Hydraulic Bale Handler

CloughCasey1

Afternoon all. Just wondering what the best option would be for a hydraulic bale handler.
What is the lightest but strongest available at reasonable money?
Got a second hand loader for the 4255 and with it being only 2 wheel drive need to keep weight to the minimum. What weight counter weight would i need to offset the bale on the front or would a bale at the back do the job?
Also, for loading a trailer and not having any bale at the back what would be the best set up for a counter weight be and still be able to hitch on the trailer.

49801

You can get folding rear bale carriers now that you can have on as well as pull a trailer at same time.

Bail on the back is ideal counter weight

https://youtu.be/EEwFkVrTqT8

orchard farm

Mchale for the front

CloughCasey1

Thanks for replies. Will price up those and see what the damage might be. Like the idea of the folding rear handler. Would ye stay clear of second hand handlers?

visatorro

Bought one a couple of years ago off a local dealer. Think it's Austrian or something. 1150 all in. Its the soft hands type. I wonder if I'm better off with the roller type one. If you're careful you won't do harm. If the plastic is wet the bale can slip out. Also if the bale is anyway soft the hands will squeeze the bale and the plastic will pop iykwim. Anyone else find this?

I'd just use a double bale handler on the back linkage as a weight. You can follow trailer home with a couple of extra bales. Or just trip in a couple somewhere if it suited you.

Reggie.

visatorro wrote: »

Bought one a couple of years ago off a local dealer. Think it's Austrian or something. 1150 all in. Its the soft hands type. I wonder if I'm better off with the roller type one. If you're careful you won't do harm. If the plastic is wet the bale can slip out. Also if the bale is anyway soft the hands will squeeze the bale and the plastic will pop iykwim. Anyone else find this?

I'd just use a double bale handler on the back linkage as a weight. You can follow trailer home with a couple of extra bales. Or just trip in a couple somewhere if it suited you.

Yeah I do. I'm getting the roller one shortly. I'll use the rollers for when stacking in the field and soft hands for the trailer work

Panch18

Apparently the trunk type handler from JM design in Kerry are the bees knees. Have never used myself but its on the wish list

http://jmagridesign.com/

Have a McHale 2 roller type myself, it's ok - I'm not sure it is the best designed product I have ever seen as the nut holding on the roller can catch bales, especially the second row on a trailer

Had a fella in with soft hands last year and thought it was poor - plenty of bales holed. now bales were wet so a bit soft but for me it did too much damage and seemed a pain in the ass

visatorro

Reggie. wrote: »

Yeah I do. I'm getting the roller one shortly. I'll use the rollers for when stacking in the field and soft hands for the trailer work

You'll have the baler next

Reggie.

visatorro wrote: »

You'll have the baler next

Been there and didnt work out

johndeere3350

Quickie roller type hands down.
Better view closes in tighter than anything else opens wider than anything else.
Serious job bursting open bales in the winter.
Rollers ste bigger thsn anything else so harder to damage the plastic.

Bass Reeves

Lightest and strongest are not really comparable. With a 2wd you will not be contracting and I expect you will be only doing minimum amount with this set up. Fleming are about the lightest on the market in the li e of a bale handler. If you are using the tractor for feeding during winter or for hay and straw bales I get a light fro t bale spike.

What type of loader did you get, did it cost much I am looking for one at the moment for a 2wd Cx80.

White Clover

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Lightest and strongest are not really comparable. With a 2wd you will not be contracting and I expect you will be only doing minimum amount with this set up. Fleming are about the lightest on the market in the li e of a bale handler. If you are using the tractor for feeding during winter or for hay and straw bales I get a light fro t bale spike.

What type of loader did you get, did it cost much I am looking for one at the moment for a 2wd Cx80.

Would agree with you bass in saying Fleming would be the lightest around. Have you a loader on the 6610 or am I dreaming it?

Limestone Cowboy

Prodig would be my choice.

Bass Reeves

White Clover wrote: »

Would agree with you bass in saying Fleming would be the lightest around. Have you a loader on the 6610 or am I dreaming it?

6610 is gone too much problems and easier and cheaper to pay a lad to do the 4Wd and heavier work I have. Had a Fleming handler I was using in to stack the bales I had, I was doing about 350 bales it managed away fine. If you are doing limited bales it will be grand.

twin_beacon

CloughCasey1 wrote: »

Would ye stay clear of second hand handlers?

buying somebody else's problems!

Limestone Cowboy

twin_beacon wrote: »

buying somebody else's problems!

