DRIVING IMPRESSION: Using two film dispensers has helped McHale to slash wrapping times while still maintaining a simple, cost-effective design. The McHale 991 High-Speed debuted last year, and Mervyn Bailey has been out to see just how much of a difference it can make.
To increase the daily output of a wrapper, you need to be able to apply those plastic film layers in double quick time – hence the introduction of twin dispensers, which are usually mounted on arms that spin around the bale. Not always, though. Irish company McHale has simplified this design set-up by tweaking its long-serving 991 wrapper and adding a second fixed applicator.
With research suggesting that six layers of wrap are better than four, being able to apply the plastic quickly is clearly a fundamental requirement. McHale already has a twin dispensing round bale wrapper in its product range, the HS2000. Yet some farmers and contractors still prefer the loading arm configuration of the much simpler and less electronics-reliant 991 to the front load set-up of the HS2000, which was originally designed to run behind a baler or be offset when hitched behind a tractor.
