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hay baler questions

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dave2

03-11-2008 06:09:35

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Hey folks,

It's getting that time of year again. I came up with a fair agreement with the guy I'll get round bales from for a size that I can handle better. Thing is, I still need to fill my barn with small bales for times that I am away and my wife takes care of the animals (she refuses to learn to drive the tractor).

I've got a local guy that gives me all I need (when it is harvested without being rained on). Problem is, there are 3 of us that all work full time that have to do the harvest. Me and my neighbor cut and rake, but the 3rd has the baler and is not able to adjust his schedule quick enough to allow for weather changes. My neighbor tried the last 2 years to adjust to the baler guy, but it resulted in both years of rained on (several times) hay. Now, this year, my neighbor has a wife, new baby, and less time. Baler guy won't loan his baler, which is kind of understandable (I say kind of because it sets year round until time to bale my hay). I may be able to convince him this year to rent and or sell it to me because he also is newly married and a Daddy.

That's the background, now for the questions: Concerning a small square baler.

1) When he would bale the hay, bales from the same field/area (no one spot was bigger than an acre) with the same type/amount of hay, the bales would be different density/weight. Some drastic. Was this a human or mechanical problem? In either case, what would be the likely fix? One thing, the guy is always in a hurry and drives accordingly regardless of what he it pulling.

2) Another neighbor has pretty much quit farming altogether and has a claas baler and a couple of different rakes setting in the weeds/brush. Others have said that his equipment was always good until he quit and parked it all. If that's the case, any idea besides a good cleaning, grease gun, and new twine what it would take to make it useable?

I'm trying to get to the point that i can take care of myself and just get help bringing it in.

I'll stop here for now.

Thanks, Dave

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Tom in TN

03-11-2008 07:56:33

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Re: hay baler questions in reply to dave2, 03-11-2008 06:09:35

Dave,

I don't know anything about agriculture or human culture in Germany, so I don't have any recommendations concerning your situation. However, I have a NH273 square baler that I use to bale about 2000 bales a year. In addition to what jojhs48jdb said about the type of grass and moisture content, I have found that the size and consistency of my windrows effects the density and weight of my bales. I have some odd shaped fields that result in oversized windrows on the corners of the field. The bales that come out from the oversized windrows are much tighter and heavier than the ones that come out on the rest of the fields. Is it possible that the windrows are varying in size?

Good luck,

Tom in TN

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E.B. Haymakin'

03-11-2008 08:20:37

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Re: hay baler questions in reply to Tom in TN, 03-11-2008 07:56:33

I agree totally. In the first few times I baled with my 273 I was very cautious on windrow size. The results were some loose, and weak bales. This year I made larger windrows, and slowed my ground speed. The result were heavier bales that held their shape, and since I got rid of the wrong twine the baler originally came with, they held together. The 9000 twine held where the thinner stuff wouldn"t. If baling large windrows watch your ground speed, so you don"t plug the baler.

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dave2

03-11-2008 08:16:28

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Re: hay baler questions in reply to Tom in TN, 03-11-2008 07:56:33

You hit it! Never thought of it that way until you mentioned it, but most heavy /hard bales were in places like you said. Some were still on normal stretches, but most not. Could it be anything to do with speed? I've seen him bull through until he choked the baler and have to wait on it to catch up.
If I can talk him or someone out of a baler, is it hard to get the hang of using it?

Thanks, Dave

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Tom in TN

03-11-2008 17:08:35

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Re: hay baler questions in reply to dave2, 03-11-2008 08:16:28

Dave,

It's not too hard to get the hang of it, it just takes a few rounds in the field. On my 273, I can hear the plunger cycling, stuffing the bale into the bale chamber. I can also hear the knotter cycle that knots the bale. I know that the best bales come out with six to eight cycles of the plunger, so I adjust my ground speed to try to get to that point.

Also, as someone else said (sorry I can't remember exactly who it was) depending on the length and density of the grass, I rake from two to six swaths together to get a windrow that I think will be about the right size for the baler.

So, it's not hard, but a little bit of experience helps.

Good luck,

Tom in TN

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dave2

03-11-2008 07:16:10

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Re: hay baler questions in reply to dave2, 03-11-2008 06:09:35

Thanks! I'll keep looking. I'm only talking about 400-600 bales. The other use would be baling straw which, for the most part, is free for the taking. I'll have a look at the one baler that has been setting (without any high hopes). Worst case, I'll skip the small squares. I've got a friend about 20 miles away with a round baler that makes 1 meter rolls that are actually better to store. Just hate to bother people. The thing about the setup here is taht places are small and scattered which makes it uninteresting for a custom baler.

Another option I have, but don't know what I'd be getting myself into:

Loader wagons (for collecting hay/grass loose) are a dime a dozen, if that much. Would it be too crazy to bring the stuff in and feed a baler in the barn? Or relocating to a more open area and feeding a round baler?
The part of Germany I am in gets plenty of rain. Usually there is just enough time to cut, dry, and bale just before the next rain comes.

My neighbor could use the money just as well as another guy, just trying to help figure a way to buy as much as possible from him.

Thanks, Dave

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MSS3020

03-11-2008 14:25:43

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Re: hay baler questions in reply to dave2, 03-11-2008 07:16:10

I might as well jump in on this one. In answer to hauling it in and bailing inside. NOPE. Consistant windrows key to good bales unless you have a hyd packer. Problem is to get consistant rows when all grass doesnt grow the same. So back to your question on hauling it in. You cant shovel hay in fast enough or consistant enough to have good bales. I tried it. Now back to windrows. I bought a ten wheel rake just to help this problem. I needed the bulk for my 273 N.H. to make good bales esp. on the 3 and 4th cuttings of alf. End up raking three rows together then another three rows and combine the six into one. Bale in 1st gear. Nice bales.

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jojhs48jdb

03-11-2008 06:32:09

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Re: hay baler questions in reply to dave2, 03-11-2008 06:09:35

dave, hay from different fields will always be a little bit different because of several things. 1 is the time of day it gets cut, 2 the amount of shade around the edge of the field, 3 different types of grass in it, especaillly if it has clover in it. clover is very hard to dry. buying used equiptment is always risky. if the eqwuiptment has bee setting out long you can expect a lot of problems with it. has water got into the gear housing, sun taken its tole on belts and other rubber parts, flat tires, rims rusted with holes in them. its the same as always buyer beware. ideal situation: mow with a mo/co that has uses the twirling type cutter heads for less down time. it must be conditioned to avoid the problems you've been having. a good rake of any kind. look for other custom bailers or buy your own. with custom balers he may not show whenhe says he will and it may be because if he's doing alot of bailing he may get behind or with that much use have some equiptment failures. have enough trailers, not wagons, to load the hay on so you can get it up out of the field and under a roof until y=time allows you to unload. don't use steel beds on trailers. they are to slick to start with and they sweat.

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