McHale 10-rotor tedder working well for midland’s farmer

The National Ploughing Championships in 2023 played host to the launch of McHale’s ProPel tedder range, with two models initially brought to market.

This included the ProPel M6-770, which is a six-rotor mounted machine with a working width of 7.7m (25’3”) and the ProPel T8-1020, which is an eight-rotor trailed unit with a working width of 10.2m (33’ 6”).

At the 2024 installment of the annual event, McHale took the wraps off its new flagship model, the ProPel T10-1260 which is a 10-rotor trailed unit with a working width of 12.6m (41’ 3”).

Pre-production machines are no secret, and the Murphy family who are based near Moate in Co Westmeath purchased one of these units.

We caught up with Padraic Murphy, who milks 450 British Friesian and Holstein cross cows on two farms six miles apart alongside his father Stephen, uncle Pat, mother Jean and two sisters, Amy and Lucy.

The Murphys purchased a new T10-1260 10-rotor trailed tedder ahead of the 2023 silage season, which was just one of a handful sold in the country that year.

This completed the Murphy’s line-up of their own silage fleet, having purchased a Krone Big M II, two Krone forage wagons and a Krone rake in recent years to make their own silage, as they progressed to a multi cut system on the farm.

“We try and buy Irish built machines when possible, and we have always been a fan of the McHale equipment, it’s well-built and it’s tried and tested.

“We have a very good relationship with JH Fitzpatrick, and after seeing a McHale tedder in action, we decided to buy the tedder off them.

“The hook tine was also a minor deciding factor in the decision. We came from an eight-rotor mounted Krone tedder to the McHale 10 rotor trailed machine.

“We like to shake out all the grass when possible.

“We are cutting in the region of 1,000 acres each year, and the tedder is a very important part of the fleet”.

Chassis and driveline

The ProPel T8 and T10 trailed machines are equipped with a trailed chassis which acts as a carrier frame when in transport.

Power is transferred to the rotors using a heavy-duty driveline with greaseable universal joints which McHale says ensure direct and even power transfer in all operating conditions.

An overload clutch protects the driveline while all pivoting points are incorporated in the cast housing for long-lasting operation.

The driveline is equipped with flexible joints which can be easily accessed for greasing and maintenance.

Rotors

All McHale tedders are fitted with 1.54m (61”) diameter rotors that are equipped with seven tine arms that all support a double hooked tine.

The company says these large circumference rotors operate at relatively low revolutions which allows more time for the crop to be lifted and released by the hook tines.

McHale says that it opted for the heavy-duty hook tine which it claims the crop distributes high, evenly and far behind the machine to leave the ground clean and provide a consistent spread of crop.

Operators have the ability to adjust the angle and height of the rotors if required.

Rotor angle adjustment is made by altering the position of the rotor ground wheels into one of five positions to set the angle from 10° to 17°.

The height at which the rotors operate is adjusted by turning the simple wind handle.

To stop any of the crop from becoming entangled in the rotor wheels, crop deflection plates divert the crop to the rear of the machine.

“We like the hook tine; we find that it does put a bit more of a throw on the grass in comparison to the standard tine. It tends to run just on the ground, and we find it disturbs very little clay which is very important.

“The central depth adjustment on the jockey wheel type set-up is very easy to alter. You would change the working depth in about 30 seconds”, said Padraic.

Headland management system

When tedding the headlands or around obstacles, the optional headland management system can be hydraulically folded into position by the operator in the cab.

This allows the tedder to operate at full working width at all times as the crop is deflected from the edge of the field to allow for easy raking.

This feature is on Padraic’s machine, and he noted that it’s a super job.

Transport and steering

The ProPel T10-1260 can be folded onto the chassis at a transport width of 2.9m. The low centre of gravity and six stud axles, offer a transportation speed of up to 40km/h.

The 10-1260 is connected to the tractor via a two-point linkage pivoting headstock, while all unfolding, lifting and lowering actions can be carried out using two double acting spools.

The headstock performs a similar function during road transport and field operation with the tedder behind following the tractor smoothly around tight turns.

The machine runs on wide transport tyres which are positioned in front of the rotors and enable them to float along the ground for clean tedding of the crop.

The tedder requires three spools in all - one for the headland management flap, one for the initial folding out of transport position and to let down the safety rails and the third to fold the machine into the working position.

Verdict

“We like the McHale tedder. The build quality is good and we couldn’t fault it. We have about 2,000 acres put through the machine over the past two seasons, and we have only had to replace a few tines, which has solely been down to operator error. In its first year it gave a few very minor niggly issues, but McHale made some modifications and stood over the machine.

“The 10-rotor tedder is fit to keep up with the Krone Big M mowing, so in decent size fields that’s in the region of 20 acres an hour of throughput. Overall, the machine has been trouble free, it’s doing good work and we’re very happy with it”, said Padraic.

Top likes

Machine spec