JD 14T Baler Advice

[scesnick]

For the last few years i have been buying hay for the horses. Well, as most of you probably know, Hay is starting to get expensive and I have about 30 acres of Timothy hay just waiting to be baled.
So, my wife grandfather is giving me his 14T baler. He said it ran fine 6 years ago when he put it in the barn. I know nothing about balers. Is there a good source for a manual for the 14T?

Also, I am going to have to tow this baler about 70 miles and I know this will be a journey and I will have to grease the bearings quite often. But, the tires are dry rotted and I want to get some tires already mounted on the rims before I head up to get the baler so I can just swap them on the spot.
Unfortunately I have not seen the baler yet and didn't get to measure the wheels or the offset or anything.
Anyone have any idea? ALl I know is that they are a four bolt pattern.
ANy help with this would be great...

 

[ddivinia]

For the last few years i have been buying hay for the horses. Well, as most of you probably know, Hay is starting to get expensive and I have about 30 acres of Timothy hay just waiting to be baled.
So, my wife grandfather is giving me his 14T baler. He said it ran fine 6 years ago when he put it in the barn. I know nothing about balers. Is there a good source for a manual for the 14T?

Also, I am going to have to tow this baler about 70 miles and I know this will be a journey and I will have to grease the bearings quite often. But, the tires are dry rotted and I want to get some tires already mounted on the rims before I head up to get the baler so I can just swap them on the spot.
Unfortunately I have not seen the baler yet and didn't get to measure the wheels or the offset or anything.
Anyone have any idea? ALl I know is that they are a four bolt pattern.
ANy help with this would be great...

I hear ya about hay prices. I am doing the same thing this year.

The good news - it has been in a barn.

Manual - I would try e-bay. There are manuals on there all the time. Might be able to get one from your John Deere dealer.

Maybe you can trailer it home?

You might want to just pull the wheels off and go have the tires swapped.

Best of luck - let us know how it goes.

D.

 

[atgreene]

Not for nothing, but........... sell it.

I grew up on a JD 14 T baler. Rode a hay drag behind it, rode the rear hitch pipe to roll hay out of the way for the next pass, worked on them with my father, you name it, we repaired it. Had 2 14 t's and a 24T. For 35 years he ran JD balers, then 2 years ago he bought a 30-40 year old reman New Holland. I personally thought he was crazy. After running it 2 years I can honestly say, JD balers of that vintage are junk. They bang, thrash, break shear bolts, notters miss etc... etc...

This old New Holland never misses a knot, runs quiet and smooth and can bale at twice the ground speed with less HP. Save yourself years of agravation, find a decent baler. When you need a baler you need it, 14 T's are hard to get parts for and really aren't much to write home about after trying a NH.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

Wow, when we farmed 22 years ago, we had the opposite experience. We had a couple New Holland 66 balers, the guy down the road had a 14t. Seems like he was always bailing (or baling) us out. The 14t makes such nice square bales, they would stand up on end in the field. The NH would never do that. Not that it's bad one way or the other, I just thought it was neat.

The problems atgreene is describing are the exact issues we had with the NH. I can't count how many times we had the dealer out for those knotters. Shear bolts? Had a toolbox full of them in June, empty in August.

Maybe it's more to do with the maintenance. I was young at the time and didn't have a clue, my older brother was worse. He still doesn't.

 

[Rara Avis]

This is just another religious argument...RED vs GREEN...

Me I'm on the GREEN side...

 

[atgreene]

This is just another religious argument...RED vs GREEN...

Hardly.

I'm a green fan, but after seeing how smooth a NH runs, man, all those years of watching a JD shake itself to death seem wasted. Never would have believed it myself. I challenge anyone who has run a 14T 24T or 336 to try a NH of the same vintage and see for yourself. Both my father and I are converts, and we had bled green for years.

 

[RobS]

Could be you're both right on the Red/Green issue. Back in that era, there wasn't a lot of control over manufacturing and assembly, certainly nothing like what is typical today. Could be that ATG got a bad Green unit and WCH had a bad Red one. If they were all as bad as each has described, neither would have had the market longevity that they had.

 

[CumminsLuke]

I myself despise green, but I have run a wore out old 24T for the past three summers and it has only missed four bales out of about four or five thousand. I got it for free, dealer friend of mine who I had done a favor for gave it to me. All I have done was replace the bale wedges in the chamber that help hold the hay charges in place. The only time I've ever broken a shear bolt was when I got a big clump of wet hay up in the chamber and the flywheel shear bolt will snap. That has only happened twice in three years. I think the 14T's were a little more crude then the 24T's, but I think if you learn the machine well and keep it serviced and adjusted it will serve you well. Maintenence and adjustment are the key on these old girls.

