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ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's

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Flewster

11-02-2007 07:59:10




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Ok Guys I have found a roto baler that is in decent shape and they want $300 for it..... belts look alright..... .I am really thinking of buying it just to have and to fix up and bale with..... ..when I go to do my final inspection prior to buying it what should I look for and what should I look out for..... ..it is a white top model..... ..thank you.

Wayne




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Flewster

11-07-2007 10:00:44




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to Flewster, 11-02-2007 07:59:10  
I did happen to look at it today and the belts are in good shape. there are two springs that are loose in the front above the hay intake. Not sure where they go. It is s/n 74618 and it appears to be in decent shape. He wants $300.00 for it and i offered $250.00..... .guess we will see if he takes it.

Wayne



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tim[in]

11-05-2007 02:07:32




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to Flewster, 11-02-2007 07:59:10  
I was coming across missouri ans just happened to look to my right and saw a wd hooked to a rotobaler. Then when i could see better, it sat in a whole field of freshly baled roto bales. first time i ever saw that outside of a book.



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iowa_tire_guy

11-03-2007 18:49:06




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to Flewster, 11-02-2007 07:59:10  
Never had the joy of running a Rotobaler but Dad did quite a bit and he said the most important thing was to put the man on a rake and the boy on the baler. A neighbor had one and sometimes would bale our hay on the shares so I got in on the feeding with them. We bought alfalfa hay from this neighbor once and to stack them outside he just ran them up an elevator and let them fall in a pile. Couldn't really see any spoilage and Dad said as long as air could get in between them they would keep. They did.

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johndeereman

11-03-2007 18:06:41




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to Flewster, 11-02-2007 07:59:10  
i just got a roto baler last summer used a dc case on it baler sat in the shed for 20 years pulled it out greased it pumped up a tire filled it with twine and baled 298 bales with it biggest trouble i had was the twine was moldy and kept breaking of course that twine was bought when the baler was still being used i broke a rolled pin on the latch and towards the end it quit spitting the bales out for some reason i hope it just needs some more grease that baler has been used so much that the bolts the twine ride on are wore just about in two literally bales are easy to handle with a hay hook i was taught how to rake for these balers even though we didnt use them anymore the guy liked the rows better they look nicer and alot easier to dry if they get wet they shed most of the water works good for horse hay horse likes round bales better and these bales are light enough that the wife handles them by herself i love them balers i get alot of attention with it ive got people lineing up wanting to see it work

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Kevin Rooney

11-02-2007 19:21:39




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to Flewster, 11-02-2007 07:59:10  
You have a lot of good advice. The raking is the most important.To answer your initial question; look at the belts, wear on sprockets and chains,brake band on tension roller, plungers on trip latches. I still bale with a late white top. Started on one with a WD, now pull it with the other green tractors. Once you learn the four problems you will run into they are no problem to run. I have hauled them on trailers and farm trucks all of my life; stand the center tier on end to keep them from rolling, it works the best with a rear rack of some kind. Pull the fifth tier in to tie the load together and put one on top if desired. When frustrated, call me.

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Dachshund

11-02-2007 17:30:50




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to Flewster, 11-02-2007 07:59:10  
I've got two sitting in my yard. One needs a couple belts and a couple small springs. I'll never use either one (if I can help it). A couple of neighbors used them when I was younger. I've helped bale with them several times. I would rather have a real baler, but the Rotos will work in a pinch. There was also a model (and an attachment that allowed you to keep moving while you baled. This was a pretty rare deal, though. If you are planning to sell the hay, most people won't buy it (here anyway). The bales are usually lighter then squares, so it makes it easier to handle.

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randy hall

11-02-2007 16:13:30




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to Flewster, 11-02-2007 07:59:10  
they are great if you don't want to get much done as you are only baling half the time because you are stopped while they are wraping forty seven feet of string around each bale and ejecting it.



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RodInNS

11-03-2007 05:26:36




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to randy hall, 11-02-2007 16:13:30  
BINGO!
Somebody finally belled the cat.
If a fella wanted one of these things as a novelty, that's one thing. Go for it, restore it; have fun. For a working baler buy a good working square baler for a small amount of work or for more work buy a good used round baler of a light year more modern technology...
I can't really see that there's any 'pros' to a roto baler today. In 1950 it might have had a few, but not today.

Rod

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hd6gtom

11-02-2007 14:51:30




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to Flewster, 11-02-2007 07:59:10  
Flewster I have used these over 50 years. I curently own a 214T jd small squarer baler. I can say, the roto baler is the most dependable small baler ever made. Absolutly no needles to break or knotters to fight no chains to break. no plungers to get out of adjustment. If you know how to rake hay they will make a great bale. You cannot go to the field and rake like you would for s square baler. The only adjustment you have to fool with is the bale tension band on the lower right rear of the baler. Your hayrack has to be set up to haul them. As far putting them in the haymow they are as easy to handle as any other small bale.

