Just bought a round baler

[Rob30]

Just bought a hesston 5600 round baler. Never used a round baler before. Any tips or pointers? I am trying to find an operators manual but haven't found one yet. The guy I bought it off mentioned to make sure I keep the RPMs up when running it. Any ideas on what pto rpm I should keep it at?

[farminghandyman]

EBay seems to be a good place to fine old manuals if the company can not help you order one,

on my round baler I slow the Rpms of the PTO down and start the bale and then after the core get made and past a point I speed it back up, (now my baler is a (guessing older unit), and different brand,

if the windrow is narrow on may have to weave go for X number of yards and then weave over to the opposite of the winrow to feed the other side of the baler going back and forth Evey hundred yards or so depending on the heaviness of the windrow, if you have wide windrows then you may only have to drive straight over the top,

IF you PLUG IT OR HAVE TO WORK ON IT, SHUT IT OFF, AND THEN PROCEED WITH CAUTION, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, WORK ON IT WITH IT RUNNING,

THEY CAN SUCK ONE IN SO FAST THAT IT IS UNBELIEVABLE FAST,
NEVER WORK ON ONE RUNNING,

some balers have some pressure adjustments that help in the density of the bale but one would be best to order the factor manual for the specifics of your machine, lubrication, adjustment, replacement of parts and so on,

[glenn amolenaar]

I think farminghandyman gave very good advise but I would add keep it clean dont let the dust and fines build-up (fire hazzard).
Glenn

[ksfarmer]

I previously owned a 5500 Hesston baler,,similar, I think. I always started the bale at low RPM, then as soon as the hay started turning, I would put it up to 540 pto RPM and go. Unless your windrow is as wide as the baler, you must drive in a weave pattern to fill the bale evenly from end to end. As the other posters stated, Never work on the baler when it is running , and if you must work inside the opened chamber, be sure to put in the stops on the cylinders so it can't suddenly close. A neighbor lost his son from getting caught in the moving belts. Apparently he tried to pull out a stuck wad of hay.
I liked the Hesston, it would start bales in almost any kind of hay. Did have to splice a lot of belts though. The 5500 tended to pull out the belt splices.
Be sure not to oversize the bale. Watch the bale size indicator closely. Use plenty of twine to keep neater bales.

[agmantoo]

Hopefully your baler will run problem free. However, on those that are not problem free here is the method that I have found over time that work the best in trying situations. Getting the baler to start the roll is the biggest problem I have encountered. To overcome this I have found that the size of the windrow and the travel speed and the PTO speed are the areas to consider. A small windrow and slow forward speed and a slow PTO speed will aid in getting the bale started. This is IMO best accomplished by dropping the throttle back to a fast idle and proceed onto the windrow, watching the hay feeding into the chamber as you advance. Once the hay starts feeding into the bale chamber start increasing the throttle at a moderate rate until the tractor reaches a PTO speed of 540 RPM. The windrow will almost feed itself as the hay is intertwined in itself almost rope like. The second problem is cone shaped bales. Coned shaped bales are a result of many factors. The type of hay, how the windrow is formed, the pick up on the baler, the wear on the chain or belts, warped baler mechanisms, operator, etc. Experience with your specific baler will eventually be the best guide of what to do to get the best shaped bales. As stated above use plenty of twine to wrap the bale and remember a cone shaped bale is also a bale, it is just more of a visual impact than anything else. Good luck, be safe and enjoy!

[Jennifer L.]

Yeah, here's some advice: Make sure the first bales you dump out are WAY out of sight of the road, because your neighbors will rib you unmercifully at the crooked bales.

Seriously, everyone has given good advice. My neighbor has had a Hesston for about 30 years, can't remember the model, it's either a 5500 or 5600. He finally retired it last year and bought a used JD, but his old one will still bale if he babies it.

Keep any larger branches out of it. You can do a lot of damage if you get something in the belts that will cut them up. I tried out an old Vermeer before I bought my JD, and someone must have tried to bale fire wood or rocks with the thing: Just a mess from one end to the other. There's a lot of force going on inside them when they are running (like every other piece of equipment, too).

Good luck with it. You'll get the knack of it in no time.

Jennifer

[Ross]

Most of my experience is with soft core balers so I can't write with much authority on your Hesston. My current NH is a hard core baler but is substantially more aggresive with it's chains and bars. To make a square edged bale with it (and all soft core balers) you weave to start the bale and get a center bale core as wide as the sweep (or chamber) so it will draw in the windrow evenly. Then drive to fill the right side of the sweep for 100-200 feet then the left and then then repeat until it's full. The hesston belt baler might be different but my NH will make barrel shaped bales if I "weave" constantly, as I fill the center more than the sides. Fill the sides and the center takes care of it's self. Good advice so far and worth repeating.......... stop the pto if you have to clear a blockage.... AND lock the door up if you have to work inside the bale chamber. The time you take to work safely can add decades to your life.

[Beeman]

I guess you've got a big enough tractor to run and stop it. Also remember that round bales will roll downhill.

[tpett]

Also make sure the hay isn't still green when you try to start a roll. It will get wadded up inside the roller and you'll have to pull it out manually. In regards to keeping the roller clean, we spray ours out will an air compressor after each time it's in the field. We also grease all chains and sprockets before each trip to the field. You'll also want to keep an eye on all your bearings. If one seizes up, and you don't know it, that's a fire waiting to happen. ALWAYS keep a fire extenguisher on the roller and tractor.
Also avoid rolling briars. That will seriously clog up the roller.

Having the roller NOT breakdown in the field is a blessing. The past two days, had a fitting break on hydraulic line that raises the door, and now the motor has gone out that moves the tie arm. Checked on new motors today, just under $500.00. Looks like the hay will have to lay in the field a while. I wonder if there is a way to manually move the tie arm...

[Rob30]

I just went out to bale my hay and the darn thing won't start a bale. It picks upu the hay, but shoots it oput over the pick up roller, and fills the front of the baler. I did put new belts on but they seem to get to much traction on the hay, and not enough on the rollers. If a bale does start, the belts start slipping. Some times they get enough traction to continue rolling but most of the time I have to spit out the bale. I think the belts might be to long, but they are shorter then the belt manufacturer sais they should be. I cut them to 396 inches and they recomended 400. The belts I took off were less then 396. After I get a bale rolling, I cruise along fine. I tried starting into the wind row sloly, and fast, Fast seemed to work better, but I only baled 4 bales all day. I did find if I left the tailgate open a bit it helped, then I closed it as soon as it started to roll.

[Ross]

What are the sweep pick up teeth like? A full set of teeth, near full length and straight would make a big difference. I had a baler bend it's sweep bars dropping the teeth lower and I started getting feeding probs.

[michiganfarmer]

We start the PTO, get the tractor moving, open the throttle wide open, start upshifting, and are going like a bat outta hell when we start into a windrow.

We run the engine wide open when we are useing our round baler, and we run just as fast as the pick up will pick the hay up, usually only about one gear slower than road gear.

Dad bought his john deere 510 baler new in 1978, and it will really gobble up the hay.