492 Vicon H1240 Trapeze V-Rake
517 New Idea 406 & 407 Side Delivery Rakes With 410 Hitch
621 Ford New Holland 144 Swath Inverter
Summary of Vicon H1240 Trapeze V-Rake (Evaluation Report - PDF File - 0.57 MB)
Quality of Work: The Vicon Trapeze V-Rake's performance in most hay crops was very good. The Vicon was effective in bringing two light windrows together to form a larger, heavier windrow. In dry field conditions, losses were slight (less than .01%). However, in damp field conditions losses were slightly greater. Losses were also noticed in rough fields, or fields that had more than the usual amounts of gopher and mole hills.
Rate of Work: The Vicon V-Rake will rake windrows together as fast as the field conditions allow. Speeds of 1 mph (1.6 km/h) or less, were not sufficient to maintain flow of hay from one finger wheel to the other. Speeds of 6 to 8.0 mph (9.7 to 12.9 km/h) seemed to deliver the best results.
Ease of Operation: The Vicon V-Rake was easy to operate. Placing the rake in field position was easily accomplished by one person. On a square or rectangular field, the corners were raked first from the corners to the centre of the field.
This procedure allowed the operator to raise the rake from the ground at the end of the row and make a 90° turn without missing any hay. Placing the rake in transport position was easy and took one person about 5 minutes.
Ease of Adjustment: The Vicon V-Rake requires lubrication at 12 Iocations. All had easy access for either the grease gun or oil can. Initial adjustment consisted of placing the lower link hitch pins at 19 in (482 mm) from the ground and setting tractor position control at this point, and adjusting the top link on the three-point hitch so that the frame of the rake, when viewed from the side, is perpendicular to the ground. The rake frame must also be level when viewed from the rear.
Adjustment for width was quick and simple, while adjustment for finger wheel pressure was a little more time consuming.
Power Requirements: A 40 hp (30 kW) tractor with threepoint hitch should have sufficient power and weight to safely operate the Vicon H1240 V-Rake.
Operator Safety: The Vicon H1240 Trapeze V-Rake was safe to operate if normal safety precautions were followed.
Operator's Manual: The operator's manual was very well written and clearly illustrated. It contained detailed information on assembly, maintenance, operation and adjustment.
Mechanical History: No mechanical problems occurred during the course of the tests.
Summary of New Idea 406 & 407 Side Delivery Rakes with 410 Hitch (Evaluation Report - PDF File - 0.79 MB)
Rate of Work: The New Idea 406 and 407 hay rakes combined windrows effectively at speeds up to 8 mph (12.9 km/h). When using a single rake to roll or move windrows onto dry ground, slightly slower speeds gave the best results.
Quality of Work: The performance of the New Idea 406 and 407 side delivery rakes was excellent in all crops used for the evaluation. The rakes were very effective in bringing two light windrows together to form a larger heavier windrow. In dry field conditions losses were not measurable and in moist or damp conditions the losses were slight.
Ease of Operation: The New Idea 406 and 407 hay rakes were easy to operate. Placing the rakes in field position was easily accomplished by one person and took approximately 10 minutes. The rakes were hydraulically driven, and moving the remote tractor hydraulic lever to the rear, was all that was required to set the rake bars in motion.
Ease of Adjustment: The New Idea 406 and 407 hay rakes were easily adjusted for height, width, level, and condition of resulting windrow. Rake bar rotation was adjusted by a pressure compensated flow control which was mounted on the 406 rake. Width adjustment was made on the 410 three-point-hitch bar.
Power Requirements: A 40 hp (30kW) tractor with a three-point-hitch and one hydraulic circuit capable of 10 gpm (0.6 L/s) at 1500 psi (10.3 mPa) was adequate to safely operate the 406 and 407 hay rakes.
Operator Safety: The New Idea 406 and 407 hay rakes were safe to operate if normal safety precautions were followed.
Operator's Manual: The operator's manual was well written, organized and contained information on assembly, operation, maintenance and safety. It also included a complete parts catalogue.
Mechanical History: Problems with the bearings that support the tooth bars became apparent after about 10 hours of operation.
Bushings that support the optional castor wheels wore out at 40 hours.
A bolt that supports the basket frame fell out and allowed the rake bars to come in contact with a tire on the main frame, destroying the tire and damaging 19 rake teeth.
Summary of Ford New Holland 144 Swath Inverter (Evaluation Report - PDF File - 0.52 MB)
Rate of Work: The average continuous ground speed was 5 mph (8 km/h). Ground speed was limited by swath density, width, and field roughness. Average continuous workrate was governed by the width of swath and the density of windrows.
Quality of Work: The performance of the Ford New Holland 144 was very good. The 144 effectively inverted windrows in all crops tested. Leaf loss was minimal if crop moisture content was above 25%.
Ease of Operation: Ease of hitching, lubricating, and transporting were all very good. Ease of field operation was very good. The Ford New Holland 144 was easy to operate and took little operator practice. Daily service took about 5 minutes.
Ease of Adjustment: Adjustments to the Ford New Holland 144 were easy to carry out. Ease of adjusting the tension on the draper and the position of the discharge chute were very good. Adjusting the height of the pickup gauge wheel was good.
Power Requirements: The Ford New Holland 144 required a towing vehicle that offered sufficient clearance to straddle the windrow. PAMI effectively operated the swath inverter with a 30 hp (22.5 kW) tractor.
Operator Safety: The Ford New Holland 144 swath inverter was safe to operate if normal precautions for safety were followed. The Ford New Holland 144 complied with all applicable ASAE standards for safety.
Operator's Manual: The operator's manual was excellent. It contained useful and accurate information.
Mechanical History: Only one minor mechanical problem occurred during the 122 hours of evaluation. |