 

[Rara Avis]

I myself despise green, but I have run a wore out old 24T for the past three summers and it has only missed four bales out of about four or five thousand. I got it for free, dealer friend of mine who I had done a favor for gave it to me. All I have done was replace the bale wedges in the chamber that help hold the hay charges in place. The only time I've ever broken a shear bolt was when I got a big clump of wet hay up in the chamber and the flywheel shear bolt will snap. That has only happened twice in three years. I think the 14T's were a little more crude then the 24T's, but I think if you learn the machine well and keep it serviced and adjusted it will serve you well. Maintenence and adjustment are the key on these old girls.

And you despise green????
You should immediately shift that terrible green baler to VT where we will suffer with it...

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Not for nothing, but........... sell it.

I grew up on a JD 14 T baler. Rode a hay drag behind it, rode the rear hitch pipe to roll hay out of the way for the next pass, worked on them with my father, you name it, we repaired it. Had 2 14 t's and a 24T. For 35 years he ran JD balers, then 2 years ago he bought a 30-40 year old reman New Holland. I personally thought he was crazy. After running it 2 years I can honestly say, JD balers of that vintage are junk. They bang, thrash, break shear bolts, notters miss etc... etc...

This old New Holland never misses a knot, runs quiet and smooth and can bale at twice the ground speed with less HP. Save yourself years of agravation, find a decent baler. When you need a baler you need it, 14 T's are hard to get parts for and really aren't much to write home about after trying a NH.

Just my 2 cents.

There are certain things Deere has done to put them at the level they've acheived. For the most part, their tractors are as good as anyone's and better than many. But it goes far beyond that. They've produced equipment in a number of areas where they've become the gold standard to which every other manufacturer strives to reach. Planters and grain drills are one area where they excell. Another has been the hay baler line. They take a back seat to no one. That's just the way it is.

I grew up around New Holland balers. My first baler was a New Holland 273. After a few years I made the switch to Deere. I've found what the majority seem to agree on. There is no better baler made than a Deere. The New Holland balers I've been around required considerably more attention and constant adjustment to keep them baling correctly. A 14T would have matched well with that 273NH. I know for a fact that my 273 wasn't trouble free, nor would it always tie correctly. It was one of the models that gave New Holland the rep for "banana bales". I'm sure not all 14T's were without issues. I know 273 New Hollands weren't perfect either. That's exactly why I traded (UP) to a newer Deere baler. (336) To get away from smaller capacity, older, less reliable balers from a different era. It's just not reasonable to expect a baler built in the 1950's to compare with a baler built in the 1980's or later.

Parts for Deere balers are unbelievably easy and quick to get, where the NEw Holland balers, especially once they got a few years on them, weren't supported quite as well, especially on the local dealer level. New Holland does an adaquate job of supplying parts, but relative to Deere's parts and service availability, the best NH can do is second. (NO ONE supports their products any better than Deere) The claim of "twice the ground speed with less HP" shot holes in the credability of your claims. Absolutely ridiculous. The ONLY way that would be true in any regard is if you're comparing NH VS DEERE balers made several generations apart. And that ISN'T a legitimate comparison. Comparable models from each brand are very simular in capacities and have been all along. Neither has EVER had a competing model that is capable of 100% more production that the other. Again, total nonsense.

I'm not exactly a Deere advocate, although I do own a few pieces of the equipment. What I do advocate is buying the best equipment my money will get me, regardless of color or brand. While both brands have their advantages, Deere has proven time and time again to be at the top of the game regarding small square balers.

 

[CumminsLuke]

And you despise green????
You should immediately shift that terrible green baler to VT where we will suffer with it...

What I meant was I am not a JD fan, but my old 24T sure has been good. If my JD 4600 tractor was as well made as my 24T baler I'd probably like JD better. Had two 5000 series deere tractors and this 4600 I got now, and I haven't like any of them. Soon as I can afford it we will have another Kubota M7040 instead of that green 4600.

 

[zzvyb6]

I use a 14T. Easy to run, low power reqmnts' I used it behind a 22hp Yanmar. Parts available. Manual(s) from eBay (I think I have parts book and manual in pdf file around here somewhere). The files are too big to attach, if you want them I can PM them to you.

I would not tow it home. The wheel bearing spindles are a bit weak and may break the bearing case if you hit a pot hole, curb or bump. Instead, rent a trailer, back it on crossways (park in a ditch) then swing the tongue all the way over to the pickup side. May have to remove the hinge bolt to do this.

The wheels are 4 bolt on the pickup side but 6 bolt on the plunger side. TSC has tires and tubes.when you get it home. Go to the JD website and look up agriculture / parts. Enter machine model 24T. They don't have the 14T but the 24T is its younger sister. This is an easy machine to work on, time, thread and maintain. The price is right. With 30 acres you'll have a good chance to pay for all your other required machinery (rake and mower) in the first year.

 

[atgreene]

It's just not reasonable to expect a baler built in the 1950's to compare with a baler built in the 1980's or later.

