NH 640 Round Baler

truckerr1 · Jul 7, 2014

I just purchased a NH 640 Round Baler as I was tired of Custom operators not showing up on time and hay being ruined. Used it yest for 1st time and for most part was happy with it. Just wondering abt a couple of things tho,abt 50% of the time when I started a new bale the hay would bunch up ahead of the rollers (usually in shorter grassy sections) and I would have to climb up and manually clear it. Tried lowering pto rpm & ground speed but nothing really worked. Finally had to shut pto off,go to far end of field with longer hay to get started. Just wondering if anyone has any tips abt this. Second issue was on hilly field baler would pull very hard. Manual says it needs a 60hp tractor or better. Mine is 105hp so figured it would play with it-Wrong! Had to gear down going up hills only abt 5km ground speed with eng rpm at abt 1400 &pto abt 650. It was a hot day abt 82F & tractor started to overheat to the point that I would have to stop after every other bale for 10min or so to let it cool down. Pretty sure it not issues with tractor as it normally never runs warm any other time.(less than 1/2 on temp gauge when haybining) When bale is over 1/2 built you can really here engine lug when you engage pto. Just wondering if this normal or some sort of baler issue? Appreciate any thoughts on this.

RickB · Jul 7, 2014

ERPM @ 1400 and PTO speed @ 650??? You do know the 640 is a 540 RPM machine, right?

truckerr1 · Jul 7, 2014

For sure,on level ground I was running it at 540rpm,but when your 1/2 way up a fairly steep hill with bale chamber 3/4 full I figured it was better than stalling out and hoping my brakes would hold and i could get going again. Baler didn"t seem to mind extra rpm"s but chose lower gear next round just to be safe.

RickB · Jul 7, 2014

You will get better performance from both the tractor & baler if you run the PTO in the 540 standard setting rather than economy mode or whatever you are doing. You aren't making anywhere near 105 HP at 1400 erpm. Lucky if it is making half of that. The baler won' t live long being overspeeded, and might even start bales better at normal speed.

truckerr1 · Jul 8, 2014

Thx for the tip Rick ! I have owned this tractor for 3yrs.Mode selector said it was in standard 540 rpm and as I have only used pto for haybining & small square bales before it was never a problem. When I checked under the cab one end of the control rod from mode selector had either fallen off or been disconnected by previous owner. It was actually in 540 Eco mode as you suggested! I hooked control rod back up,shifted to 540 standard mode,now engine is reving at 1850rpm with Pto at 540. Pretty sure that will solve overheating and lugging issues! I can also slow pto down to 240rpm so possibly by starting off slow it will help with hay jamming when starting a new bale.