Berrima spreads wings with BRX Quad Basket series

Berrima says the BRX series of roller-bar hay rakes is built for Australian conditions.

Revolutionary design: Berrima says its BRX series is built for Australian conditions and boasts maximum raking widths of up to 16m, which is achieved through a quad basket system.

DENILIQUIN manufacturer Berrima claims it has constructed one of the world’s largest roller-bar hay rakes, the BRX Quad Basket.

Berrima says the BRX series is built for Australian conditions and boasts maximum raking widths of up to 16m, which is achieved through a quad basket design.

Berrima design engineer Aaron Litchfield said the new BRX range aimed to meet and surpass the growing needs of baler and forage capacity, and featured four baskets in a revolutionary new design.

“The BRX 1600, with a working width of 16m, offers operators greater flexibility and are significantly larger than the company’s flagship range of roller-bar rakes,” Mr Litchfield said.

“All our other rakes are dual baskets with two baskets for each machine.

“This rake has four smaller baskets allowing the machines to have the raking width but with excellent flexibility over uneven terrain while still maintaining all the features of the smaller machines.”

The BRX 1600 is equipped with Timbren suspension for smooth raking, and features four baskets and a raking speed of 8-16km/h, which requires a 180hp tractor.

Hydraulic requirements are 100 litres/minute.

It has a transport width of 3.2m and length of 11m, a weight of 7.2 tonnes and height of 2m and a maximum speed of 40km/h.

The BRX’s design encompasses two gauge wheels and 195 tynes per basket, and is equipped with Torqmotor ME-21 wheel mount hydraulic motors.

Individual basket shut off and working lights are standard while options include hydraulic steering and splitters.

Mr Litchfield said the redesigned frame of the BRX 1600 allowed immense flexibility on the go.

The hydraulic-driven baskets mean the tines do not touch the ground, preventing fodder contamination,” he said.

“The basket pitch can be adjusted to prevent roping, allowing the operator to create fluffy windrows for quick drying or tighter rows in windy conditions.

“The basket height is easily adjusted to allow precise levelling and tine ground clearance height.

“The longer baskets allow greater raking speed and we will also be fitting these machines with custom-made heavy-duty rubber-mounted rake tines, which we developed late last year.

“If you have three rows, you can rake three into two separate rows for better drying rather than one individual row.”

The windrow width can be set on the go anywhere from 300mm right out to half the machine’s raking width.

The delivery width of rake-up is up to 8m wide to flick or invert rows, rather than forming one single windrow.

Each side of the BRX 1600 rake can be operated independently of each other and features 12 hydraulic functions.

Both sides can be lifted or opened and closed, and switched on or off independently, all from the tractor seat, allowing greater flexibility.

The Berrima BRX Quad Basket is an entry in this year’s Henty Machine of the Year Award.

For more details, visit berrimahayrakes.com.au