Modified Bale Elevator Makes Unloading Easy

Modified Bale Elevator Makes unloading easy HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Bale Handling (5) 12-5-25 A Canadian farmer made the transfer of square bales from wagon to hay mow easy by joining two bale elevators together with 2 ft. of double chain. Murray Bering, St. Catharines, Ontario, who handles an average of 25,000 bales annually, says the doubled-up elevators let him extend the upper elevator from 8 to 20 ft. into the hay mow and extend the lower, horizontal elevator onto the bed of the hay rack. As the bale wagon is emptied, the operator can slide the lower elevator furthur and furthur into the wagon and simply drop bales onto it. Bering and his late uncle, Peter Bering, experimented with the idea for a long time. The toughest problem was figuring out a way to smoothly transfer bales from the lower elevator to the upper one. They tried using a single chain with an idler under it but the bales slipped sideways. They finally came up with a double-chain design. "It was the only idea that worked without rolling the bales over or getting stuck," says Bering. He also put steel guard plates on either side of the short double chain section to keep bales from rolling over. Bering built a frame to support both elevators, using parts from old elevators and 2 in. sq. steel tubing. The lower elevator slides back and forth on rollers and a sliding door track. Height can be adjusted to the height of the bale wagon. While unloading, the operator pulls the lower, horizontal elevator furthur into the wagon as needed so bales can just be dropped onto it. There's a brake on the lower elevator so that as the chain pushes bales up onto the upper elevator, it doesn't push the lower elevator out-ward. The frame of the double elevator is equipped with 15-in. wheels for over-theroad travel. Two motors -1-hp. and 1/4-hp. - provide the power. Total cost of the project, including the elevators, was approximately $2,000. Bering, who runs a 130-head dairy operation with his father, Gasper, also built his own bale-thrower wagons. They're 20 ft. long, 8 ft. high and 8 ft. wide. They're made of steel with a steel grid floor to prevent slipping and rot. The wagons hold 200 bales each. A full load can be unloaded in about 15 min. using Bering's double elevator. Contact FARM SHOW Followup, Murray Bering, RL 1, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada (ph 416 682-0642). "

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