Sure what's to go wrong with them. If the 2 pins and bushings are tight and it's not cracked or welded I can't see what would be wrong with a second hand one.

lab man

Panch18 wrote:

Apparently the trunk type handler from JM design in Kerry are the bees knees. Have never used myself but its on the wish list

What type of money is that type handler seems a nice tool

CloughCasey1

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Lightest and strongest are not really comparable. With a 2wd you will not be contracting and I expect you will be only doing minimum amount with this set up. Fleming are about the lightest on the market in the li e of a bale handler. If you are using the tractor for feeding during winter or for hay and straw bales I get a light fro t bale spike.

What type of loader did you get, did it cost much I am looking for one at the moment for a 2wd Cx80.

Got a mailleux 40/85 loader for 2k all in with a 5foot bucket that I had to put euro brackets on. Had to get a euro head for the loader. Need to make a rear counter weight for winter feeding and around yard. I doubt ill ever take it off and only road work is to the bog twice per year.

CloughCasey1

Limestone Cowboy wrote: »

Prodig would be my choice.

What sort of money are they LC and have ya one?

leg wax

lab man wrote: »

What type of money is that type handler seems a nice tool

just got 1 the other day 1700 into the yard

visatorro

CloughCasey1 wrote: »

What sort of money are they LC and have ya one?

Remember pricing the soft hand version was around 1450

jimmy G M

CloughCasey1 wrote: »

Afternoon all. Just wondering what the best option would be for a hydraulic bale handler.
What is the lightest but strongest available at reasonable money?
Got a second hand loader for the 4255 and with it being only 2 wheel drive need to keep weight to the minimum. What weight counter weight would i need to offset the bale on the front or would a bale at the back do the job?
Also, for loading a trailer and not having any bale at the back what would be the best set up for a counter weight be and still be able to hitch on the trailer.

On a 2wd tractor you will def need a back weight either a bale on a handler or a concrete block type. I'd say €500kg - €800kg. Even with that if you go into soft ground in the winter you will struggle for traction. Fine on solid ground / concrete. Had a loader on a 2wd MF390t here for 2 years.

If you buy a concrete block for the rear it's much neater around the yard than a bale handler.

Regarding the front handler we use the pipe version, find it fine for moving bales in the summer. Take the pipes off in the winter, pick up the bale and widen the spikes out to break up the bale.

Have a handler made by PJ Coen, Kilmaine, cost about €1,250 8 or 9 years ago. Handles around 1000 bales pa no bother.
https://www.donedeal.ie/tractors-for-sale/hydraulic-bale-handler/12482992

croot

CloughCasey1 wrote: »

What sort of money are they LC and have ya one?

I priced a good few last year and the prodig is probably the strongest of them but was 1300 incl vat iirc. I bought a cashel one for 1000 incl vat in the end. It got well used since and happy enough with it. Hoping to get a double handler this year so I can draw in 3 each time.

CloughCasey1

jimmy G M wrote: »

On a 2wd tractor you will def need a back weight either a bale on a handler or a concrete block type. I'd say €500kg - €800kg. Even with that if you go into soft ground in the winter you will struggle for traction. Fine on solid ground / concrete. Had a loader on a 2wd MF390t here for 2 years.

If you buy a concrete block for the rear it's much neater around the yard than a bale handler.

Regarding the front handler we use the pipe version, find it fine for moving bales in the summer. Take the pipes off in the winter, pick up the bale and widen the spikes out to break up the bale.

Have a handler made by PJ Coen, Kilmaine, cost about €1,250 8 or 9 years ago. Handles around 1000 bales pa no bother.
https://www.donedeal.ie/tractors-for-sale/hydraulic-bale-handler/12482992

Thanks Jimmy. I was looking at them on Dung Deal alright. They are only down the road from me so will price him for sure. Is that including VAT? Might look at making a weight out of a blue barrell and concrete.

CloughCasey1

croot wrote: »

I priced a good few last year and the prodig is probably the strongest of them but was 1300 incl vat iirc. I bought a cashel one for 1000 incl vat in the end. It got well used since and happy enough with it. Hoping to get a double handler this year so I can draw in 3 each time.

Seeing id only handle 220 silage and 60 hay bales a year that sort of money would be around the justification mark. Looks like i will go new as there isn't much on offer on DD im afraid.

twin_beacon

Limestone Cowboy wrote: »

Sure what's to go wrong with them. If the 2 pins and bushings are tight and it's not cracked or welded I can't see what would be wrong with a second hand one.

what I meant was you wouldn't see one for sale unless there was something wrong with it.

jimmy G M

CloughCasey1 wrote: »

Thanks Jimmy. I was looking at them on Dung Deal alright. They are only down the road from me so will price him for sure. Is that including VAT? Might look at making a weight out of a blue barrell and concrete.

