Claas Variant 280?

[Fordfarmer]

I have no idea where the closest dealer would be (Ford dealer in town handled them at least until the early '90's but has been closed for years), but I did see a Variant 280 with Rotocut and netwrap listed at a dealer within reasonable distance from me that's just within my budget. I know Claas has a good reputation, but I don't know any specifics about this model. The Rollants had rolls and fixed chambers... so do Variants have belts and variable chambers? What size baled to they make? H.P. requirement? PTO speed? Thanks.

 

[oj]

I have one! Yes, belt type baler,has a rotor behind the pickup that forces the material into the bale, so the bale rotates clockwise when viewed from the lsft side, the rotocut knives can be in or out so material is chopped or not... Button on the control unit and a hydraulic cylinder move knives in or out.

Bales are 4 ft wide by up to 5 1/2ft tall, they have a density control for a variable size core, up to 4 ft iirc... Or the core can be hard same as the rest of the bale...

Need 100hp according to the book with the chopper in and 90 with chopper disengaged... And if you have hills you will need every one of those 100... Baler weighs over 6000lbs empty. Mine is 540 PTO, but I think 1000 was an option too. Need two hydraulis, one for door, the other for pickup/chopper. Net wrap or twine, it can put 3 strings in at once, but most are set for two at a time... Net wrap works OK but you need to lift the roll up onto the carrier above the hitch, steps and platform provided, easier to load from pickup truck than from ground. On a new roll of wrap the hold down springs maybe too tight for the roll to turn, works OK after half a roll is gone.

Most have an override cam clutch in the PTO drive line to stop the baler being damaged, they do wear out over time. Most bearing can be had anywhere I think (basing thatboff my class combine - never had to change a bearing in the baler yet).

Take a good look at the drive chains, 80 heavy, and the lower roller in the rear door is driven (bit of a pain to change), so make sure the auto oiler works.

Email is open if you want.

 

[Hay hay hay]

I have an OMC roller baler (clone of a Claas drum baler). It has an automatic chain oiler and I don't know how to test it to see if it is working. I think it is not! Any suggestions on how to get the oiler working would be much appreciated. It is supposed to pump whenever the rear door is opened and closed. I only bale about 50 bales a year, so I have been spraying the chains with lube. Thanks

 

[oj]

Other than cycling the door open and closed a bunch of tinws, I'm not sure there is any other way to test the auto oiler... Might be worth the along the lines off and blowing out with an air line to make sure they are clear...

 

[Hay hay hay]

Thanks. I don't know where to start to check the auto oilers, but you have given me an idea.

 

[oj]

They don't pump much oil each cycle, when I bale straw or dry hay my chains don't look damp at all, only baling hayledge (no dust) do the chains look damp with oil. Mine uses the reservoir over 150 or so bales...