Round Baler Belts

[blueriver]

I have a Case IH 8430 that I got a few years ago. I pulled the belts to put new laces on them ... I was surprised at the difference in length of the belts .. a variation of over 2 inches in lenth and non of them the same length.

I assume they should all be as close as possible to the same Length?

The Owners manual states from 365" to 367" in Length ... the shortest is 365 and will probably be 364 after I trim and put the new lacing on ... Do you think that will be a problem? Or do I need at least one new one and then use one old one and make pieces to make them all 367" ... for future trimming and repair?

 

[RickB]

If you can make it 364" go ahead, but put it in the middle of the baler. And don't plan on relacing it again without putting a "Dutchman" in it to bring it back to OEM length.

 

[blueriver]

Okay ... I assume a Dutchman is a added piece? Should they not all be the same length?

 

[RickB]

Okay ... I assume a Dutchman is a added piece? Should they not all be the same length?

The typical Dutchman is 2-4 feet in length. The original belt is cut to a length so the entire assembly is the correct stock length when the Dutchman is added.

 

[BeeferMan]

We had to have a belt replaced in ours a few years ago, and IIRC they cut the new one to the exact length specified in the book, but since the other belts had stretched some they added a small section about 6" long to the new belt. This was removed after some baling when the new belt had stretched some. I can't really remember how long the section was left in.

Sorry to be sketchy on the details, it was a while ago...