Buncher "Racks Up" Big Round Bales

Buncher "Racks Up" Big Round Bales BALE HANDLING Bale Handling (31B) 27-5-34 Hay fields with big round bales look like a pool table after a good break. David Quick of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan found a way to save both time and labor by building a Bale Buncher that lets him "rack them up" as he bales. "Our fields are rough out here so we don't want to drive over them any more than we have to," explains Quick. "With the Bale Buncher trailer, we can dump the bales at the side of the field or establish a trail through the field and dump them alongside it." The Bale Buncher works on any hard core baler. It consists of a two-wheel trailer and a push plate hitch that bolts to the baler axle. The trailer hooks to a ball joint beneath the push plate. One end of the push plate is hinged to the hitch extension while the other rests on the frame. A second plate that Quick refers to as a skid plate is hinged to the trailer with the front lip resting on the push plate. Quick rigged a sequence valve in the hydraulic line to the bale gate of the baler. When a bale is ejected, it rolls over the push plate, onto the skid plate. When the gate reaches full height, the valve activates a hydraulic cylinder beneath the push plate and the bale is "pushed" onto the Buncher trailer. Once the push plate falls back out of the way to rest on the baler frame again, the gate is released and closes. The 3-bale trailer is made from 3 by 5-in. box tubing with the axle mounted between the space for the second and third bales. A motor driven chain fitted with crossbars pulls bales to the back. As a bale is pushed onto the trailer, it falls between two cross bars and onto two 4-in. wide straps that cradle the bale. While set for full size bales, shortening the chain intervals between bars allows smaller bales to be handled equally well. A system of three electric sensors mounted at one-bale intervals connects to a panel in the cab. When the first bale trips the first sensor, the first indicator on the panel lights up. Quick activates the hydraulic motor and moves the bale back into the second space on the three-bale trailer. This trips the second eye and panel light, letting him know it is now in place just ahead of the trailer axle. Once the second bale is made, the process is repeated. This moves the first bale past the axle to the third spot, balancing the load. Bales can be dumped at any time while the third bale is being made. Bales fall 12 to 14 in. to the ground. Quick is selling the Bale Buncher for $9,500 (Canadian), including wiring and hydraulics. He has used it on IH, New Holland and Deere balers. Contact FARM SHOW Followup, David Quick, DQ Holdings Inc., 130 Girgulis Cres, Saskatoon, Sask. Canada S7K 6W9 (ph 306 242-7365; website: www.balebuncher.com)

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