Price including VAT. I might be wrong on the exact figure, it was around that, a bit more expensive now I'm be sure.

Limestone Cowboy

CloughCasey1 wrote: »

What sort of money are they LC and have ya one?

No. Don't have a hydraulic handler yet. Was pricing them last year though and think they were around 1300 from some crowd up your side that were advertising them on done deal. For all the bales I make it's as easy get the contractor to stack them. Have a normal spike for feeding out bales for loader already. Neighbour has a prodig one though and it's very well made I thought, bigger rollers than most and strong.

Bass Reeves

CloughCasey1 wrote: »

Seeing id only handle 220 silage and 60 hay bales a year that sort of money would be around the justification mark. Looks like i will go new as there isn't much on offer on DD im afraid.

I think the Flemming will be grand for that. Not sure if you will need a counter weigh on the back of the MF4255 unless bales are very wet. You also have the option of using a rear spike to feed for the winter and have a small handy grab on the front for breaking bales or placing them inside a shed. I would be wary of getting a heavy bale handler as this will add weight to front of tractor as well some of the sturdier ones are 3-6'' further from the bales at the front. If the bales are extra heavy any year get a lad with a stronger tractor and loder to handle once off.

tractorporn

Limestone Cowboy wrote:

Sure what's to go wrong with them. If the 2 pins and bushings are tight and it's not cracked or welded I can't see what would be wrong with a second hand one.

Have been keeping an eye on dung deal all winter for a decent roller type bale handler and from what I can see is the decent ones aren't that far off the price of a new one. Any second hand one I looked at they wanted 1000 for and I've priced a new one in Shaws for 1200! Anything cheap is banjaxed.

CloughCasey1

Lads/lassies thanks for all the advice on the subject above. When going to look at a new Fleming roller handler i spotted a second hand one, 1 season old which cost me €750 incl vat. After a bit of a false start today got it working (there was a fuse missing). All in now and stacked and only one mishap with an off shaped bale. Great comfort in it. The bale at the rear was plenty of a counter weight. ☺

Say my name

CloughCasey1 wrote: »

Lads/lassies thanks for all the advice on the subject above. When going to look at a new Fleming roller handler i spotted a second hand one, 1 season old which cost me €750 incl vat. After a bit of a false start today got it working (there was a fuse missing). All in now and stacked and only one mishap with an off shaped bale. Great comfort in it. The bale at the rear was plenty of a counter weight. ☺

Well wear.
No stopping you now.

josephsoap

CloughCasey1 wrote: »

Lads/lassies thanks for all the advice on the subject above. When going to look at a new Fleming roller handler i spotted a second hand one, 1 season old which cost me €750 incl vat. After a bit of a false start today got it working (there was a fuse missing). All in now and stacked and only one mishap with an off shaped bale. Great comfort in it. The bale at the rear was plenty of a counter weight. ☺

Great value.

How do you find the mx loader ?

whelan2

Anyone have one of these

CloughCasey1

josephsoap wrote: »

Great value.

How do you find the mx loader ?

Sound out. Strong but a bit heavy.

jimmy G M

whelan2 wrote: »

Anyone have one of these

Reggie has one, and visatorro... see their posts earlier on this thread

Reggie.

jimmy G M wrote: »

Reggie has one, and visatorro... see their posts earlier on this thread

Not talking to Whelan today. She was teasing me with ice cream earlier

kowtow

whelan2 wrote: »

Anyone have one of these

I have the mchale one.

Was a bit of a handful on the 50b but seems great on the new tractor.

Great for stacking vertically, unloading & loading trailers etc. - brilliant for carrying 2 or 3 round straw in a stack. Despite the soft hands tag you do have to be careful with the wrap, I think it can weaken and stretch it if you aren't careful and you would have tiny holes opening up.

I traded in an old half banjaxed double roller one for it and in a way I wish I had kept both.

Am hoping the soft hands & double rear handler will make light work of drawing from the field for stacking this year.

yellow50HX

Looking at how wet the fields still are thinks it's utter madness drawing in the bales 2 at a time on the handlers espically if crossing fields. Occasionally do it from paddock next to the yard but hard to beat the keltec/Wilson handlers, guys round here have 10 bale ones over last few years, that said don't know anyone who uses fusion type baler round here so not an issue damaging plastic