appears to be higher quality, I don't know is there much between any of them, should come down to price and backup

I was under the impression that the vacuum pump in the dairymaster was significantly better - I could be completyly wrong though

Just on Whelan's point above about increasing the parlour - what do people think is the optimum number of units to have for 1 man (or woman;)) operating alone in the parlour?

whelan1

Tipp Man wrote: »

I was under the impression that the vacuum pump in the dairymaster was significantly better - I could be completyly wrong though

Just on Whelan's point above about increasing the parlour - what do people think is the optimum number of units to have for 1 man (or woman;)) operating alone in the parlour?

was thinking after i wrote that 1 person can work our 15 unit easily - with acrs- if i increased to 20 units i am not sure if i could cope:)

bbam

Tipp Man wrote: »

Just on Whelan's point above about increasing the parlour - what do people think is the optimum number of units to have for 1 man (or woman;)) operating alone in the parlour?

I worked in the install of a 12*12 parallel parlour, midline with electronic meters and acr's, no feeders and pneumatic gates. One man was working this on his own.
He was happy he was managing without any dead time but it's something I wouldn't be sure about...

I know of another farm which had 10 and 12 unit parlours, no automation whatsoever and they too were operated by one man at a time..

Extending older parlours to say 14 units can be hard as they were designed round 3'6 centers where ideally at that many units bringing the stall spacing down to less than 3' would be recommended.. 10 or 12 feet less to travel each time adds up quickly.. problem is the stall needs to be wider to accommodate the cow being turned round more..

irishh_bob

bbam wrote: »

All machines will give trouble from one time to another..
Having worked for Alfa Laval in the past and done maintenance on all the major brands in the market place I'd be ranking Fullwood 3rd.. Alfa Laval would be premium equipment (price too), Dairymaster would be next based on build quality followed by Fullwood..

Probably most important is to go with a good local agent who gives a decent prompt and affordable service, there is no point buying a machine of someone too far away to get to you for a breakdown when the cows are in the parlour..

id place de leval ( alfa laval ) at the top aswell but dairymaster tend to have an excellent customer service , perfer the de leval cluster to the dairymaster , id place fullwood a distant third behind either

sh1tstirrer

whelan1 wrote: »

our milking machine is a mix of every type of milking machine... but works grand and does what its supposed to do... when i win the lotto , i would love a 20 unit double up- have a 15 unit at the minute

I have one of those hybrids it's out of action a few years now but did the job well.

5live

whelan1 wrote: »

was thinking after i wrote that 1 person can work our 15 unit easily - with acrs- if i increased to 20 units i am not sure if i could cope:)

I work 14 units no acr's or feeders. All FRS guys like coming here because its simple in and out. Minimal preperation and clean yards and roads is a big help. There is little sign of overmilking until november but i would consider undermilking a bigger problem. Feeders would be the next investment and then acr's and 3 more units is well within capabilities.
One of the relief milkers is brilliant and he reckons 20 units, feeders, acr's and a backing gate would be comfortable, especially with yields of 1200 gals and up

cows

The reason why I was thinking Fullwood is that would be our nearest agent if anything goes wrong. Sure with cluster removers u could milk easy in a 20 unit parlour on your own.
Back to the Dairy Grant anyone know anything about it??

stanflt

dairymaster any day. really impressed as i used to have a alpa laval parlour. find the dairymaster so user friendly

whelan1

stanflt wrote: »

dairymaster any day. really impressed as i used to have a alpa laval parlour. find the dairymaster so user friendly

is it cookstown dairy services you use ?

stanflt

whelan1 wrote: »

is it cookstown dairy services you use ?

yeah there service is fantastic and great value compared to our old supplier

John_F

not much of a difference in actual machines in my opinion, you are buying service and back up, but if i was to pick only on machine it would be delaval, gea / westfalia, gascoigne / boumatic, fullwood, dairymaster, milfos.

heard alot of stories re dairymaster that they will beat any machine on price 1st day and installation but will rape ya for service and parts are softer apparently so need more replacing, also they have 4.0 pulsation milking into a very small claw piece, ok the movement of milk out of the claw is determined by the air hole but still, if it was 2x2 you wouldnt mind so much but 4.0 and a fast milker into that claw could lead to problems. dairymaster have to be 1st for their marketing and speed of installation though

they are mad about fullwood in the uk! but really you are buying service like, theyl all milk cows but if you are looking at fellas putting it in for 18 months and having breakdowns its not worth being picky.

on last weeks examiner farming supplement i read that 200 applied for the grant, theres €7m available for the 1st tranche which if everyone applied for full grant of 25k it would be 280 farmers would max it out, its hard to believe that it would be 200 applicants though and i didnt read it anywhere else

bbam

stanflt wrote: »

dairymaster any day. really impressed as i used to have a alpa laval parlour. find the dairymaster so user friendly

So userfriendly the control panel needed sticky notes added :P

The life is in the servicing.. keep it done and all the small things will be taken care off... machines that are let go can cost a fortune to put right never mind the damage done to cows..

4*0 pulsation is fine but 2*2 pulsation is definitely a superior product.

irishh_bob

bbam wrote: »

So userfriendly the control panel needed sticky notes added :P

The life is in the servicing.. keep it done and all the small things will be taken care off... machines that are let go can cost a fortune to put right never mind the damage done to cows..

4*0 pulsation is fine but 2*2 pulsation is definitely a superior product.

im not a cheerleader for dairymaster but if your going to pick on the obvious faults of one brand , its only fair you do the same with others

the fullwood cluster is like something from 50 years ago , at least half a dozen parts and unlike most clawpieces where opening is no different to unscrewing the top of a jar of mustard , you litterally have to get out the toolbox to open the bolt and nut which keeps the thing together , reminds me of a zetor tractor we once had , you had to unbolt the ladder - step into the cab in order to top up the back end with oil , not exactly easy access or user friendly , i dont like the dairymaster cluster either btw with the button on the side rather than on the top but at least it doesnt take ten mins to open the thing up , repair whats wrong and put it back together

bt12

have worked on most machine brands and would rate dairymaster and delaval the best. moorepark have done tests on claw sizes of different manufactures and their results were the was no advantages in increasing the claw bowl size for 4x0 pulsation but there was for 2x2. As for the debate of which pulsation is best i would rate 4x0 better (better pulsation phases and vacuum at cluster ) but both system are good and people will always have the preferences

bbam

bt12 wrote: »

have worked on most machine brands and would rate dairymaster and delaval the best. moorepark have done tests on claw sizes of different manufactures and their results were the was no advantages in increasing the claw bowl size for 4x0 pulsation but there was for 2x2. As for the debate of which pulsation is best i would rate 4x0 better (better pulsation phases and vacuum at cluster ) but both system are good and people will always have the preferences

doctors differ and patients die..
I found that pulsation phases in good quality electronic 2*2 systems to be excellent (cheaper relay systems were a bit iffy by times). Vacuum stability in claw pieces were always superior in 2*2 systems due to the more even flow of milk..
I must admit I've been away from the business for quite some time..

stanflt

i used to have 2*2 with an alpha laval and scc avg was always 300
i now have 4*0 dairymaster scc avg 150- but i also have cluster cleanse

case885

cows wrote: »

The reason why I was thinking Fullwood is that would be our nearest agent if anything goes wrong. Sure with cluster removers u could milk easy in a 20 unit parlour on your own.
Back to the Dairy Grant anyone know anything about it??

did you end up applying for the grant? if so what kind of machine did you put in?