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Lee in Iowa

11-02-2007 14:27:00




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to Flewster, 11-02-2007 07:59:10  
I just sold a vermeer 605 super F on a consignment sale for $510, still worked good. Don't know anything about a roto baler, but I'd rather carry the bales witha tractor. Lee



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Flewster

11-02-2007 11:17:07




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to Flewster, 11-02-2007 07:59:10  
Thank you lots of great advice but what I really need are the problem areas that I need to look out for when buying one..... ..What areas wear the most and could require replacement parts and such..... .The place I bought had a bunch of roto baler bales in the barn and I liked them.....I have a d-17 tractor and wanted a roto baler to complete the package so to speak plus have something that nobody around has..... ..so what do I need to look for when looking at this one to buy?

Wayne

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JMS/.MN

11-02-2007 12:14:19




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to Flewster, 11-02-2007 11:17:07  
Dad bought a new one in 1948, used it until he retired in 1965. Broke one part- twice- the cast latch that is a part of the arms. Little latch about 5 inches long. Never broke a belt. Baled thousands of bales each year, our own and custom work. You need to make a decent windrow- 3-4 feet wide, double curl, as opposed to what is right for a square baler. People who bellyache about the Roto-Baler probably never learned how to make the right windrow. Very simple to adjust and operate. Live power is certainly an asset, but Dad had nothing but a WC for the first 8 years.

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John (MO)

11-02-2007 11:03:08




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to Flewster, 11-02-2007 07:59:10  
It is all in the adjustment. You get one adjusted right and you`ll have no problems. You try and use one that isn`t set up and adjusted right and it will be like you fighting with the devil over each and every bale. You will soon give up and say the devil won. By far best to use a roto baler with a AC tractor with hand clutch or power director and not some other off brand of green, red or blue tractor. That can lead to you against the devil, times 2.


Bales store well outside and shed water 1000 times better than square bales, but you still need to tarp a stack. Before big bales, the cattlemen in my neck of the woods used Roto Balers 10 to 1 over any other brand. Even those who drove ugly tractors, baled with an AC Roto Baler.

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Luke S

11-02-2007 10:52:10




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to Flewster, 11-02-2007 07:59:10  
Course ya got a watch out. I am not old enough to have been around when it was going on, but an old equipment dealer friend of mine said he knew an equipment jockey who would take and paint the older one's top's white and so he could get more for em!



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John (C-IL)

11-02-2007 10:46:44




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to Flewster, 11-02-2007 07:59:10  
I grew up with a rotobaler and am a veteran of 20 years of baling, stacking, storing and feeding them.

I will agree that they can be tempermental, but they produce one of the best quality hay products available. All of the stuff in the sales literature is true. If the baler is a white top it is a desireable model.



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CWL

11-02-2007 09:51:09




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to Flewster, 11-02-2007 07:59:10  
Dad always told be that stacking the bales was about like stacking marbles.



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Gary From Muleshoe

11-02-2007 08:52:21




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to Flewster, 11-02-2007 07:59:10  
Another thing to remember is that they hard on clutches. You have to stop for every bale that is baled. They worked best with the WD45, I was told buy and old AC man that its clutch was designed especially for this operation. We used one behind a JD 630 and wore the clutch completely out two seasons. As Old said they are real pain in the neck.



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old

11-02-2007 08:38:47




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to Flewster, 11-02-2007 07:59:10  
The white topped ones where the better upgraded ones. Either way they are a pain to bale with because you have to get your windrows just right or you end up with ice cream cone bales and messed up belts. BTDT and I wouldn't use on again unless I had no choice. Bales are hard to handle and don't stack well plus they don't weather well if not put under a roof.

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JMS/.MN

11-02-2007 12:08:37




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 Re: ROTO Baler PRO's and CON's in reply to old, 11-02-2007 08:38:47  
Don't weather well????? ?????. Wrapped in a circle will weather better than any square bale. Shed water- it rolls off! Sure, if you don't make a decent windrow you get a crappy bale. Dad taught me how to make windrows when I was eleven years old. Double curl, 3-4 feet wide. He baled with a WC, no hand clutch, for the first 8 years. Handling? Dad built wagons with one foot sides- used them for bales, oats, ear corn. 8x12 feet. Bales would stack either long way, for unloading on the ground, or crossways, for unloading into the barn with slings.

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