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It is difficult for owners of their own household to do without the help of small-scale mechanization. One of these assistants is a hay and straw chopper for private homesteads. You can buy a ready-made unit, but such models are expensive. Those who are well versed in technology, it will be more profitable to make it yourself.
Read also about: electric chopper branches.
What is a chopper needed for?
Hay becomes the main feed for cattle in the winter months. It is also used for flooring in a stable, mulching the soil, making fuel briquettes, and so on. Therefore, it is necessary to harvest hay in large quantities. For ease of use and storage it is recycled. The easiest way to do this is with a hay chopper and straw for private homesteads.
Similar crushers are manufactured in various capacities and sizes. The principle of operation of the device is based on the work of rotating knives. Hay is fed into a special bunker. Passing through the drum with knives, it is ground and fed into the recoil bunker.
Design features
The design of the straw and hay chopper includes the following main elements:
- Electric motor. The processing speed will depend on its capacity.
- Tank into which raw hay or straw is fed. It may have different dimensions, depending on the amount of raw materials that are planned to be ground.
- Shaft on which knives and anvils are mounted. They must be made of durable steel and well sharpened.
- Bunker for waste materials. For convenience, it is mounted floor slope.
- Supports. More often they are made of pipes with a diameter of at least 25 mm. Their height is selected on the basis of the dimensions of the electric motor.
Popular models of factory production
Those who do not want to waste time and energy to manufacture such a device, it is better to purchase a finished model in the store. Among the most popular hay and straw shredders for private farmsteads are:
- M15.It has a convenient hopper for the supply of raw materials. Equipped with sharp knives made of high-strength steel and a 3 kW engine. Due to this, such a unit can process not only hay and straw, but also thin branches. The drum rotates at a frequency of 1500 revolutions per minute. The weight of the whole structure is 130 kg.
- KR02.This model is compact and at the same time differs in excellent productivity. Engine power of 1.54 kW is enough to process up to 25 kg of raw materials per hour. It works from a standard 220V network. With low power consumption, it does an excellent job with its functions.
- K-500.Able to process up to 300 kg of raw materials per hour. Engine power 2 kW.This model is suitable for large farms with a large number of livestock. The design of the bunker allows you to lay a canopy using a fork, which facilitates and speeds up the work.
You need to choose a specific model, based on the amount of raw materials that will have to be processed. If your livestock population is small, it makes no sense to overpay for powerful units. It is better to save and buy a small chopper performance.
Choose products from trusted manufacturers only. A low-quality chopper with an engine of insufficient power will not cope well with its functions and will quickly break.
The absence of complex parts and accessories in the design allows an experienced craftsman to make a grass and hay chopper independently. It is enough to purchase an engine of sufficient power; all other elements can be found in every household. Before making a shredder, study its
drawing.How to make a shredder yourself?
If you do not want to spend a lot of money to buy equipment, you can make a hay and straw chopper with your own hands. To do this, follow a few recommendations:
- Choose the right motor. If you plan to process up to 200 liters of raw materials, then give preference to models with a capacity of from 2 to 5 kW.For a small amount of hay, take a lower power unit.
- The device is assembled in accordance with the drawing. Today, the Internet can find a lot of options. You just have to choose the right one.
- For the manufacture of metal construction parts, use a metal with a minimum thickness of 3 mm. To support the engine, choose a thicker material.
- The working part of the unit is a metal cylinder inside which a disk with sharp knives is mounted. The axis must be securely fastened in the engine.
- As a container for loading hay, you can take an old metal barrel.
- The engine support is welded to the working section. For reliability they supply kerchiefs.
- The engine is fixed on the support with bolts and screws.
- You can only install an electrician after all parts of the structure have been assembled and securely fixed.
If you have skills in handling a welding machine and understand how an electric motor works, you can make such a unit in one day. If any subtleties were not clear to you, watch the video on how to make a hay chopper:
