Hey all, I am renting a Harley power rake this weekend to plant a lawn in an area that was forested out. The stumps have all been ground out and all the stump mulch and roots have been removed. I have considerable experience with my Cat 257B, but I have never operated a power rake attachment. Does anyone have any tips or techniques they would like to share? Thanks for the help, GnR
i like to go in reverse with the drum biting into the ground( roatating toward you)have to be carefull not to back into things. i don't like to see tracks in my yard. otherwise you go forward. if the ground is hard be carefull after you stall the drum a few times hyd temp starts to rise. STAY away from long grass..... big mess!!! trust me.
I have a Harley Rake of my own and it took a little trial and error to figure out how to use it well. I usually make a deep pass first, 4 to 6" deep. This levels the soil and brings the stones to the top, the largest stones will get drawn along with this pass. After I've done the whole area with a deep pass, I'll look it over and take care of any grading that I see needs done. Then I'll go back and make a skim pass over the whole area again to get the rest of the stones off. On this pass, set the roller so you can just see about 1/4" of daylight beneath it and make your pass. I run in reverse too, I can see what's going on better and have better control of the roller. You may need to make several skim passes depending on the number of stones and length of the pass, once the roller loads to a certain point the stones will travel over it and remain in the soil. With patience and practice, you can do an excellent job, I've used several different type of soil preparation attachments and like the Harley the best.