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Murphy contractors raking it up in Ireland!
Lely Hibiscus 1015 CD Profi offers huge capacity with a simple design
Previous problems with swath rakes being too weak sent Irish brothers Martin and Arthur Murphy looking for a solid, robust, well designed machine that would have minimal down time and maximum productivity. The agricultural contractors found it in the Lely Hibiscus 1015 rake and replaced two rakes with this robust model as it ideally suited their harvester.
They currently rake 1500 acres of silage into 40 ft swaths for a Claas Jaguar 870 as well as rowing up 2000 acres of straw into 50ft swaths after two John Deere combines for two square balers. Martin wanted a rake that could pick up the crop precisely without leaving any clippings behind. "The Hibiscus twin rotor rake is ideal for our contracting business as we can rake up the crop into perfect swaths quickly and it cleans the ground far superior due to ro-tines touching the ground", comments Martin.
The unique wheel assembly ensures excellent ground coverage by the 150 tines due to the ball joint suspension providing ‘three dimensional' ground hugging coverage. ‘'The fabrication of the main head stock is extremely solid, it makes for a solid back bone to the whole machine,'' says Martins son Philip.
A simple but solid ‘T' frame set up provides a well balanced platform for the twin rotors which are fitted with a unique parallelogram pivoting frame connecting into the A frame of the arms. The benefits are greater adjustable working width on the go and the ability to lower and lock the rotor in transport position.
Lely has an innovative design to spread the load, with the two rotors weighing 1.5 tonnes each, the weight is spread between a hydraulic pressure system and an eight wheel assembly, minimising the ground pressure and damage, even in the softest soil conditions. ‘'The machine had already raked over 1500 acres in its first few weeks and it is surprising to see how well it is able to follow the ground contours on challenging fields.'' says Philip
‘'The machine is operator friendly with only a few hydraulic functions and no electronics." Narrow gateways are easily negotiated despite the rake's size, with a forced steering system running via a steering rod from the tractor linkage through to the rear wheels. This system also means the rake can be turned on headlands in one attempt. The machine also folds down easily for road transport and is also able to rake at a higher speed.
The Hibiscus has its own hydraulic brake system and its' large rear tyres offer excellent stability and safety on the open road", says Martin. The detachable tine arms and foldable safety guards keep the Hibiscus less than 4m high in transport position.
‘'We really appreciate having a machine that is this productive, yet is relatively simple and easy to operate; it certainly does a great job for us.'' concludes Philip.