HAYGAIN HG-2000 - Full Bale Hay Steamer is rated
3.0 out of
5 by
2.
Rated 1 out of
5
by
Zelda from
Bad Service, can’t use it
This drop ships from the manufacturer...they send a 250lb item as curbside delivery!!!! Clearly they don’t understand their customers well. Also the wheels don’t allow for easy moving at all, couldn’t even push it. So disappointed, they clearly need a different carrier.
Date published: 2020-06-12
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Dancers Partner from
Effective step for reactive airway
We purchased the full bale steamer just over a year ago to help a horse who would cough from 3:30 am to 6:30 am every morning. (We could hear the long paroxysmal coughs on our monitor system). First and foremost, the steamer has blessedly eliminated this coughing. The steamer was the single most effective step for us in helping this horse stop coughing. He is no longer on any medications or supplements for the cough.
We bought the full bale size so we are not limited in how many horses can get steamed hay and we give it to all the other horses as well. All the horses like the steamed hay.
An added benefit of the steamed hay is that we increase our horses' water intake. We add 4 gallons of top dressing water which is more than the one galloon recommended, and this increases the hay's moisture and the horse's water intake. We do this with a hose in the summer and with hot water in gallon jugs in the winter. This step creates more moisture in all the horses' manure (but not runny stool).
Besides the change of 1. adding more top dressing water, we have found other changes also work well for us in utilizing the steamer:
2. We have elevated the steamer on a secure platform, which makes it so we do not have to lean over as far to put hay in and take hay out of the steamer. We put in flakes and do not lift a full bale at one time. The lower height would be appreciated for lifting a full bale in and out in one motion.
3. We have rigged an overhead pulley to the handle so that we can open the steamer standing away from the steam and so the lid stays up when we work inside the steamer. The hydraulic hinges do not reliably keep the lid up, in our experience.
4. We fill the boilers first and then set them to Pre-heat, and while we load the hay into the steamer and wet it; the boiler Pre-heat cycle shortens the heating time.
5. We keep the boilers inside a warm room in the winter.
6. We also keep a mechanics light with a 100 watt bulb inside the empty steamer chest, lying with the closed back of the light's metal cage on the metal manifold cleared of hay. We keep the lid cracked open with the pulley so there is no pressure on the seal. The temperature stays above freezing inside the steamer chest.
7. We use reverse osmosis water inside the boilers so we do not have to do the maintenance of cleaning the boilers with vinegar.
Clint Joiner and Alan Hughey were very responsive to all our questions during the purchase process. We have had an issue with one boiler and contacting the company directly was the way this was handled. We sent the boiler back and the company refurbished it promptly and returned it. It cost us only the shipping fee to them.
The HayGain Steamer has been a very effective step in eliminating our reactive airway horse's cough and it works well in our daily routine.
Date published: 2015-02-17