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Hesston 550 round baler

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Allan

06-30-2002 21:41:06




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I have a Hesston 550 round baler thats been giving
me grief as of late. It is a 1991 model that I purchased 3 years ago. When baling short grass hay, it likes to wrap on the bottom front steel roller causing hay to build up and eventually puts up a vibration. It will also leave a wad of
hay in the upper right corner at the top of the gate. The outside right belt seems to be the worst. I've tried flipping the belt which seemed
to help a little. It did this from the time I got
it, but didn't seem to bother as much until lately. When I got it, I cut all the belts to the
same length and had new lacing installed. I also
installed new starter flaps. It starts and rolls
the bales nicely and makes a great bale, but this
is getting frustrating. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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R. Bible

09-06-2004 05:46:50




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 Re: Hesston 550 round baler in reply to Allan, 06-30-2002 21:41:06  
Allen, I have a 550 also. I bought it new in 91 also. It's been a pretty good baler overall. One thing I've learned is that you can't bale hay that isn't dry. If it is dry with damp spots in it, you better start the bale in a good dry spot in the winrow. When I bale nice dry hay, I don't have a problem. One suggestion is to start your roll in a row that starts small and gets larger. ( I actually have pulled out of a row and went to a better place to start the roll, sometimes in another windrow.)Go a few feet and stop...watch the hay at the pickup. When you see the hay being pulled into the chamber faster than when you first started the roll, you know that it has been successfully started. This can prevent a long dig-out of hay.This baler puts more hay in a roll than any I have seen. How you rake the hay means a lot in starting the roll when baling....but most important thing is dryness. A tetter really halps get rid of those green spots. If you don't have one, you should get one. After 13 yrs, I am going to replace belts, starter flaps, some bearings, drive chain sprockets and anything else that needs fixing (this winter in garage) The wheels that force the winrow to the bale chamber should always be used. If you have any questions, e-mail me at ronbo@toast.net I will help if I can. R. Bible

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JohnnyB

07-01-2002 19:07:17




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 Re: Hesston 550 round baler in reply to Allan, 06-30-2002 21:41:06  
I can relate to you on this one, I got a hesston 5545 and it does the same thing. You have to get off the tractor every 2-3 bales and mess with or dig out something. I have went back to my wore out JD 430. I think these balers main problems are the belts are not wide enough, there is too much space from belt to belt. Something that I did to help the situation, I bent the metal side flaps inward to direct incoming grass toward the center of the baler. Also keep the broken pickup teeth replaced. Are you sure that you are not baling up grass too green? Mine does not wrap up in the roller unless I got a little too green grass. I thought about replacing the belts with newer wider ones but hate to put any more cash into this piece. It really is a shame this machine don't work any better, it has a lot of features and looks to be a great design,mine starts a bale better than any I ever owned, has a kicker and is easy to work on. Maybe I'll do a little more tinkering this winter!

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JohnnyB

07-01-2002 19:03:34




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 Re: Hesston 550 round baler in reply to Allan, 06-30-2002 21:41:06  
I can relate to you on this one, I got a hesston 5545 and it does the same thing. You have to get off the tractor every 2-3 bales and mess with or dig out something. I have went back to my wore out JD 430. I think these balers main problems are the belts are not wide enough, there is too much space from belt to belt. Something that I did to help the situation, I bent the metal side flaps inward to direct incoming grass toward the center of the baler. Also keep the broken pickup teeth replaced. Are you sure that you are not baling up grass too green? Mine does not wrap up in the roller unless I got a little too green grass. I thought about replacing the belts with newer wider ones but hate to put any more cash into this piece. It really is a shame this machine don't work any better, it has a lot of features and looks to be a great design,mine starts a bale better than any I ever owned, has a kicker and is easy to work on. Maybe I'll do a little more tinkering this winter!

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Allan

07-01-2002 20:58:02




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 Re: Re: Hesston 550 round baler in reply to JohnnyB, 07-01-2002 19:03:34  
Thanks for the reply. At least I know I'm not the only one with this problem. I agree that the belts
are probably the problem, but like you I hate to
spend $1200.00 and possibly still have the same
problem. I think I might start looking at a JD 435
or similar. I have had very good luck with their other harvesting and haying equipment. Once again
thanks for the help and I'll try your suggestion.

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JohnnyB

07-03-2002 15:47:16




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 Re: Re: Re: Hesston 550 round baler in reply to Allan, 07-01-2002 20:58:02  
I found a set of brand new belts for $700 last year from a company that specializes in belts only, But that still is a lot of money to invest on a whim. My local JD dealer has three new 466's sitting on his lot that ain't going to sell thus season. They might get pretty cheap about the middle of december.



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JohnnyB

07-03-2002 15:46:48




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 Re: Re: Re: Hesston 550 round baler in reply to Allan, 07-01-2002 20:58:02  
I found a set of brand new belts for $700 last year from a company that specializes in belts only, But that still is a lot of money to invest on a whim. My local JD dealer has three new 466's sitting on his lot that ain't going to sell thus season. They might get pretty cheap about the middle of december.



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