steaming hay....idiot's guide please

[madhector]

Please can someone please help me with my hay steaming, it just isn't working! lol

I have a large water butt, which I put 5 slices in, boiling water goes in, old haylage bag goes on top, and steamed hay comes out... or rather it doesn't

Hay just doesn't seem to get steamed

I used about 6 kettle fulls tonight and no luck, what am I doing wrong?

 

[Seahorse]

I don't know!
What's wrong with it, is it too dry? That's how I've always steamed hay, and probably used less water too.

 

[madhector]

Just looks exactly how it did before I added the water

 

[_jetset_]

I saw a steamer at YHL... it was absolutely fantastic!

It was £190 for the one that fits 2 nets in.

 

[madhector]

ooohhh...now thats tempting, what does it look like? maybe I can make one

 

[_jetset_]

It had a steamer thing on it... was quite complicated I am afraid.

If i had my own place I would buy one without a second question. The nets came out weighing the same as they did when they went in and were not dripping one bit

 

[madhector]

now i am seriously tempted...

Would you fit 5 slices in one?

 

[madhector]

is this the one?

https://www.arthurcarteruradshop.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=431

 

[kerilli]

madhector, is the top of yours sealed properly to keep the steam in? i use a dustbin with about 3 flaps of hay in a plastic bag in the dustbin, 2 kettle's full of water (1 after the other, same kettle!), seal the top of the bag and stick the bin lid back on as well, leave 10 mins or more, then drain and serve.
any leftovers are a bit dry by morning, though, i must admit. it's not as wet as soaked, obviously.
a wallpaper steamer attached to a bin would work, they're only about £20, but you'd need one with an alarm so it didn't boil dry if you forgot you'd left it on!

 

[madhector]

yep, sealed tight

I was so fed up with soaking hay, thought I had been really clever till I pull it all out and it looked no different

Will have to investigate a steamer of some sort to attach to my barrel

 

[spaniel]

You need a bin with a tight fitting lid. To make it even tighter wedge a feed bag over the top before squeezing the lid on tight. You should easily be able to do 5 flaps, slightly fluffed, with 2 kettles of boiling water. Put the lid on AS SOON as the boiling weater goes in.

Dont take the lid off the bin till its cold.

 

[madhector]

maybe I didnt leave it long enough

The plastic sack fits really snugly on top, in fact it is quite hard to get on, no steam seemed to be escaping, but it wasnt cold when I took it out

 

[brighteyes]

I tend to pour rhe boiling water down the slices - ie sit them edge up, so the water goes through the hay not over the flat side of the pad. I only use one kettle per slice, in a bin bag, top sealed and in a lidded bin, for twenty minutes tops.

That urad one looks easy to copy...........

 

[custard]

Buy a wallpaper stripper, twenty quid and take the square thingy off the end of the hose. Shove the hose in your container and hey presto!

 

[kerilli]

i'm going to follow someone on here's suggestion and use one of these
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WAGNER-W14-240-Vol...oQQcmdZViewItem
to make my own. makes steam for up to 70 mins, auto cut out, looks good to me!

 

[mitchellk]

I steam my hay using a big green bin, put two big haynets in it (about 1/2 a bale in each) and pur around 3 kettles of boiling water in and put the lid on. I leave it for about 5 mins take off the lid to let them cool a little and then feed. It does the job perfectly, only downside is having just one very slow kettle!

 

[_jetset_]

[ QUOTE ]
is this the one?

https://www.arthurcarteruradshop.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=431

[/ QUOTE ]

That is the one... it is near me as in lancashire

 

[cazza]

get a water butt and drill a fair size hole on the side at the bottom, buy a wallpaper steamer, put hose through hole and hey presto steamed hay, make sure you have a well sealed lid and drill one small hole in it to allow the pressure to escape from the steamer pumping in the hot water. This should be nice an quick and only take about 10 minutes without you running out of water in the steamer.

 

[madhector]

I am offically rubbish! Tried again tonight, put in 5 kettle loads, sealed the top, left it for ages and only the top slice seemed to get steamed

I am going to have to invest in a steamer and see if that works

 

[spaniel]

I was wondering if you had tried again tonight! I honestly cant understand whats going wrong - unless you live in a universe where water boils at a lower temperature to the rest of us!!!

Hopefully the steamer will do the trick.

 

[madhector]

[ QUOTE ]
I was wondering if you had tried again tonight! I honestly cant understand whats going wrong - unless you live in a universe where water boils at a lower temperature to the rest of us!!!

Hopefully the steamer will do the trick.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol..maybe its because I'm so close to norfolk

 

[spaniel]

That explains it!!!

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

It sounds as if, with you using up to 5 kettle loads in it, that you are letting all the steam out by keep opening the lid. Pour the boiling water in & leave it totally alone for 10 minutes. That way it must work,....it does for everyone else

 

[madhector]

[ QUOTE ]
It sounds as if, with you using up to 5 kettle loads in it, that you are letting all the steam out by keep opening the lid. Pour the boiling water in & leave it totally alone for 10 minutes. That way it must work,....it does for everyone else

[/ QUOTE ]

you may be right! lol

I have ordered a steamer from ebay for a tenner, so hopefully that will do the trick

 

[peterpan]

I have tried the stemming kettle idea and the problem is the ever need to add more boiling water to make it work. I have also tried using a paper stripper and that was better, so invested in a hay steamer from www.happyhorseproducts.co.uk The deluxe model and that is just the ticket. I just put the hay in and switch on. No messing about and it does the job a treat. If you are looking at steaming I would recommend this as the way forward.

 

[ru-fi-do]

I too have been looking into steamers there are a couple on Ebay that look interesting Steamer 1
Steamer 2
I'm using thebin method at the inute and it seems to be working ok but have to do two bin loads as my mare eats nearly a whole bale a night and find that it works best if the hay has been shaken up.