small round baler I think its time

[BryanM]

well I think its time to get a round baler, I am loosing my help for small squares, we only do 1200-1500 smalls a year but I am thinking it may be time to do rounds. The hay is for our own use.

This is my question I have a 55hp tractor so looking for a small round baler and have a couple lined up to look at. They are both same size and brand- New Idea 484
here are my questions: 1.) when round baling with this baler do you need to shut off the pto everytime you eject a bale?
2.) how much does a 4x5 hay bale aprox weight? 3.) can you make a bale smaller say 4x4, I am assuming so?

we bale in ohio on totally flat ground, so I don't think hp will be a problem, but am curious on what you think a new idea 484 in good shape will be worth, it ranges so much on tractor house, I cant get a good idea on what a fair price would be?

thanks for your time

 

[Bigfoot62]

To directly answer your questions,
1. Nope.
2. APPROXIMATELY 800 pounds. (weight can vary widely, due to bale density, moisture content, etc)
3. I don't think you can with that particular model. It looks like it is 5' wide. If so, you can't make a 5x4, but you could conceivably make a 5x3. (but I wouldn't)
4. Don't have a clue about price. I've never seen one of those balers in my area. TH would be the only reference I would have.

I couldn't find anything in your signature that identifies your tractor. A 55 HP "farm" tractor will handle a baler very differently from a 55 HP compact tractor. Also, 55 HP will likely be at the bare minimum for most round balers. I run my 4x5 with a 85 HP tractor, and wish sometimes that I had more. Point is, you can probably get by with your tractor, but it won't be ideal.

 

[Ed of all trades]

A lot of companies make lower HP round bailers. I would look around before I settled on that model.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

We run a little Hesston 540 that makes a 40" by 48" bale. Only takes about 35 hp to run, tag on it says to not use oget 60hp on it

 

[rtimgray]

I started doing this same thing with my 45 hp (Kioti CUT) tractor a couple of years ago with a New Idea 484 roller, and it handles it well. The previous answers given are spot on, as far as I can tell. I don't think you can make a different size roll with the 484; it can be smaller, but it will be really, really loose and it will change from round to flat in about a day (I know from where I finished out a field with only about enough half a roll). Well, it's still a roll, just half-sized....nevermind.

Anyway, I don't have any trouble running mine, so I assume a 55 hp would run it fine. As I've mentioned in another thread, the only problem I see with the roles is that they are soft-centered, and if you handle them alot, you might have some trouble spiking them, but again, this may depend on the type of hay, density, etc.

If you end up with a 484 and need a manual, let me know. I have it in .pdf form.

As far as what they're worth, I see them between $3,000 and $6,000. I paid $3,800 for mine and I've only had to replace a couple of bearings, plus is was only about 20 miles from my house, so transport was easy.

Whatever you end up with, good luck and take care.

 

[sweettractors]

Below is a link to 7 small roll balers that we have in stock today. Additionally, I brought 4 more in today and should have those checked out thoroughly and listed on the website within a couple weeks. Ken Sweet
Sweet Farm Equipment - Inventory Balers;page=1;items=20;sort=0;wid=1;disposition=any

 

[Murray54]

BryanM, I think you have some good advice already. With your small tractor I would stay with a hard core baler rather than a soft core, they don't need the extra power to squash down the bale once its started. I have a 4 foot wide Hesston 555T that seems to handle a tremendous volume of hay without working my 80 hp tractor at all. No, you don't have to shut off the pto, and yes, you can make any diameter you like, up to 6 feet, with mine at least. I make a good tight 5 foot diameter bale that weighs about 1000 lbs.

 

[BryanM]

a couple more questions about round balers I only have 1 set of hydraulics on a jd 2155 that I will be using. whats the difference of hydraulic tie and electronic tie? what do I want? how do you know if its hard core or soft core baler? does it make a difference?

Is there a web site that tells specs of older round balers? what do you think would be a good fit for a jd 2155 as far as round baler?

 

[Bigfoot62]

You need one set of remotes to open and close the tailgate of the baler.

You would need another set of remotes for hydraulic tie. So, for your tractor, electric tie is a must. (unless you want to go through the trouble and expense of adding another set of remotes)

Soft core balers are the drum type. (ex: Claus) Any belt style baler will compress the entire bale, from core to outside. (ex: JD, NH, Hesston, Vermeer)

The advertised PTO HP for your tractor is 45. 45 HP at the PTO is the absolute MINIMUM for a JD or Vermeer 4' wide baler. NH says 40 PTO HP is min.
From my previous post,

55 HP will likely be at the bare minimum for most round balers. I run my 4x5 with a 85 HP tractor, and wish sometimes that I had more. Point is, you can probably get by with your tractor, but it won't be ideal.

I stand by what I said. Your tractor MIGHT barely get by, but you will want more HP at the PTO than 45.

 

[Tx Jim]

You could use a JD 430 or 435 rd baler as they only require one remote to open/close tail gate. You could make a bale up to tractor powering out which would probably be 4.5-5 ft in diameter unless one lowered baler pressure.

 

[WM75Guy]

The Vermeer Rebel 5410 needs 40 HP minimum, 50 HP recommended. Does a 4' wide bale from 3'-5' diameter.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...8iDg1cg-G8AguhMzKtHlXkw&bvm=bv.80642063,d.eXY

 

[Murray54]

I think most of the North American manufacturers made soft core and round core balers, so it would be good to ask about whichever model you are looking at. The soft core balers make the bales with what looks like a clover leaf pattern in the middle, they start with a loose roll and then squash it down. Some people in our area really like them because they say you can bale with a bit higher moisture content with those, the centers allow for some air circulation. I'm not sure I completely buy that but that was the logic. Electric tie balers use some sensors and solenoid valves to redirect the hydraulic flow from the tail gate circuit to the twine arm, so a single hydraulic remote does both jobs.

 

[Tx Jim]

Electric tie balers use some sensors and solenoid valves to redirect the hydraulic flow from the tail gate circuit to the twine arm, so a single hydraulic remote does both jobs.

Some rd balers with electric wrap have switch control and some are automatic to operate twine arms. I'm unaware of a rd baler that's electric over hydraulic wrap.

 

[AGRIMAN]

Electric tie is the most user friendly option if you only have one remote on your tractor, but you can also install a diverted valve on the baler and run both the gate and tie off one remote.

 

[Farmer495]

You want electric tie and hard core.

I run a 4x4 NH 630 on 42 PTO HP. Hardcore electric tie, bales just fine, but more more power would be nice at times.

 

[DT86]

I don't think OP is coming back.

We have baled 4x4 bales with a 4x5 baler and a 42 PTO HP tractor. It was in a pinch when another machine broke down mid-field, less than ideal but it did work. Sure didn't set any speed records. The biggest problem for us was the weight of the baler + bale inside vs the poor little tractor on hills.

 

[BryanM]

Yes I am watching DT86. I have been doing a little bit of research on which balers would fall best into my situation. And I have come up with a few that I meet spec on, or people have told me that they have run a particular models with what I have for pto hp or a little less.
I am not in a hurry to run and buy one at this present time, and truthfully I have to stay in budget. I am also reviewing my options: such possibly trade my tractor in on one with more hp, or spend more than my budget to get a newer exactly what I want baler or just wait for a deal on a round baler that meets my needs and is in my budget.

 

[cowski]

john deere has a valve that allows a one valve tractor to dump a bale and hydraulic tie.the valve is swapped from tying to dumping by pulling on a rope.