Rock Hound VS Harley Rake

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conc2steel

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Dec 30, 2007
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I'm considering purchasing a power rake for some landscaping work and was wondering if anyone has had experience with both Rock Hound & Harley Rake type power rakes. I'm trying to determine which will be best. Operating in sandy/clay type soil, leveling planing bed, removing old turf, and setting up new construction for hydroseeding.
 

skidsteer.ca

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In the past it has been discussed that the harley rake is more useful and versatile. As the rock hound won't loosen tough soils like clay. Rock hounds excell in sands and well worked sites where the soils is broken down into fines and the debris needs collected.
A harley rake will till, move soil around to level and gather up debris. But won't actually pick it up. I guess I'll find out this summer as I have a new Erskine soil conditioner on order, which is simular to a Harley Rake
Ken
 

TriHonu

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Apr 15, 2007
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486
In the past it has been discussed that the harley rake is more useful and versatile. As the rock hound won't loosen tough soils like clay. Rock hounds excell in sands and well worked sites where the soils is broken down into fines and the debris needs collected.
A harley rake will till, move soil around to level and gather up debris. But won't actually pick it up. I guess I'll find out this summer as I have a new Erskine soil conditioner on order, which is simular to a Harley Rake
Ken
I have the Bobcat Soil Conditioner similar to Harley Rake. I am in a high silt/clay soil.
Performance in this type soil is dependent upon the moisture content. If the soil is very dry it will turn the silt into powder. If the moisture content is too wet the clay will stick to the drum and teeth and will stall the drum. It is just the nature of this soil type. When the moisture content is moderate, the performance is excellent. It will prep and level the bed, throwing the debris out front.
The Bobcat brand has three adjustments.
1. Depth of cut is adjusted by turning a large bolt on the attachment. You can till up to 3 inches deep.
2. You can side cast you angling the drum. You can get them with manual or hydraulic angle.
3. Leveling has two settings that are made by moving two pins. The float position allows the drum to float and follow the existing grade. To level the pins lock the attachment plate rigid and you tilt your Quicktach until the front tires of the loader lift off the ground. The drum is then suspended between the front casters and rear wheels
Since these attachments are spendy, I would suggest you ask people in your area on their performance or rent a few times to see what you can do. In my area (Minnesota) I see a lot of Harley Rakes. It is just about a standard with the landscapers. I rarely see pickup type rakes. I have been at auctions in my area and witnessed BROKEN Harley rakes sell for more than half of their new price! They a desirable attachment. I went with Bobcats model for two reasons, they are direct drive off the hydraulic motor, not chain drive and secondly I found a manual angle with less than 20 hours on it for $3500. New it was $5700 back then.
The Pickup type rakes are designed to do just that pickup debris.
The Rockhound Manual states:
Ground Preparation: ... Note: If the ground is extremely compacted, use an attachment such as a tiller or scarifier to loosen the ground at least 4 inches in depth.
The FFC Preparator (Preparator Manual) uses a drum with teeth to basically till up to 2 inches and collect the debris.
You will have to decide what you need the attachment to accomplish.
My 2c, Good luck.
 

TriHonu

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Apr 15, 2007
Messages
486
I have the Bobcat Soil Conditioner similar to Harley Rake. I am in a high silt/clay soil.
Performance in this type soil is dependent upon the moisture content. If the soil is very dry it will turn the silt into powder. If the moisture content is too wet the clay will stick to the drum and teeth and will stall the drum. It is just the nature of this soil type. When the moisture content is moderate, the performance is excellent. It will prep and level the bed, throwing the debris out front.
The Bobcat brand has three adjustments.
1. Depth of cut is adjusted by turning a large bolt on the attachment. You can till up to 3 inches deep.
2. You can side cast you angling the drum. You can get them with manual or hydraulic angle.
3. Leveling has two settings that are made by moving two pins. The float position allows the drum to float and follow the existing grade. To level the pins lock the attachment plate rigid and you tilt your Quicktach until the front tires of the loader lift off the ground. The drum is then suspended between the front casters and rear wheels
Since these attachments are spendy, I would suggest you ask people in your area on their performance or rent a few times to see what you can do. In my area (Minnesota) I see a lot of Harley Rakes. It is just about a standard with the landscapers. I rarely see pickup type rakes. I have been at auctions in my area and witnessed BROKEN Harley rakes sell for more than half of their new price! They a desirable attachment. I went with Bobcats model for two reasons, they are direct drive off the hydraulic motor, not chain drive and secondly I found a manual angle with less than 20 hours on it for $3500. New it was $5700 back then.
The Pickup type rakes are designed to do just that pickup debris.
The Rockhound Manual states:
Ground Preparation: ... Note: If the ground is extremely compacted, use an attachment such as a tiller or scarifier to loosen the ground at least 4 inches in depth.
The FFC Preparator (Preparator Manual) uses a drum with teeth to basically till up to 2 inches and collect the debris.
You will have to decide what you need the attachment to accomplish.
My 2c, Good luck.
There are a couple threads in the Landscape Forum that discuss the Harley style rakes.
 

perry

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There are a couple threads in the Landscape Forum that discuss the Harley style rakes.
I was over at a local hydraulic shop yesterday and he had a harley rake out back. I looked it over and wasn't impressed, the tines were so short it looked like it would do little damage to the soil?.
Is there something I'm missing???
 

