Buford T. Justice V wrote: » Have acrs with jars with 3 years now. Get the auto activated ones so they switch on as soon as you lift the cluster. Neighbour retro fitted them after milking here one evening for €100 a unit iirc. A bit cheaper if going in first day I'd say.
farisfat wrote: You might be able to pm the cost of fitting thanks far
farisfat wrote: » You might be able to pm the cost of fitting thanks far
Keepgrowing wrote: » They are an utter waste of time and money both the jars and acrs. You'd need to be passing 20 units to consider Acrs I'd personally go for auto drafting
Coolfresian wrote: » How do people find working in a narrow pit?Putting in a new unit too but restricted by space. It l prob be 4 ft 8. Anyone using feed to yield or is it worth the extra outlay?
mahoney_j wrote: » Ideally you'd want put 6 foot wide at least ,feed tonyield yes ,def worthbinvestement ,very quick pay back allows targeted feeding of better producing cows ,better cow condition etc
Coolfresian wrote: » Thanks, yea il have to see what i can do with pit width and get it to 5 feet if possible. Will prob go with field to yield as anyone that has it and makes use if it seems very happy and can see results. Does it take much maintenance or can much go wrong with it? Are swingover arms worth the investment?
mahoney_j wrote: » No mantinance with the fty ,computer controls feeding ,swingover arms again idcsay yes even more so in narrower pit .if your stuck with narrow pit u don't need obstacles .are u building on existing site or from scratch ,I could of built on old parlour site but glad I didn't ,narrow pit low roof poor cow flow ,if I did build there it would never of been right nor allowed for further expansion
Coolfresian wrote: » Building on the same site as it suits the farmyard layout and near existing sheds. The pit dept and cow flow is good, its just the width of the pit that has me snookered a bit. Looking a 20 units and leaving room for 4 more in future. FTy should be a big help mgt wise as calving all year round
johnny122 wrote: » Its workable but borderline at just less than 5'. Biggest issue is your own wear n tear. Hard on knees n hips as your turning in tight circle all the time. The parlour to be fair can be fitted in around it. Don't see acrs as a luxury item more an essential item for over 10 units. Less mastitis easier work with no overmilking. Anyone saying you don't need them until 20units is living in denial. And just don't want to spend the money.
GrasstoMilk wrote: » Milked in 2 16 unit parlours when I did relief milking. Preferred to milk in the parlour with no removers and more cows tbh. Cow flow was better, parlour was brighter and much more enjoyable to work in. For me it would be get everything else right before putting them in but if you're going over 16 units I think they're needed The parlour with removers had all the bells and whistles but you had to leave the pit every time to push in cows and had to push the last cows out of the parlour
The part time boy wrote: » Lot of advanages to arc . Your cows will always be milked the same way no matter who doing the milking . U could have a farmer who likes to keep clusters on till there not a drop left and a relief Miller who likes to pull it off once milk slows down . Also as all ready stated you could feed calves during rows . Also know a another fella that some morning he put clusters on last row and run up and bring kids to school 15 min job . I never came across anyone who put in arc and regretted it
kevthegaff wrote: » Getting prices on 20 unit parlour, going with removers , low line wash line, ( dumpline more than likely) mats maybe as bad knee from hurling, 😠.. any suggestions on extras and makes?
Buford T. Justice V wrote: » If you get a chance, go and see a lad in Laois with a narrow pit, about 4 foot wide. You just swing the units across from one side to the other and not walk down the pit. His kids used milk for him when they were young, it was that simple. Looking at his setup really changed my mind about widths of parlour. I can PM you his name if you're interested, top operator and very open guy.
Keepgrowing wrote: » I took a few snaps for you this am. Feel free to call for a look. The pit is 4' 10" but not too narrow. If the jars were gone and with low line wash there'd be loads of room. I also have a 5' pit with no acr or jars and loads of room
Coolfresian wrote: » Thanks, that looks a great job. Very similar to the space id have. im switching from jars to meters and a low wash line so that l free more space in my pit. Do u find it easy enough to work in? Would u think acrs and swingover arms are needed for a 20 unit in a narrow pit. Would u put them in if doing it again?
the_blue_oval wrote: » Would definitely put mats in the pit, they're a great job. Dumpline is very handy. but we run a second herd here for any cows out of the tank or any lame cows, less risk of letting an inhibitor cow into the tank, or forgetting to change back from the dumpline to the main milk line and makes milking more relaxed for the main herd.. On acrs, I've milked in a couple of parlours with them, and at work weve a 20 unit with no acrs, and can't say I've missed the acrs at all. They slow down milking a fair bit, and find the swing over arms a right pain when milk recording.. no issues with scc or mastitis with out the acrs and there does be a few different people milking throughout the year.. Would find it very hard to justify landing out 20 grand for acrs, would put the money into good drafting, auto washer and either a flush wash system or backing gate for the collecting yard, would reducing milking time by 30mins a day for the whole year. Would be no need to leave the pit at all during milking and the auto washer would eliminate the risk of someone letting the wash into the bulk tank if you're going to have other people milking for you aswell.
stretch film wrote: » how do cluster removers slow down milking . It's a line that's often put out there and I've yet tho see it backed up . Serious question .
awaywithyou wrote: » Since we moved to rotary parlour.... Don't think I'd last too long in a herringbone esp one like in those pics.... Don't think I could handle the confinement......
