Flaman Rentals Blog

Choose Your Harrow. RiteWay 5 Bar or 7 Bar.

Posted by Jeff Brown Apr 12, 2024

If you’ve heard good things about RiteWay tine harrows, and you’re thinking of buying one, you might be wondering if the HH8200 5-bar or MH7200 7-bar model is right for you. 

Both are designed to best serve the needs of customers but in different ways to suit different purposes. Let’s start by looking at the most important working feature of both harrows.



Tines
The five-bar harrows are equipped with 25 28” tines –longer than the 26” tines you usually see in competitor models. The HH8200 offers two tine thickness options – the standard 9/16” or the stouter-than-usual 5/8”. Whichever thickness you choose, you can upgrade your tines with Riteway’s “Max-Life” high-wear edge. 

The MH7200’s carbide-tipped tines are smaller than the 5-bar at 24” long and ½" thick, but with two more rows, there are 49 of them – almost twice as many as the HH8200’s 25. They’re also closer together, with only 1.43” of space between them, as opposed to the 5-bars 2.64”. Last but not least, they come standard with the high-wear edge. 

Which is better for you? The answer depends on what you need to do with your harrows.



Two Harrows. Two Purposes
The 5-bar model is a heavy harrow, designed to endure tough going. If you stand the harrows straight up, those thicker, more durable tines can dig in like a chisel plow. They can also help remove certain weed seedlings and enhance your herbicide penetration. You can also fill in ruts and level your field, but you may lose moisture doing it. 
 
The 5-bar's main feature is its aggressive approach to crop residue management. It shatters heavy straw for more even re-integration back into your soil. The RiteWay HH8200 excels at raking and disturbing the soil, blackening your field, and leaving a firmer soil pack.
 
If you’re mission is better trash management, the 7-bar is your ultimate seed bed prep tool. Its more-numerous ½" tines produce more whipping action than the rigid 9/16” or 5/8” of the five-bar, doing a better job of breaking up of your soil’s top crust. You’ll free up more soil absorption, clear the path for plant emergence, and create a more uniform dispersal of crop residue, seed, and chemicals. 

More tines, more flexibility, and shallower harrow depth also mean less “down pressure.” Because its down force is more spread out, the Riteway MH7200 leaves the soil less compacted and easier to penetrate. Some users prefer that feature because it allows them to reduce the pressure setting on their seed drills.  

Once you’ve decided what kind of field work you need to do, RiteWay offers the harrow to get it done. 

Flaman is the right place to find your Riteway Harrow
You’ve just read a few of the features and benefits of the RiteWay MH7200 and HH8200 harrows. There are many more you can discover by calling or visiting your nearest Flaman location. Our tillage experts will be glad to tell you about RiteWay’s heavy-duty construction advantages, its downforce-enhancing parallel linkage system, and more.
Posted in Product Information | Tagged with RiteWay Harrows | More articles by Jeff Brown

6 Reasons to Use a Riteway 7-Bar Harrow This Year

Posted by Mitch Flaman May 06, 2022

When it’s time to get your fields prepped for seeding, there are a few different equipment options to choose from. 

For many years, harrows have been used to prepare fields in different capacities. Whether you are levelling off ruts, busting up hardpan, or removing trash before seeding, both the Riteway 5-bar and 7-bar harrows have a specific purpose in the tillage cycle. With low-till or zero-tillage farming practices gaining popularity in the last decade, you need a way to create ideal seedbeds for your crop.


Riteway 5-Bar Heavy Harrow in use

Heavy harrows, often known as 5-bar harrows, are very common and do a great job moving dirt, even in wet conditions. The Riteway 7-bar harrow is lighter than a traditional heavy harrow and has twice as many tines, offering you the flexibility you need to deal with excess straw post-harvest and residue management before seeding.


Riteway 7-Bar Harrow

We put together six reasons why you should consider using a Riteway 7-bar harrow this year.

1. Trash and Residue Removal

“At its most basic point: if you’re looking to move soil – stick with your 5-bar, but if you’re looking for trash management there’s no better way to go than the 7-bar harrow.”
Brad Grass, Territory Sales Manager at Riteway Manufacturing

Think about how you use a large fan rake to clean up all the leaves in the fall. You go over the surface of your lawn, gently collecting the leaves and removing them. When using a garden rake, you collect everything from the roots of your grass – eliminating everything that protects the soil.

7-bar harrows work much the same as a large leaf rake, cleaning up and breaking down straw residue, while leaving the soil mildly agitated. Featuring twice as many tines as a heavy harrow, the 7-bar’s ½” tines provide better agitation as the harrow floats over the field – allowing for greater trash removal and distribution.

24" long 1/2" tines on the Riteway 7-Bar Harrow

2. Moisture Retention

The smaller diameter tines on the 7-bar harrow provide greater agitation while disturbing less ground. By only mixing up the top layer of the soil, it allows the moisture to stay in the ground. The goal is to remove extra trash on the surface, not dry out the soil. 
 

3. Less Soil Compaction

The 82’ Riteway 7-bar harrow weighs 19,900 lbs and is the heaviest and strongest 7-bar in its class. Despite its weight, the 7-bar won’t compact the soil down as much as a heavy harrow because it floats over the topsoil instead of digging down. Less compaction, combined with better moisture retention, creates a better environment for plant development. 


Riteway 7-Bar Harrow in use

4. Seed Bed Prep

Remove all the trash and debris left from harvest and prepare your seedbeds without removing soil. This allows the seed drills to move easily through the field with less straw build-up around the knife. After using a 7-bar harrow, you’ll end up with a nice, clean surface for a fresh start in the spring.


Riteway 7-Bar Harrow field demo

5. Herbicide Application

As some weeds become resistant to certain herbicides, older chemicals are making a comeback. Because granular herbicide mixes well with topsoil, the 7-bar harrow can effectively protect your crops from invasive weeds. The 7-bar helps introduce the granular chemical into the soil just enough so that it can be evenly distributed throughout the field.
 

6. Mechanical Weed Removal

The 7-bar’s lightweight spring tines help manage weeds that start to thrive in your field after harvest. By damaging these weeds enough so they stop growing, your crops have less competition for nutrients in the soil.

Spring Pressure Kit on the Riteway 7-Bar Harrow

As you can see, there are many advantages to using a Riteway 7-bar harrow to prepare your fields for seeding and manage the crop residue after harvest.


Brad, Riteway Manufacturing, walks through the features on the 7-Bar Harrow

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If you have any questions about our Riteway 7-Bar, Heavy, or Rotary Harrows, or any of our other tillage equipment, contact us or visit your nearest Flaman location.

Posted in Product Information | Tagged with Riteway harrow 7-bar heavy harrow tillage field prep seeding | More articles by Mitch Flaman