Mobile Hops Harvester. Hops Picker.

Description

Hops Harvester. Hops Picker.. Condition is Used.
This is the
mobile
harvester based on the design from the University of Vermont.  It was intended for processing the harvest from approximately a 5 acre yard. The goal is to run a sustained processing of at least 2 bines per minute and we ran it at double that without issue.  The bottle neck is the need for personnel to load and unload bines, but the unit can mange 120 to 180+ bines per hr.
Because the picking fingers have two separate chain drive operations, they can be individually run at speeds appropriate for the maturity and species being processed.  The separation efficiency is excellent and can be shown with video sent to interested buyers.
It has modifications that include a robust group of heavy duty polymer guides that prevent hops from falling out, a common cause of waste.  These can be seen in the pics.  The material used is the same for mud flaps used for semi trailers.  It has proven to be just tough enough  for wear and flexible enough to withstand the belt movement.  Also, we have labeled the control valves for safety.  The portable hydraulic unit has a much larger reservoir for cooling and I added a radiator.
Further improvement came from experiential learning that we do not need a 70hp tractor to run the harvester.  (Tractor is also, now, for sale!)
The harvester is able to run from a Prince Hydraulic pump powered from a tractor PTO, which is how we started.
Or, as we use it now, it can be run from a Honda driven portable hydraulic unit. (Very low hr unit, 20 hp, now also for sale.)
So, we have a field proven, portable hops harvester able to outperform a smaller Wolf, able to be run from your tractor hydraulics, or a PTO driven pump, or a portable hydraulic unit of your own.
If you are also looking at how to run the harvester, we are very open to a pkg deal to include the power unit.  It has less than 12 hr use.
The trailer underneath the unit is overbuilt.  I hauled it a few hundred miles with my Land Cruiser, but a standard wheel base truck would be a better choice. It could be shared by a few smaller yards. I built a set of stairs to ease running the various controls during production and it is included.
We used the harvester with success at our North Road Hops yard in Northeast Minnesota.  We are closing out all things related to hops after the tough weather of last year and I am not getting any younger.  Thus, the harvester, hydraulic unit and the 1964 Massey Ferguson Super 90 Diesel pictured are also going.  Call me with any questions.
With a completed sale, delivery service is a potential option.