4 replies to this topic

[JD3430]

Sort of seems lik the same thing a rake would do?
1999 NEW HOLLAND 166 Other For Sale At TractorHouse.com

[mlappin]

It's an inverter, when properly ran and set up it will flip the row over exactly 180 degrees.

[JD3430]

So it flips the hay windrow and allows the other side to dry?

[Toyes Hill Angus]

JD3430, that is right. The idea is good in principle, but in practical application it is much worse (in my experience). They us a standard finger pick up like what you would find on a small square baler, and this pick up deposits they hat on a rubber conveyor belt, the belt moves the windrow to the side of the machine where a sheild is mounted that flips the hay over. The problem is that it is very slow when compared to a rake and much more agressive and shakes the h%ll out of everything. If it is a bit on the dry side or it is a heavy crop it tends to plug at the turning sheild. They are everwhere at the dealers here, a friend has one that he wants to trade, but no one will even take it because they have 2 or 3 already. The 166 has an extension on the conveyor allowing it to merge wider cut widths, and hydraulic drive was an option for them. Hydraulic drive is much better than ground drive, because the ground drive models would skid the wheels in heavy crop. I would stay away from them if I were you, although some do use them as mergers for haylage, the green crop doesn't have the same leaf shatter risk and the wet crop tends to grag ahold of the conveyor better and resist plugging. jmo

[stickney farm]

mergers do work best for haylage or baleage but they can be fast. The best thing about them is the ash content will be a lot less in your crop and they wont pick up stones and twine them in your windrow like a wheel rake can. They leave a really fluffy windrow which will help while chopping. They are used a lot on dairy farms around here and other parts because of this.