IH 47 Baler

[Jim at NineTrees]

Hey all, I am still on the lookout for a baler and think that I may have found one. Any IH 47 twine baler. It does not look bad in general, no rust, barn stored but all good things have issues and this baler has a couple.

The guy is selling it on consignment for $900.00, so that is good cause I do not have a bunch of $$$'s. Last year he was baling and it was missing half the bales. When I was looking at the knotters the bill hooks are bunched up with old plastic twine that was a cheaper variety (I had thought that these balers work better with sisal and a higher quality). And the knotters are each in different positions which I think then the timing must be off.

So is this baler any good? I have heard mixed reviews. I am only baling 10-15 acres (rotating pastures) with two cuttings. The tractor is a 45 horse with a 38 pto so that should not be an issue with this baler (min is 35 pto).

As always, any suggestion like run away before I waste my money is greatly appreciate. I have to say, this baler looks really good, good rubber, no rust, drive is in good shape, there is some paint flaking off but not bad.

So what to look for or should I pass and keep looking for a different baler.

thanks
jim

 

[whodat526]

i am partial to nh balers so i couldn't give much advise but what do u mean by the knotters are in different positions is the cam gears in differnent postions the twine holder the knife arm because these parts would work of the cam gear on a nh and they are operated off the same shaft that is solidy mounted between the two and there is a gear that is chain are belt drive and thats the only place it can get out of time i believe i know thats how it is on a newholland

 

[Jim at NineTrees]

whodat526,

i do not know how best to describe it and I am not the best at balers by any stretch .... but yes the knife arms seem to be in different positions. I would think that this may mean the timing is off or an something is broken.

Any suggestions? I was looking a NH baler too but my tractor just does not have enough HP.

thanks
jim

 

[steve08]

Can ya get Parts for it?

 

[Jim at NineTrees]

yeah I still get parts for the most of the baler to include needles. OF course the knotters are a different story. What an old baler pro told me that the IH 47 had a knotter called a "sure knotter". It is the knotter that will pose a problem. It ties a short little knot from what I gather. The parts of the knotter are all there and according to my friend nothing is broken and the baler is very sound ... except it is still missing half the bales. We are going to run some straw through it and see what happens.

So again, any criticism is greatly appreciated.

Jim

 

[whodat526]

how many hp tractor do u have u can run a 273or 310 on a 8n ford just dont be getting into any races. the 273 or 310 nh is easy to time and u can still get all the parts for it.

but the knife arms run off the cam gears and if they are in different place the shaft between the two cam gears is most likly twisted and will need to be replace
but without seeing pictures i cannot be certain but from what u described thats what is sounds like

but there can be alot more problems that can cause it to miss bales and some cheap to fix so quite high

 

[Dill]

IH machines seem to require very little in the way of HP, not sure why.
I believe some 47s had the "all twine" knotters and some didn't. If this one doesn't I would stay away. And this would explain the plastic balling up on the bill hooks. I'm not expert enough to be able to explain the difference to you though. Sorry.
900 is steep imho. Especially with a knotter issue. I wouldn't go over 500.

 

[SPYDERLK]

yeah I still get parts for the most of the baler to include needles. OF course the knotters are a different story. What an old baler pro told me that the IH 47 had a knotter called a "sure knotter". It is the knotter that will pose a problem. It ties a short little knot from what I gather. The parts of the knotter are all there and according to my friend nothing is broken and the baler is very sound ... except it is still missing half the bales. We are going to run some straw through it and see what happens.

So again, any criticism is greatly appreciated.

Jim

Yes. And Clean the plastic out of the knotters and use sisal 10000. My IH37 wont work with plastic. It doesnt cut well.
larry

 

[steve08]

If ya don't think your Tractor's got the HP to run a Baler... You might look for a Baler with it's own engine.

I pull a 430 Hayliner with my little Kubota 4350

 

[flusher]

Hey all, I am still on the lookout for a baler and think that I may have found one. Any IH 47 twine baler. It does not look bad in general, no rust, barn stored but all good things have issues and this baler has a couple.

The guy is selling it on consignment for $900.00, so that is good cause I do not have a bunch of $$$'s. Last year he was baling and it was missing half the bales. When I was looking at the knotters the bill hooks are bunched up with old plastic twine that was a cheaper variety (I had thought that these balers work better with sisal and a higher quality). And the knotters are each in different positions which I think then the timing must be off.

So is this baler any good? I have heard mixed reviews. I am only baling 10-15 acres (rotating pastures) with two cuttings. The tractor is a 45 horse with a 38 pto so that should not be an issue with this baler (min is 35 pto).

As always, any suggestion like run away before I waste my money is greatly appreciate. I have to say, this baler looks really good, good rubber, no rust, drive is in good shape, there is some paint flaking off but not bad.

So what to look for or should I pass and keep looking for a different baler.

thanks
jim

That IH baler is similar to my MF124 two-twine small square baler which also is speced at 35 hp min, although there is a youtube video showing a guy with a restored Farmall Super A (16 hp pto) running an MF124-sized baler without difficulty.

YouTube - FARMALL Super A

(check at about 5 min into this 7 min video).

 

[Jim at NineTrees]

First thank you all for your advice and Lew thank you for the email.

Well I bit the bullet and bought the 47. $900 was to good to pass and it is in really good condition.

We cleared out all the plastic twine and put in sisal (9000' ball) and timed it (thank goodness for the owners manual).

First three were a little loose, increased the tension and bingo nice tight bales. I can see why you need to use sisal and why plastic can bind up on the bill hooks, there is no sweep are to clear the knotters. So I can also imagine that you have to keep those bill hooks in near prefect condition.

So, I am going to give it a winter tune up and put in the shed until I need to bale. I will let you all know how it works.

Thanks again,

Jim

 

[tessiers]

I've got a NH but the story is the same, she wants sisal 9000, anything else and she throws a fit. I run mine with a Farmall H, 25hp so power won't be an issue, slow and steady wins the race. Guy I bought it from sheared pins constantly, figured there must be something wrong, sold it cheap. I bought it and have sheared only 2 pins in 2 years, both 2 min apart on the same plug.

Good Luck!!!

 

[Jim at NineTrees]

T,

doesn't that farmall get bounced around with the plunger?

 

[Dill]

I've run my IH 435 with both an H and a Farmall 400. They don't get shaken that much since they have weight. But since I grew up with Deere's I felt odd way up on that seat with nothing around me.

 

[tessiers]

I like being way up on that seat, doesn't bounce too much, that old H probably weighs as much as a 50 HP tractor today, it ain't no compact thats for sure.