845 New Holland Chain Baler Floor Chain Adjustment

[Smith1000]

I checked my floor chains and found one of the chains was sagging excessively, so I tightened the adjustment bolt and it brought the chain up to align with the sag of the other chains; however, I noticed, now that I have tightened it up, there is no spring give in the chain at all. All the other chains have some spring give in them as they slide a bit against spring tension near the front chain teeth. Does anyone know if not having the spring give, will this mess up the chain and possibly cause something to break once I start baling? I ran the baler briefly after and all seems okay, but, of course, there is no tension on anything. How important is it for the front gear for the chain to move a bit and have some give? All the chain guides look good still. I have been using this baler for about 18 years, but I only cut and bale 35 acres, so it is not used all that much.

 

[hymie2lt]

Take a link out or replace the whole chain with new. Old one probably stretched with wear.

 

[Smith1000]

Thank you. There was enough adjustment left to pull the chain up to where it needs to be, so I believe I do not need to remove a link- yet. I am concerned about the lack of the sprocket spring tension though. I am going to back off the adjustment and try to lubricate the sprocket, sliding it forward and back and see if the spring will free up and provide some tension. It may not work, but at least I will see what is going on. I will then readjust the chain to the correct sag measurement and go from there.

 

[DanielW]

What's your hesitation with taking out a link? Quick, super easy, would shorten the chain by 3" or so (can't remember the chain pitch on the chain balers). Once done, you'd be at (or near) the start of your adjustment rather than the end.

 

[Smith1000]

I can't understand how taking out a link will resolve the lack of spring tension.

 

[DanielW]

We might be misunderstanding. But I think both of us who replied are assuming/remembering that the take up is extended and pulling far/hard enough that it's bottoming out the spring tension. Shortening the chain a smidge would (we're presuming) let the spring tension come back some and thus have more to 'give'. But I could be wrong or misremembering; I haven't been around chain balers in ages (thank goodness).

 

[Smith1000]

Thank you. I backed the adjustment bolt off a bit and the sprocket remains rigid, so I am going to leave it with a bit more space and check it after running a few bales through it to see if it loosens up and slides back and forth. If it does, I will lubricate it better and readjust the tension. I was going to try to pry it back, but there is not a good way to connect with it. It did not want to move, but I shot enough oil in there it may loosen up.