Frequently Asked Questions
We recommend 10 – 20 minutes after the steam cycle.
inHAYle freshly steamed hay retains its health benefits for 24 hours. We recommend feeding it to your horse within 24 hours of a fresh batch of steamed hay.
There is no weight difference between steamed and dry hay. It is much more manageable than heavily soaked haynets.
During testing of several boxes we found that non food safe polypropylene or 100% recycled boxes (Of unknown materials) would leech at high temperatures, thus contaminating the hay.
The inHAYle Xtra and 108 hay chest/box is made with brand new virgin polypropylene plastic(PP5) the inHAYle 190 is made from 70% virgin polypropylene and 30% recycled polypropylene. We carefully choose our boxes to know exactly how there made and more importantly what there made off so we could eliminate the risk of contamination. 100% Recycled boxes can be made of unknown materials.
Your inHAYle Xtra/190 will use 4 litres of water and the inHAYle 108 will use 3 litres of water – by contrast soaking hay uses 60-80 litres of water.
No. Put your hay in the chest as described in your user manual, lightly sprinkle the hay with water and then switch your steam generator/timer on. Allow it to run for its duration as stated in the user manual – 45 minutes for the inHAYle 108 and 75 minutes for the inHAYle Xtra/190.
The optimum temperature for reducing 99% of respirable particles commonly found in hay is 80-100ºC, this is the ideal range.
The 80-100 degree ideal temperature range will come at the end of the steaming cycle, you are effectively slow steaming the hay until the ideal temperature range is reached then held at this temperature for at least 10 minutes.
Yes of course! You can manage respiratory diseases by minimising respirable dust. Since hay contains high concentrations of mould spores and bacteria it is very important to reduce this source by steaming hay.
Yes, all inHAYle hay steamers come fully assembled ready to use, you just need to attach the flexi hose.
Yes, the protective grid for the inHAYle 190 & 108 is removable. It can only go in one direction, if you look under the grid you will see cut outs which allows it to sit over the copper element – make sure it goes back in the same way you took it out.
Our new steam generator is 2.4kw and is used for 1hr 15mins for the inHAYle 190 & Xtra and 1hr for the inHAYle 108.
Cost of 1kw per hour at present is 24p (06/24). Check with your electricity supplier for an up to date costing.
- 190 & Xtra 75mins x 2.4kw x 24p = £0.74
- 108 60mins x 2.4kw x 24p = £0.59
No, it can be used at your discretion – it is good to check your hay steamer is doing its job.
- An incredible amount of time spent on research and development.
- The inHAYle 190, Xtra and 108 have been developed so that you can test the temperature of the centre of the hay with the use of the unique plunge thermometer. It is imperative that all the hay gets to 80⁰c + and not just the outside.
- During testing some boxes did not reach the temperature needed. These boxes only appeared to reach temperature as indicated with the thermometer on top of the lid, when tested with a probe thermometer they were only reaching 60-65⁰c, this is the perfect temperature for bacteria to develop and multiply.
- Even though they are well intended some budget hay steamers on the market will do more harm than good.
- Unlike other affordable (budget) hay steamers the inHAYle hay steamers have incorporated a spike element, this allows the steam to penetrate the hay meaning your hay is steamed from inside out, again ensuring all your hay gets steamed to the required temperature.
The benefits to respiratory and digestive health from steaming hay will contribute to peak overall health and performance.
We recommend feeding within 24 hours, if you do go past the 24 hours don’t throw it away simply resteam the hay.
There are no side effects reported to feeding your horse steamed hay.
We call them the 190 and 108 because this is the volume capacity in litres.
Steaming hay is scientifically proven to improve your horse’s respiratory health, it will reduce or eliminate your horse’s cough.
There may also be other factors to consider i.e. Bedding/stable ventilation etc… These should be discussed with your vet.
Unlike soaked hay steamed hay is not wet, this is why there is little weight difference between dry and steamed hay. Some of the steamed hay feels moist to touch and some feels dry but this does not affect the hygiene quality of the hay and does not mean it has not been steamed. Steamed hay dries very quickly once the steaming cycle has finished, the steaming is not about how wet it gets but about how hot it gets.
Yes absolutely, inHAYle hay steamers will improve the hygiene quality of any forage. Steaming haylage has been shown to increase its shelf life by up to 4 days.
Of course, whatever you prefer, bear in mind there will be additional clean up with loose hay.
Yes, anything over 80⁰C is optimum. The steaming temperature will fluctuate due to outside weather conditions but it will never go under 80⁰C & never go over 100⁰C.
Copper piping is healthier than plastic thanks to it being naturally antimicrobial. Copper is heat resistant and won’t deform under pressure.
Soaking hay reduces the volume of starch and sugars present more than steaming. The loss of water soluble carbohydrates in soaked hay can vary from 8% to over 50%, whereas the loss in steamed hay is only typically between
1-8%.
Unfortunately we cannot use recycled plastic products in our hay steamers as recycled plastics are made using unknown materials, these could be a potential health risk to your horse.
We do use earth friendly packaging products and try our best to reuse bubble wrap/cardboard etc…