Hay Steamer...worth it!??

We have one and it is brilliant. We put a whole bale in at a time. The horses love it and I love the smell of hot hay!! We steam all our hay so when using last seasons hay at the start of the winter if it is a bit dusty it doesn't matter. I know they are not cheap but are robust, do the job and their customer service is great.
 
There's one at my yard that has been made with a wall paper streamer. It's used all of the time. Also some of the girls put hay nets in a spare bin and pour a couple of kettles of water over it and replace the lid
 
Thanks for the replys! Yes I'm looking at the whole bale one, I know it's not cheap but hearing good reviews makes it less of an ouch! I have seen the ones made with a wheely bin, I'm not sure if I'd trust myself to make one though but great idea!
 
My horse loves steamed hay, I did noticed when he was on it his dropping went from really watery to normal pretty much in 24 hours
 
Haygain steamers may work well but the price of them is ridiculous! A steamer is easy to make at a fraction of the cost & I mean easy.

When you go on the Haygain site there is loads of information about their products & there is a page of "Frequently asked Questions"........... there is one frequently asked question which isn't listed there.............."How much are the various models?".................they obviously don't want to scare off potential buyers because their prices are really scary!
 
Don't bother with the pouring kettles of pouring water in - by the time the water has hit the cold bin & hay there is scarely any steam left but it is easy to make a steamer using a wallpaper steamer. We used a wheelie bin which is tough plastic & put a breeze block on the lid to minimise escapage - half an hour of steam gave brilliant results.
 
I've just ordered a yard size one from http://www.steamneasy.co.uk/size--buy.html £299 including delivery. Fits a whole bale. It should be arriving any day. I read somewhere that the home made ones with a wallpaper stripper don't get hot enough to kill the spores in the hay so opted for this one as its a lot cheaper than the haygain ones
 
B&J that looks just the same as a wallpaper steamer/wheelie bin home made version.... you can buy the same power 2.3kw wallpaper steamer for about £25, a wheelie bin for £40 and the timer for under a fiver. Not knocking it at all as I haven't seen one but unless there is some design difference inside the bin it seems a lot of money too
 
WelshD said:
B&J that looks just the same as a wallpaper steamer/wheelie bin home made version.... you can buy the same power 2.3kw wallpaper steamer for about £25, a wheelie bin for £40 and the timer for under a fiver. Not knocking it at all as I haven't seen one but unless there is some design difference inside the bin it seems a lot of money too
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Agree! Someone's onto a winner there!
We had a Haygain at work for years. The steam generator broke and was replaced by a wallpaper steamer for a fraction of the price and did just as good a job. We no longer use it simply because the yard outgrew it and we needed more than a bale at a time.
When I move yards I will absolutely be steaming rather than soaking and look forward to it! So much better.
 
I had been nagging OH for ages to build one, alas the wheelie bin is still waiting in the garden. When I looked further into it, they have a plate inside to distribute evenly and other little bits to help so for ease I bought one instead rather than waiting for next winter by the time OH gets round to it :-) I think it just has to be a powerful enough steamer to get hot enough to kill the spores from what I understood but the design is the same, can't for the life of me remember where I saw it now
 
I just can't quite see how it works easily with the wheely bin type as I need to steam a bale at a time .... I'm sure it's gonna be a struggle to lift a damp bale of hay up and out of the bin.... I'm 5ft4 and I reckon I'd have to lay it down and I'm not a wimp by any means.
I really like the look of the Haygain but agree they are very overpriced!
 
B&J said:
I had been nagging OH for ages to build one, alas the wheelie bin is still waiting in the garden. When I looked further into it, they have a plate inside to distribute evenly and other little bits to help so for ease I bought one instead rather than waiting for next winter by the time OH gets round to it :-) I think it just has to be a powerful enough steamer to get hot enough to kill the spores from what I understood but the design is the same, can't for the life of me remember where I saw it now
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Yes, Of course. The haygain ones have steam plates with spikes that the hay sits on so the steam gets right up inside and distributes evenly. Admittedly that would be really difficult to replicate I imagine.
Sympathise with getting O/H's to do things quickly ;)
 
Lilchunk said:
I just can't quite see how it works easily with the wheely bin type as I need to steam a bale at a time .... I'm sure it's gonna be a struggle to lift a damp bale of hay up and out of the bin.... I'm 5ft4 and I reckon I'd have to lay it down and I'm not a wimp by any means.
I really like the look of the Haygain but agree they are very overpriced!
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I use an old plastic rectangular water tank that is about 2'9" high so it would be easy to lift a bale into it. I've drilled a hole near the bottom that the wall paper steamer hose goes into, a couple of bricks with a rigid metal mesh on top which the hay sits on, a home made lid for the tank and a timer. Works for me.
 
hairycob said:
Don't bother with the pouring kettles of pouring water in - by the time the water has hit the cold bin & hay there is scarely any steam left
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Not true - I do this when it is too cold to soak hay. I leave it in the dustbin (with a tight seal) for about an hour and there is always still steam when I open it up. I do put the hay on an upturned garden sieve so maybe this is why it works :-)
 
There is a (slightly) cheaper alternative to the Haygain, which I have, a Happy Horse steamer. I love mine, very easy to use and clean, fits lots of hay in, better value than the haygain, and apparently been around longer. It has a pipe with holes in along the bottom to distribute the steam along all the hay.
If you put loose hay in a wheeliebin version it's be a pain to pull out as steamed hay expands and goes fluffy (and hot!) You'd probably want to use a haynet.
 
We have a chest type haygain ... Love it so easy to use , clean , descale .. And most importantly dust free hay .. Smells tasty .. And horses seem to like it ;)
 
They are good and definitely serve a purpose - not cheap though! I work at a private yard which has one and it is easy to use and you can set it on a timer so it comes on just before it is needed to be fed. It smells lovely when it is steaming too! :)
 
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