Baling leaves with a square baler

[m5guy]

So, I have an outdoor wood burner and a yard full of oak trees. I also have an old new holland square baler collecting dust. So I thought I would try baling my leaves and burning them in the outdoor burner. Took some trial and error, but it works surprisingly well. I need to make the bales as small as you can for my burner, as I found a full size bale will choke out the fire. Just an idea if you have lots of leaves and like doing things that make your neighbors question your sanity.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Cool! Could you bale full size and feed wafers?
Can I ask? ... What NH baler do you have?

 

[m5guy]

I did that last year, it's kinda of a hassle that way. I have a nh 273. 1974 vintage I believe.

 

[oldnslo]

How do you get the leaves dry enough to burn vs just smolder? Seems like around here they are damp 99% of the time when I rake or mulch them.

Great idea on getting some use out of baler and leaves.

 

[Hay Dude]

And when baling hay, you try as much as possible to keep leaves OUT of the bales lol

 

[LHF2019]

Cool! Could you bale full size and feed wafers?
Can I ask? ... What NH baler do you have?

They are leaves not hay. The second you cut the strings you will have a bunch of loose leaves.

 

[workinonit]

I don't touch leaves. I run them over with one of my mulching mowers and it's like "they never even happened".

 

[LHF2019]

I could see people buying those for fall decorations or adding mulch to gardens if you lived in the right area. Neat idea.

 

[lman]

If they smoke as much as they do when burning on the ground, your neighbors will love(not) you.

 

[SPYDERLK]

They are leaves not hay. The second you cut the strings you will have a bunch of loose leaves.

Messiness understood. Still, you have separate compressed strokes held stably for a time. It is an outdoor stove.

 

[KennyG]

There have been ideas like this around for a while.

Log Splitter Also Makes Logs Out Of Leaves

 

[D&D]

like doing things that make your neighbors question your sanity.

 

[JRH02]

and like doing things that make your neighbors question your sanity.

And while you are baling those leaves, be sure to wear one of those white oxford button down long sleeve shirts that you have no use for anymore. Especially with heavy starch. They will drive by very slowly and might even have their mouth open.

 

[CliffordK]

I'd encourage you to periodically check the interior temperature of your pile of bales. If it is a small pile it is probably OK, but moisture and piles of hay bales can have catastrophic results.

 

[MH8675309]

I did that last year, it's kinda of a hassle that way. I have a nh 273. 1974 vintage I believe.

Good baler - i got the same machine

 

[walnutman]

Fortunately since moving from a very wooded property in SE PA to a sparsely wooded lot in East Texas, I just mulch them in with my ZD1611.

 

[Sprinkler Fitter]

How do you get the leaves dry enough to burn vs just smolder? Seems like around here they are damp 99% of the time when I rake or mulch them.

Great idea on getting some use out of baler and leaves.

Ours are very dry here in central Minnesota, we have a outdoor fireplace on our patio and I will shovel some from the patio into the fireplace and they instantly light on fire that you can’t stand to close when doing that.

 

[TugHillDog]

That is about the coolest idea i have seen in some time!

 

[Elviscaretaker]

I'm fortunate, my animals like the "potato chips" that fall from above. They do a pretty good job at cleaning them all up. Only ones I don't see eat them are the horses.

 

[Little Red Tractor]

And while you are baling those leaves, be sure to wear one of those white oxford button down long sleeve shirts that you have no use for anymore. Especially with heavy starch. They will drive by very slowly and might even have their mouth open.

Watching the neighbors' reactions to that would be worth the price of admission!