Advice on making your own hay steamer

WelshMisfit

WelshMisfit

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I'm thinking of making my own hay steamer using a wheelie bin and a wallpaper steamer. Does anyone on here have any advice or experiences with making their own? I think I've got a rough idea of what I need to do but would love some advice regarding how much hay you can steam at a time and for how long you should steam it. An "Idiot's Guide" would be very much appreciated!
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I'm currently soaking haynets for my horse as he coughs on dry hay. It's not a problem when my daughter is with me as she can help me lift the nets out of the water butt, but when I'm on my own, it's back breaking work. And I'm all for making life easier!
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All contributions welcome!
 
Dont know if this would do the same job but a couple of girls on our yard just stick a kettle of water over their nets in a bin with the lid on !
 
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Dont know if this would do the same job but a couple of girls on our yard just stick a kettle of water over their nets in a bin with the lid on !

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Yep, that is what someone else does too at my old yard. Get a air tight bin, boil a kettle, pour contents in and leave (you may need to do a bit of trial and error on the length, but I think 5mins is what is done) and obviously put lid on and works really well. (and less complicated too)

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I made my own last year. I bought a water butt with a lid. I then bought a wallpaper steamer. Take the tap off the butt and also take off the sqare flat thingy off the wallpaper steamer.(the bit u would put on the wall). U can then feed the wallpaper hose into the hole of the water butt. Heypresto. Ur steamer. I bought it all for £25 in b&q.
 
this works really well - the only advice I would give is to get the steamer with the biggest reservoir you can to minimise the amount of time spent filling it up
 
Hi!

I have the same set up. I have a timer on my steamer to go between 3.30 and 4.40 for the evening and 8 to 9 for the morning. Each steaming takes a full 1 1/2 litres of water.

This way I have freshly steamed hay as I arrive at the yard which is a great timesaver.

I steam it for an hour at a time which sounds like a long time but 10 mins of that is it getting to the boil. I recently read a study which was using 80 mins as the standard steaming time.

I leave the haynet string outside of the wheelie bin and tie it to the pallet my bin is standing on so that the haynet is suspended ie not touching the bottom. I think this lets the steam circulate better. I find 4 - 5 KG at a time is the max to get a good result. I always fork the hay out first, I don't think it works any where near as well if you don't break the slices up.

So mine goes off twice automatically and then I need to do another one while I am mucking out or riding.

It is a bit of a faff to start with, but I havce found the results worth it. Makes your barn really cosy and warm in the winter too!

Good luck!
 
I can't remember what the stats are, but pouring a kettle and leaving for five minutes would not give you the constant heat that is need to neutralise the spores.

I'm pretty sure you need to be at 100 degrees for 20 mins.

I'll try to find the research.
 
We use a wallpaper steamer with the hay in VERY sturdy polythene bags, we find two steamers for one bale works well. The hay last year was very dusty and the Appy who is prone to coughing was fine.
 
i did the wheelie bin and wall paper stripper thing. just placed the hose at the bottom of the wheelie bin and 2 full haynets (large ones) on top didnt make any holes in the wheelie bin and it worked great! just swapped haynets around after 15 mins and poured 1/4 bucket of water in with them at the start. done in about 30 mins. making life a lot easier as nets were much lighter and not wet and smelt like weetabix! didnt need to go to great lengths to make it but worked really well! good luck
 
Thanks for all the replies....
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lots of good advice there. Wondered whether I would need to fork hay out first to allow the steam to penetrate the hay properly.
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I'm usually on the yard for at least an hour at a time so sounds like this would actually work for me. Guess it will be trial and error at first till I get it all worked out to suit me. Might see how it goes and if it works well for me, I might invest in an extra steamer so I can have 2 going at the same time.
 
wallpaper steamer and strong rubber black dustbin. cut hole in lid and poke hose thru down to bottom of bin so steam rises. cheap and effective.
 
You have to be really careful about DIY steaming because if you dont get the temperature right you can get a build up of bacteria (that love warm moist environments) and that would be really bad for your horses to ingest. I wouldnt trust myself with DIY steaming TBH
 
Would that be because it hasn't got hot enough Victoria EDT?

Mine gets so hot I have burned myself on the steam when opening it.

My vet actually recommended doing it this way. I guess you could monitor it with a thermometer if you wanted to.
 
Im no expert but I would assume so persephone! I remember chatting to some researchers at Royal Ag Col about it (who aided in the development in Haygain steamer) and there is a big worry about people not understanding the consequences of not steaming hay correctly.
 
I use a wheelie bin and wallpaper steamer, just bought a new one as last one had it. (steams for 78 minutes, heats up in 10 and holds 5 litres of water - £20.) I steam my hay for an hour whilst i'm doing my jobs, steamer gets to 100 degrees as do most new ones so dont think theres any problem with it not being hot enough. I always shake the seams out just to make sure and open the net up for a minute when its done just to cool down. Never thought of getting a timer for it though great idea Persephone! I find it really easy and my back has recovered from the nightmare of lugging heavy soaked nets. I'm not too sure that the kettle idea would provide enough constant steam or remain hot enough.
 
Well worth a look at Equisteam.co.uk, (Google Equisteam Hay Steamers), a free guide to build your own haysteamer is downloadable from the site if you wish to build your own hay steamer together with useful tips that may be helpful.
 
Home made steamers do not get up to temp needed to eliminate spores/bacteria,would you eat half cooked chicken? then why feed the equivilent to your horses?
 
The point of steaming is to damp down the spores so they are less likely to become airborne and breathed in. I don't believe bacteria in hay is a problem. Silage and haylage possibly but more so the toxins produced by certain bacteria.
 
I suppose we could do with some figures on confirmed gastrointestinal disturbance from steamed hay V COPD incidence from a lifetime of feeding dusty hay...
 
So what is best for a Horse with mild COPD? I still soak mine but it is a PITA!!

I soak mine for 30 mins-1 hour, hang it on gate to let drain for 15 mins and then lugg it to her stable and tie, its so hard to get out the bin and tie though :(
 
I don't know which is best. I suppose it depends on how well steamed (wetted) it is. I soak hay but for reducing water soluble sugars and I drain the water out of the bins before handling the hay. It's much easier and lighter. :)
 
Tried home steaming, horse still coughed. So now just twenty minutes in a 72 litre builders skip £9.99 from Wickes. Soak, tip out water leave in skip and feed. I do like the look of a haycube though but not sure it would hold enough for my greedy horse!
 
the best thing for mild copd is to steam hay in a scientifically proven steamer that gets up to the temp needed to kill the spores & bacteria,most respiratory problems are triggered originally by bacterial or fungal infection started by inhaling the spores.
a vet in america is looking into the connection between bacteria in hay/haylage,[gram neg]which when ingested kills the [gram pos] good bacteria in the hind gut,these then give of a toxin which goes into the bloodstream & has been linked to some cases of laminitis & colic.
The old saying prevention is better than cure springs to mind.
 
I like the idea of the hay cube but cost and quantity puts them (I would need a few lol) way out of my league. I use 240L wheelie bins with a hose put in to siphon the water out. Some people have had drain taps fitted to them.
 
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