TriHonu

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486
I was over at a local hydraulic shop yesterday and he had a harley rake out back. I looked it over and wasn't impressed, the tines were so short it looked like it would do little damage to the soil?.
Is there something I'm missing???
The smooth surface of the drum is below ground level during normal operation. The teeth are designed to break off small layers of soil cutting from the bottom and lifting the soil upward. The teeth are designed to pulverize the soil, unlike a tiller that is designed to cut and mix soil.
As the drum rotates the teeth pulverize the soil. When the teeth strike something hard (like a stone) the object is pitched forward away from the drum. This causes the rake like action by continuing to flick the solid debris forward . When the teeth are in soil, the soil tends to absorb the force by yielding and pulverizing. The pulverized soil will be drawn over the top of the drum being re-deposited at the rear of the drum. The plastic plate sitting along the top of the drum is adjustable and the distance above the drum determines how small the clumps must be to return to the rear of the drum. The drum also helps act as a screed maintaining an even cut.
The drum must counter-rotate against the direction of travel. If you change direction and pull the attachment you have to reverse the rotation of the drum.
The travel speed determines how much soil is cut and carried forward. The faster the travel speed the more soil is carried between the end plates (like a box blade) or side-cast if the drum is angled and the side plates removed. The slower the travel the more time the soil has to be pulverized and redeposited at the rear of the drum.
 

perry

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Aug 22, 2006
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869
The smooth surface of the drum is below ground level during normal operation. The teeth are designed to break off small layers of soil cutting from the bottom and lifting the soil upward. The teeth are designed to pulverize the soil, unlike a tiller that is designed to cut and mix soil.
As the drum rotates the teeth pulverize the soil. When the teeth strike something hard (like a stone) the object is pitched forward away from the drum. This causes the rake like action by continuing to flick the solid debris forward . When the teeth are in soil, the soil tends to absorb the force by yielding and pulverizing. The pulverized soil will be drawn over the top of the drum being re-deposited at the rear of the drum. The plastic plate sitting along the top of the drum is adjustable and the distance above the drum determines how small the clumps must be to return to the rear of the drum. The drum also helps act as a screed maintaining an even cut.
The drum must counter-rotate against the direction of travel. If you change direction and pull the attachment you have to reverse the rotation of the drum.
The travel speed determines how much soil is cut and carried forward. The faster the travel speed the more soil is carried between the end plates (like a box blade) or side-cast if the drum is angled and the side plates removed. The slower the travel the more time the soil has to be pulverized and redeposited at the rear of the drum.
I notice the tines were hardened steel but worn down. What's the procedure for replacing the tines?, and about how many hours do they last?.
 

TriHonu

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Apr 15, 2007
Messages
486
I notice the tines were hardened steel but worn down. What's the procedure for replacing the tines?, and about how many hours do they last?.
On the Bobcat model they are carbide tipped teeth. When the carbide tip is gone, you have to grind out the weld around the tooth holder to remove it (4.5" grinder and cutting disk) and weld a replacement tooth back on.
I don't know the life span of a tooth. I suspect it depends upon what type of soil you are in and how often you hit rocks that won't move at all, and generally how hard you run your equipment. The carbide tips last a long time. I have not broken any off yet and have hit buried concrete that did not move. I was paying attention and backed off quickly.
 

perry

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On the Bobcat model they are carbide tipped teeth. When the carbide tip is gone, you have to grind out the weld around the tooth holder to remove it (4.5" grinder and cutting disk) and weld a replacement tooth back on.
I don't know the life span of a tooth. I suspect it depends upon what type of soil you are in and how often you hit rocks that won't move at all, and generally how hard you run your equipment. The carbide tips last a long time. I have not broken any off yet and have hit buried concrete that did not move. I was paying attention and backed off quickly.
And a set of carbide tips are how much?.
 

skidsteer.ca

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And a set of carbide tips are how much?.
About $15 each as a part, though I hoping to find a carbide suplier that is more resonable.
I have broke 2, they are quite tough, Erskine warranteed tehm and I have had no more break since.
When they are done I'm not sure if new teeth or a whole new drum is the way to go. It will be quite a bit of labor to grind all the old teeth off the drum and weld on the new teeth too
Ken
 

Fishfiles

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About $15 each as a part, though I hoping to find a carbide suplier that is more resonable.
I have broke 2, they are quite tough, Erskine warranteed tehm and I have had no more break since.
When they are done I'm not sure if new teeth or a whole new drum is the way to go. It will be quite a bit of labor to grind all the old teeth off the drum and weld on the new teeth too
Ken
I could have used a landscape rack yesterday , I graded 36 yards of milled asphault in my yard to extend driveways and parking areas , and this patch had the highway matting in it , it had been ground up in the mix and made backdragging it rough as it keep popping up , I filled 5 T140 buckets of it and had to rack it all up by blistered hands ------------what really worked in rounding it up was a piece of grating 2 ft wide by 8 ft long , pulled behind the atv , it really came out nice but labor intense
 

siduramaxde

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I could have used a landscape rack yesterday , I graded 36 yards of milled asphault in my yard to extend driveways and parking areas , and this patch had the highway matting in it , it had been ground up in the mix and made backdragging it rough as it keep popping up , I filled 5 T140 buckets of it and had to rack it all up by blistered hands ------------what really worked in rounding it up was a piece of grating 2 ft wide by 8 ft long , pulled behind the atv , it really came out nice but labor intense
I have used both the Bobcat soil conditioner and the Harley Rake. By comparison, I prefer the Bobcat brand. It is built much heavier than the Harley and it does not have that silly gear box that the Harley has. Both do about the same job at about the same speed but it seems like it would be much harder to break the Bobcat soil conditioner
 
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