[Up North]

Some folks express a desire to find hay balers that can be used with smaller, lower horsepower tractors.
Ran across this info for those who have an interest:
www.smallfarminnovations.com

I am neither recommending nor criticizing the product, just passing on the information that it's available.

 

[rambler]

You did look at the price sheet.........

Problem is you can buy a good used old tractor for $4500, a round baler for $2500, and use much less twine. Plus have about 1/2 the money invested in the baler & tractor that you would have in that small baler.

Nice site tho, good info.

--->Paul

 

[bassflyrodder]

Does anyone know what the average power requirements for the older square balers are?

Thanks,

Pete

 

[sammyd]

You can get by with 35 HP pulling a wagon on fairly flat ground.
I bale with a JD 24T and an Allis WD

 

[brosil]

I'm using a Farmall H with an Oliver 520 twine baler and it works well. It shakes a bit but I'm going to try sharpening the plunger knife and ledger knife and see if that works easier.

 

[RosewoodfarmVA]

A 30 HP older tractor pulls an older square baler just fine!

 

[Pouncer]

It isn't the size of the mower and the landscape, it's the pto to run the baler. With the right combination, 540 PTO can work, 11(whatever) is for the larger tractors. I ran a 50H JD, with a Hesston baler (now that's a HEAVY machine!) for a number of years....540 PTO. It would run most farm equipment but not a round baler I don't think? Used a spreader, a mower/conditioner, tedder and rake too, plus the baler. Got about 400 bales to a roll of twine,

 

[Rockin'B]

You did look at the price sheet.........

Problem is you can buy a good used old tractor for $4500, a round baler for $2500, and use much less twine. Plus have about 1/2 the money invested in the baler & tractor that you would have in that small baler.

Nice site tho, good info.

--->Paul

....and then either pay to have them repaired or learn how to do it. Some folks are not real handy that way.

But, your point is a good one.

 

[rambler]

Does anyone know what the average power requirements for the older square balers are?

Thanks,

Pete

Old good square baler needs a sturdy heavy old tractor. Hp is not the issue. The baler stores 50 hp or so in it's flywheel. As well they are heavy to pull or stop, and the plunger rocks them back & forth. mostly we like to pull 100 bale wagon behind them.

This all takes a utility class or better tractor of 35 hp or more.

One can get by with 25 hp or so, but it is not fun. It's getting by.

More important to baling is to have several gears, slow ones, to choose from.

And live/ independent pto. You need to stop the tractor from moving but keep the pto running with the clutch in to clear through thick spots of hay.

So, a 25-30 hp compact tractor won't do it - rip up the drive train of the tractor.

An old Ford or Farmall of 27-28 hp can bale, but often doesn't have the right gear speeds and without live pto it's really hard to bale well.

Something from the late 1950s on with live pto and over 30 hp will work well.

--->Paul

 

[wy_white_wolf]

And just think there was 2 older square balers on freecycle here recently. I would have taken them just don't have the time right now.

I would much rather spend the 13 thousand on a tractor than a baler.

 

[Up North]

You did look at the price sheet.........

Problem is you can buy a good used old tractor for $4500, a round baler for $2500, and use much less twine. Plus have about 1/2 the money invested in the baler & tractor that you would have in that small baler.

Nice site tho, good info.

--->Paul

Rambler - Some folks enjoy the good fortune of having been around farm machinery & tractors, and have the shop tools and know-how to correct a problem on short notice and get a field baled up before rains sweep in and ruin a valuable crop.
Other folks might be experts on how to administer surgical anestheisilogy(which I obviously know nothing about since I can't even spell it, LOL), but repairing and maintaining older machinery may be a mystery to them.
For some folks, a new machine sized to the Compact tractor they already own that produces a hay package they can handle may just be the right fit. Any new machine carries a high price tag. But you have to divide that price out over the years of service a machine provides, and then subtract off the salvage value at the end of it's use to arrive at a true cost.

