A GOOD SMALL SQUARE BALER?

[steveky]

I'm looking for a good small square baler. Will be using a 32 hp / 25 pto Kubota tractor to operate it. Can anyone recommend a model # and manufacturer I should look for? Would prefere a popular brand like New Holland, something I can easily get parts for if needed.

Thanks

 

[Rara Avis]

I'm looking for a good small square baler. Will be using a 32 hp / 25 pto Kubota tractor to operate it. Can anyone recommend a model # and manufacturer I should look for? Would prefere a popular brand like New Holland, something I can easily get parts for if needed.

Thanks

Well if you plan on a kicker and hay wagon...You are UNDERPOWERED...

 

[lhfarm]

Do a search and you will find lots and lots of cautions, ideas and suggestions for baling with a CUT. For years, I used an old IH-46 baler with a '64 Ford 4000. That was a ~40 hp heavy tractor and that old baler would still bounce it around. I haven't tried it with my NH TC40DA. Even though the HP is about the same, the tractor is much lighter.

Here is one thread on the subject -
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...-tractor-hay-baling.html?highlight=hay+baling

Good luck,

 

[slowzuki]

I'm running a JD336 on a Kubota L5030 hstc. Thats a 52 hp weighing in at 6500 lbs with the loader on. It handles it quite well but shakes me.

I would stick to a JD14 or such with lower stroke rate and less weight. People used to pull them with smaller tractors. If you have any hills what you are wanting to do is a bad idea.

I'm moving to a 70 hp machine for mine just to reduce the amount of wear. The baler is quite a load on my 5030 on any type of slope.

 

[HPXDEEREDEALER]

Im a john deere dealer so i shouldnt say this... But Hesston makes the best square baler out there. I'm not sure the model for the smaller one but if you have dealer thats the one to get.

 

[steveky]

I had a #3 MF and it was wore out and it wore me out..I'm only baling about 5 or 6 acres and I have a neighbor who will round bale it for me for a small fee...but I just like to do it when my schedule allows...can't justify a new baler or tractor for that amount..but I hauled that thing to the scrap yard and got lots of satisfaction as it was trashed. Nothing worse than a hay baler that won't work. Anyway thanks for all your replys.

Steve

 

[farmerjim]

any of the older jd's or nh's will suit you fine. jd 14 or 24t either pto or pony motor. nh hayliner 77,68,69, 273 again pto or pony motor. with that tractor you may be better off w/ the pony motor, as a pto may give you a good pushing. all of the above were made for the older tractors like a jd 430 or 50 or ih m,h ect. those balers will make very uniform and great quality bales. i currently run a jd 24t and wouldn't trade it for the world, yes i have to go slower but all my bales are very uniform and very seldom does it break down, mostly it will break a shear bolt on the flywheel in very heavy 1st cut or it'll break a bale when changing to the next spool of twine. good luck.

 

[plowrup]

The problem with the JD14 IS the number of strokes in the Bale Chamber-you WILL have more spoilage as the Hay is not packed as tight-

 

[Mickey_Fx]

Been quite a few yrs since I've done any haying. Like several others have commented, I think your tractor is on the small side. Haying conditions vary considerably around the country and what works or doesn't work in one area my not hold true for another location.

I did my haying with a MF 165D, 55HP. Had a new JD 334/336 as I recall. I could push hay out of it at a fairly good rate most of the time but the bailer could and did push/pull the tractor around some. Around here 4T acre was about typ for 1st cutting grass. The guys bailing thimothy, needed a lot larger tractor than mine, on the order of >100HP pulling a large freeman bailer (std sq bails) to get the job done.

For the small acreage you have you might be able to get by with a small bailer and going slow so as not to place too heavy a load on the bailer and your tractor. A self powered bailer would likely work better.

 

[zzvyb6]

The problem with the JD14 IS the number of strokes in the Bale Chamber-you WILL have more spoilage as the Hay is not packed as tight-

Not sure where this "fact" comes from. Bale density is set by the bale compressor tension: Just add some crank to the turn handles. Then you adjust bale length with the measuring wheel pin to get a bale length compatible with your elevator, stack wagon, thrower, kicker, wagon helper. and customer. The 14T goes 1 stroke per second at 540 input rpm. For the 13 flakes per bale that are considered "law" here in Michigan, you should get 40 - 50 lb bales. Last week I forgot to reset the tension after deciding to go for one more cutting. I have 150# bales that my customers hate to handle in spite of the tonnage bargain. There's 3 times as many flakes. That's tight !!

Other balers run 80 - 90 strokes per minute. So what: the number of charges which deliver the pre-set bale length is all that matters. These balers cause horse starvation because owners feed "2 flakes" at a time. In a 14T the flakes are 3" thick. In a 336 the flakes are 1" thick.

Be kind to animals: Read the manual and do the math. Run the machine at rated rpm, charge rate (windrow volume), bale tension and length.

Don't blame the machinery if your bales are light,fluffy, and twinkie shaped.