Built for pull-type haybines | Unplugging a haybine takes time and accidents happen when the tractor is still running
On many farms, typically the job of running the haybine falls to a 70-year-old man or 15-year-old youth.
“And who is most likely to have an accident? It’s the 70-year old man or the 15-year old kid,” says Duane Bartok of Esterhazy, Sask.
“If a guy would shut the tractor off every time he gets down, it wouldn’t be a problem. But you and I know that doesn’t always happen because people are in a hurry.”
Haybines plug. The facts of life are that fields don’t have consistent plant densities, humidity changes throughout the day and topography varies, so machines become overloaded and suddenly stop processing forages.
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Another fact is that someone has to unplug them. And this is when accidents happen.
In an effort to prevent those accidents, Bartok builds and sells a hy-draulic reverser for pull-type haybines. His company, QVB Enterprises, has sold more than 200 of the reversers since he built the first one for himself five years ago.
“I figured that if they can have hydraulic reversers on self-propelled machines, why not put them on pull- types.”
When the haybine plugs, the operator stops the hydraulics, flips the switch to reverse the oil flow to the hydraulic motor and then starts the hydraulics again. Bartok says it cleans out the plug instantly so you get right back to work.
“I built it mainly to save time. The less you have to get down, off the tractor, the more work you get done in a day. But once people saw it, we realized that safety was the biggest factor. It lets you keep your hands and arms safely out of that mess.”
The $1,550 kit includes a switch for the cab, wiring, hydraulic hoses, couplings and the hydraulic valve.
For more information, contact Duane Bartok at 306-745-3901 or visit www.qvbenterprises.com.