Parts for Deere balers are unbelievably easy and quick to get, where the NEw Holland balers, especially once they got a few years on them, weren't supported quite as well, especially on the local dealer level. New Holland does an adaquate job of supplying parts, but relative to Deere's parts and service availability, the best NH can do is second. (NO ONE supports their products any better than Deere) The claim of "twice the ground speed with less HP" shot holes in the credability of your claims. Absolutely ridiculous. The ONLY way that would be true in any regard is if you're comparing NH VS DEERE balers made several generations apart. And that ISN'T a legitimate comparison. Comparable models from each brand are very simular in capacities and have been all along. Neither has EVER had a competing model that is capable of 100% more production that the other. Again, total nonsense.

I certainly disagree with you. Both of our 14 T Balers and the 24 T were no match for this New Holland. My father has baled hay with a lot of different balers for over 50 years. The NH has really impressed both of us. In the same field, with the same tractor we are traveling in much high gears and doing it with less effort on the part of the tractor. And yes, the bale count is virtually the same from year to year, so the total crop is equal, I have no reason to exagerate here, just telling it like it is.

As for banana bales, we've had them all. Both 14 T's and the 24 T would do the same and the miss ration of knots was about 1 in 100 on a good day. The NH is guranteed to miss the first bale, after that almost never. I will give you this, we bought it from a NH collector who rebuilt the baler and is a fanatic about setting them up properly. He even guaranteed the baler for 1 year. When we asked about it missing 1 in 50 or so when we first tried it he came down and put a new knotter on it. His statement to us was that it shouldn't miss any, and thus far he's right.

As for parts, go to your local dealer and ask for the fingers for a 14T. You will find that they are no longer made and the dealer will give you a flyer on how to cut and grind so as to adapt a newer style (24T?) to a 14T. Likewise the billhook? or maybe the billhook shaft was no longer available? but something could be adapted with some work. When it comes to knotters we felt that cutting and grinding something to fit into a knotter was going to lead to disaster.

I'm not sure why you would personally attack me when our discussion here is about balers. I'm sure you would be offended if I attacked you in the same way, so I have to assume you are a better person than that and you happen to be having a bad day.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I certainly disagree with you. Both of our 14 T Balers and the 24 T were no match for this New Holland. My father has baled hay with a lot of different balers for over 50 years. The NH has really impressed both of us. In the same field, with the same tractor we are traveling in much high gears and doing it with less effort on the part of the tractor. And yes, the bale count is virtually the same from year to year, so the total crop is equal, I have no reason to exagerate here, just telling it like it is.

As for banana bales, we've had them all. Both 14 T's and the 24 T would do the same and the miss ration of knots was about 1 in 100 on a good day. The NH is guranteed to miss the first bale, after that almost never. I will give you this, we bought it from a NH collector who rebuilt the baler and is a fanatic about setting them up properly. He even guaranteed the baler for 1 year. When we asked about it missing 1 in 50 or so when we first tried it he came down and put a new knotter on it. His statement to us was that it shouldn't miss any, and thus far he's right.

As for parts, go to your local dealer and ask for the fingers for a 14T. You will find that they are no longer made and the dealer will give you a flyer on how to cut and grind so as to adapt a newer style (24T?) to a 14T. Likewise the billhook? or maybe the billhook shaft was no longer available? but something could be adapted with some work. When it comes to knotters we felt that cutting and grinding something to fit into a knotter was going to lead to disaster.

I'm not sure why you would personally attack me when our discussion here is about balers. I'm sure you would be offended if I attacked you in the same way, so I have to assume you are a better person than that and you happen to be having a bad day.

A personal attack? You made a few outlandish claims and I called you on them. That's not personal unless you make it such. If you choose to make far fetched comments on a public forum, be prepared to get a response and don't be thin skinned when that happens.

Try to get parts for a 273 New Holland. NH no longer supports that model AT ALL, not just a few parts unavailable. The entire baler is now obsolete as far as they're concerned. It's not at all unreasonable to expect a baler that was made 50 years ago would be hard to find some parts for. The 273 was built several years later than the 14T and parts for it have been totally discontinued. Why is it a condemnation of Deere that a few parts are unavailable yet it's equal from New Holland has ZERO parts support and somehow that's OK.

Plain and simple, if you're comparing simular models of NH and Deere, there won't be any significant difference in capacity OR speed unless you had mis-adjusted the Deere baler and the NH was in perfect tune. If that's the case, it WASN'T an issue of differences in the baler but a problem with poor operation and maintenance. It appears as if you may be comparing a 50 year old Deere model to a much newer New Holland model. If that's the case, why would you expect any different results. As of yet, you've never mentioned what model of NH baler you're speaking of. Lets compare a 40 year old New Holland to a 20 year old Deere and see how they stack up. Or if you're comparing a smaller model Deere baler to a high capacity NH model, that isn't a comparison. We can stack the deck AGAINST New Holland in the same manner. Would that tell us anything? There may be subtle differences, but a claim of 50% more efficiency in equal sized balers both in proper tune is preposterous.

My point is, Deere plays second fiddle to no one with their balers. Compare same generation models and you find them very equal in capacity, speed, and reliability. You'll find no one that supports parts and service to the degree that Deere does.