I'm just glad I live in America where there are so many choices available

 

[Scrounger]

Dad baled with an IH "H" for years with no problems - except the *$#@*&% piece-o-junk IH baler he had.

I know of a man near here that baled with a PTO driven baler and an 8N for years. It was flat ground and no wagon, but he did it up until 3-4 years ago when he retired.

If you just GOTTA have a baler to run behind your yuppie......I mean......new compact tractor, then an older Allis-Chalmers Roto-baler will work just dandy. It makes small, light round bales that you can handle easy. Once you learn how to stack them, they work great.

 

[MELOC]

a compact baler would be nice for my small fields, but certainly not at that price. the loss allowed by using the old bulky machines still doesn't justify spending that much for a small baler...even factored over ten years.

 

[sugarbush]

buy an old baler, they work just fine with low hp tractors.

 

[horsefarmer]

My intention is to run a 14T with a 15hp motor mounted on it. That motor will be only for the baler. My horses will propel it through the field. Now if they happened to be looking for testers, I'd be willing to sign up!!

 

[lewbest]

Hope I don't stir up a hornet's nest here but if anyone considers an old baler I'd suggest a wire tie instead of twine. Years ago I bought an old twine baler (twine a lots cheaper than wire) & never could get it to tie dependably. I recently bought a very old (probably 60's vintage?) John Deere 214WS wire baler. No owner's manual but found the manual on ebay. Baled with it the last coupla days with no major problems. In the manual (which covers both wire & twine versions) there are 5 pages in the service section concerning troubleshooting the twine tie mechanism; only one page concerning the wire tie mechanism. Sure tells me the wire system should be more trouble free!

Lew in TX

 

[sammyd]

Good lord...wire tie...I hated those things. Uncle used one cuz he sold the bales to be shipped far away. I think we could only stack em 3 high, just too heavy to do any more.

My intention is to run a 14T with a 15hp motor mounted on it. That motor will be only for the baler. My horses will propel it through the field. Now if they happened to be looking for testers, I'd be willing to sign up!!

Now that's the way to go. The Amish do it up here. Even seen em running brand new forage harvesters with a power unit in front. Course they needed a few more horses cuz the chopper boxes get pretty heavy.

 

[horsefarmer]

You can actually convert a 14T to ground driven with a big ag wheel turning the belt wheel but it takes 5 very willing to work horses (they usually use six all abreast) and you need perfect windrows cause there isn't any stopping and waiting for the throat to clear. If you are moving forward, you aren't turning the baler mechanism. That would actually be my preference but I can't yet justify that many more pulling horses. Now if I had a neighbor who saw things my way, we could share and help each other but alas, I am a leper in a community of giant, articulated tractor users. Their loss.

 

[lewbest]

Good lord...wire tie...I hated those things. Uncle used one cuz he sold the bales to be shipped far away. I think we could only stack em 3 high, just too heavy to do any more.

This one can be adjusted for smaller bales; according to the book from 12 to 50 inches long. I'm guessing these are bout 3-3.5' long; haven't measured them. Just started baling after a good greasing & putting the wire rolls on it.

Lew

 

[rambler]

I'm not telling anyone what to do. all options mentioned here work.

Wire tie balers fell out of favor locally back in the early 50s around here - before my time.I think I have seen 2 of them in my lifetime.

I understand the could pack more hay tighter - so the bales indeed should be much heavier. This made them popular out west, where shipping hay was important.

Anyone who used hay on their own farm just hated the wire. Bales heavy, metal bits in feed, and so on.

I don't know of a store around here even selling wire any more. As a little boy, I remember the last bundle of wires dad used up for handy use around the farm - was binder wire actually. He was happy to be rid of the wire tie baler long before then.....

As to the new round baler vs an old one - either one will break down, a NH, Vermeer, or JD baler I can have any part I need on my farm in 30 minutes to 24 hours. And lots of people that can explain the problem over the phone to me.

Those new tiny round balers are imports from China or a Soviet Bloc nation, and parts - what parts? Hope you can find a metal shop to fab what you will need..... Just my opinion.

--->Paul