Haying with compact tractor

[aczlan]

We run a NH 273 with a kicker behind our L3830 and it does fairly well. Gets close to being a little too much when you have a full wagon on a hill, but it handles it.

Aaron Z

 

[powerscol]

Thanks folks - spring auctions coming up - maybe I will get lucky finding a small one.

On last question on an inline. Had a chance to watch a yard demo on an 1835. It supposedly only takes 30 PTO hp and as for tractor height he suggested hanging a scrap piece of baler belt under my tractor to keep hay from hanging u on the draw bar. Also flattens the windrow to feed the baler better. Thoughts?

The reason I ask is while it may be ok to get a used sickle or rake and fix them up, fixing up an old baler can get expensive and it might be a better investment to go newer if the HP is still OK

 

[SwingOak]

Great thread - I just bought a 7' NH Haybine, and will be looking for a rake (preferably a NH 256) and a baler. I'll be driving everything with a Kioti DK50SE HST, which has 38 PTO hp. I'd like to get a baler with a kicker, and I have experience with the IH/ NH belt type thrower, but haven't used the JD type which seems to flip the bales rather than shoot them between a couple of conveyor belts. Is one type any better than the other, and if so, why?

 

[pmsmechanic]

When I was a kid the neighbour started off with a NH with belts. In a light swath the belts would burn the twine off the bale before it got pushed out the chute into the thrower. The IHC with the rollers was better but would also tear the bale apart in a light swath. The best by far was the JD with the kicker. It was easy on the bales and you could tow two hay racks one behind the other and fill up most of the rear hay rack.

Just for the fun of it I hooked onto a small NH baler (273 I think) this summer with my 4410 (35 engine hp). We were all surprised at how well it worked. I'ts narrow enough on a 12-14 foot swath that you could bale either way and just sneak around the laid down bales in the previous row. The cruise helped keep the baler right full and the tail only waged the puppy noticeably when you were running empty.

 

[SwingOak]

When I was a kid the neighbour started off with a NH with belts. In a light swath the belts would burn the twine off the bale before it got pushed out the chute into the thrower.

I have vivid memories of getting hit with a cloud of hay when the belts fried the twine...

 

[aczlan]

When I was a kid the neighbour started off with a NH with belts. In a light swath the belts would burn the twine off the bale before it got pushed out the chute into the thrower. The IHC with the rollers was better but would also tear the bale apart in a light swath. The best by far was the JD with the kicker. It was easy on the bales and you could tow two hay racks one behind the other and fill up most of the rear hay rack.

We have a 273 with a belt kicker and the only time we have had problems burning bales is with really light 2nd cutting windrows (when we don't merge them enough, ie: we merge 2 windrows but could have merged 3).

Just for the fun of it I hooked onto a small NH baler (273 I think) this summer with my 4410 (35 engine hp). We were all surprised at how well it worked. I'ts narrow enough on a 12-14 foot swath that you could bale either way and just sneak around the laid down bales in the previous row. The cruise helped keep the baler right full and the tail only waged the puppy noticeably when you were running empty.

We have a Kubota L3830 (~38 engine HP), a NH 273 baler with a belt kicker and a 9' NH mower-conditioner. In "average" first cut hay (grass hay with a little clover, timothy and alfalfa mixed in), it can handle 2 windrows merged together without working too hard. We pull a wagon behind the baler and it handles it fairly well, I wouldn't try with anything smaller though.
If I crank the belt speed up to the max and run just over 540 PTO RPM, I can kick bales over the back of the wagon, but they probably don't go far enough to really load a second wagon.

Aaron Z

 

[farmer2009]

We have a Kubota L3830 (~38 engine HP), a NH 273 baler with a belt kicker and a 9' NH mower-conditioner. In "average" first cut hay (grass hay with a little clover, timothy and alfalfa mixed in), it can handle 2 windrows merged together without working too hard. We pull a wagon behind the baler and it handles it fairly well, I wouldn't try with anything smaller though.
If I crank the belt speed up to the max and run just over 540 PTO RPM, I can kick bales over the back of the wagon, but they probably don't go far enough to really load a second wagon.

Aaron Z

Don't know how you are running a 9' conditioner with 38 hp. We run 8' disk mowers no conditioner and it eats 55 hp. Especially on hills. 65 runs it nice but couldn't handle a conditioner.

 

[aczlan]

Don't know how you are running a 9' conditioner with 38 hp. We run 8' disk mowers no conditioner and it eats 55 hp. Especially on hills. 65 runs it nice but couldn't handle a conditioner.

Its a NH 461 sickle mower conditioner, so it does pretty good.

Aaron Z

 

[SwingOak]

I was told a sickle moco up to 11 feet can be run with 30-35 PTO hp. I was also advised that unless I had at least 60 HP to stay away from the disc mowers.

 

[aczlan]

I was told a sickle moco up to 11 feet can be run with 30-35 PTO hp. I was also advised that unless I had at least 60 HP to stay away from the disc mowers.

11'? Depends on your grass and your tractor weight. IIRC, ours has a 8.5' cut and its heavy enough that it tries to push the tractor around on our hills. I wouldn't want to go much bigger than the one we have.

Aaron Z