Sitrex Hay Rakes
Reinventing the Wheel
When Inlon Pty Ltd recently demonstrated the new Sitrex Pro 17 V-wheeled hay rake, the farmers and contractors agreed that someone really had reinvented the wheel.
After watching the Italian-made Pro 17 raking lucerne on a property north of Kyabram, Victoria, Shane Ryan from Inlon said: ‘The larger raking wheels angle back to about 70 degrees and give a better lifting motion compared to the rolling and roping that can sometimes be evident with smaller wheels.
‘The uneven number of wheels on each side is designed specifically to prevent clumping and the need for a centre kicker wheel. The short side pulls the crop into the windrow and then the long side rolls the crop back to mix and complete the windrow. It’s suitable for all types of crop and the Pro 17 leaves a square, uniformed windrow—one baling contractor said it was the best he has seen.’
The Sitrex Pro 17 is a really quiet and clean worker. It delivers a clean pick up, very little dust and with wheel covers protecting the crop from the wind and lowering the crop friction, you’ll get a clean finish too. It’s user friendly, with all adjustments done on the move using the Electro Hydraulic control panel.
It’s also fitted with easily replaceable rubber tines to ensure gentle handling of the crop.
‘As we watched the demo, it was evident that this is a really solid machine. The raking wheels are supported by an overhead frame, rocker axles with large tyres for tight turning areas and smoother raking; that’s a real improvement on V rakes that only have outside support wheels.
‘The Pro 17 is fast and efficient, with the ability to rake around 15 hectares per hour. When compared to a rotary rake, the Pro 17 can be expected to give many more seasons of service because rotary rakes do not perform as well in broadacre paddocks of cereal and lucerne crops. You can also run the Pro 17 behind a utility, which is not possible with a rotary rake. Overall, the farmers and contractors were really impressed with this Sitrex dynamo.’
Inlon introduced Sitrex finger wheel rakes to their farm machinery range in 2014 due to the Italian brand’s reputation, first class engineering and very competitive price-to-specification ratio. Inlon now offers a full range of Sitrex rakes and fertiliser spreaders.
