Hydraulic-Powered Bale Unroller Fits Any Tractor

Hydraulic-Powered Bale Unroller Fits Any Tractor BALE HANDLING Bale Handling (31B) 22-2-2 For years, we've seen farmers mount wheels on front of tractors to roll round bales out on the ground. Now, a pair of Florida farmers have taken the idea one step further by powering the up-front wheel with a hydraulic motor. Carlton Oswald and his neighbor Bill Conrad say their new unroller is much more aggressive than a free-wheeling wheel. "It rolls out hay like a red carpet," says Oswald. "About 40 or 50 cows will consume 1 roll in a day and leave the area as clean as a whistle. I figure I save 1/3 more hay by feeding this way, compared with bale feeders." The men used a 15-in. implement wheel but say almost any size wheel will work so long as it runs 12 to 18 in. off the ground. A frame built out of 6 in. channel iron bolts to the weight bracket on front of the tractor and the unit can be easily removed when not needed. The wheel is chain-driven counterclockwise by a 353 rpm 15 gpm hydraulic motor. "We use #50 roller chain with a 15-tooth sprocket on the motor and a 30-tooth sprocket on the wheel hub," Oswald says. "The wheel mounts with two flange-type bearings, one on either side of the wheel. The hub for the wheel welds on the axle and the axle mounts on two 6-in. pieces of channel iron that ex-tend 22 in. in front of the tractor." The men have built two units, one for a Case-IH 5130 and the other for a Deere 5400. They use them to unroll 300 to 400 5 by 5-ft. round bales weighing 1,000 to 1,200 lbs. a year. Out-of-pocket expense was about $200 apiece, including a new hydraulic motor. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Carlton Oswald, 5720 Grove Rd., Bascom, Fla. 32423 (ph 850 569-2887).

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