Finally in the Field

[caterpillar guy]

Sounds like if you had an old NI baler in the 5w6h you would be in tall cotton. They are a fixed chamber baler with an open throat .they will swallow about all you can get in them. Once the roll is started you can't plug them hardly. IF hay gets to dry it will have a problem with feeding when full so just get the twine to wrap and dump it. It will bale anything you want to put in it. It has a big open cavity in there to let hay tumble at first then fills up as the hay goes in. I've not had much trouble with our big baler. The small one was a poor design for dumping the bale the door hinge is to far back so the bale can set in there and roll till the cows come home. I have hay windrows as big as I can get over with the tractor ands the big one will just swallow it. The pickup is your speed limiter on it. Not saying they are the be al end al of baling just it will feed in better than you describe of that one. They also have endless belts so no splices to contend with.

 

[DRussell]

Yesterday I saw my neighbor baling some hay with his NH 630 baler. I believe that is a similar vintage to your 650, just a smaller size. I stopped to talk to him about some of your issues with starting a bale. He said he has problems with getting bales to start at times and had no answer for you on that line other than hay that is too dry is harder to start rolling. I looked at his sledge roller assembly. His only has three rollers and his starting roller is bare steel. Maybe his being smaller means there is more room between the rollers, but I thought there would be room for the 1/8 inch bars to be welded on them.

Yours is not the first NH of this vintage I've heard of with problems starting a bale. Good luck with whatever you decide to do with it.

 

[farmersamm]

Yesterday I saw my neighbor baling some hay with his NH 630 baler. I believe that is a similar vintage to your 650, just a smaller size. I stopped to talk to him about some of your issues with starting a bale. He said he has problems with getting bales to start at times and had no answer for you on that line other than hay that is too dry is harder to start rolling. I looked at his sledge roller assembly. His only has three rollers and his starting roller is bare steel. Maybe his being smaller means there is more room between the rollers, but I thought there would be room for the 1/8 inch bars to be welded on them.

Yours is not the first NH of this vintage I've heard of with problems starting a bale. Good luck with whatever you decide to do with it.

For you to go out of your way like this, is far above the call. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. You're a good person.

Should pick up some round stock later today.

Raked late morning...........still too wet to really run on it. The tractor is leaving tracks. It's good ground, and I hate to add to the compaction by running when it's still not dry enough. Did enough to make around maybe 30 bales. Ought to be dry enough(?) tomorrow. Gotta say though.........the hay is gonna be nasty enough for a VERY good test on the roughened rollers.

 

[DanielW]

If the sandyliciousness happens to work and solve your problems but doesn't last long, something you could try is 'Belzona 9211'. It's a ceramic grit that you use (in conjunction with the proper Belzona epoxy) to add a sandy/gritty texture to indsutrial surfaces. We use it for cross-feeding lumber even-end rollers and skids on sawmill equipment. It's amazing how long it lasts and how durable it is. Many of our systems see 100+ green hardwood boards sliding transversely across the rolls/skids per minute in mills running ten-hour shifts, and the grit lasts months (often years) before it starts to wear off and need re-coating. I suspect if properly applied to round baler rolls, it would outlive you and every other component on the baler. Mind you, getting it applied 'properly' is the key. It needs to be applied to a bare-steel, oil-free surface, applied at the correct humidity (best in a climate-controlled environment). And it's not cheap either: For the price of covering those rolls once with the 9211, you could probably do your paint/sand method five-times over.

 

[farmersamm]

Good luck with the baler. I do not have any relevant info about that particular baler. I have followed Mike10 and his info is spot on as far as I can tell. 20 years ago I started with a Case 8465a that needed a number of mods to get it to work right. I managed to make it a very good baler. I then made the decision to move to a netwrap baler 10 years ago. Bit the bullet and bought a new NH roll belt 560. It too needed some minor tweaks but now eats hay as fast as I can drive, usually 7-7.2 mph. Did custom haying until it was paid for. Now we lease ground and do our own & sell what we don’t need. My advice is if you are serious about baling, trade the junk and get a new netwrap baler, whatever color meets your fancy. There are ways to make the money work out. Obviously doing what you are doing now is bad for your operation and more importantly, bad for your mental health.
Whatever you do remember there are a number of folks here rooting for you and wishing you success. A number of us have been in the same position and somehow overcame. You can too. Good Luck.

Your comment about mental health is absolutely spot on. The whole thing as been a real depressing event. K'kins is getting angry, rather than feeling down.

A new baler isn't in the cards. I can't touch the retirement money. At 70, it's getting pretty darn close. What's there, has to last her after I'm gone, or at least help. Dropping 12K on the Krone mower almost gave me a heart attack.....seriously. Called her from the auction just to try to calm down. But, as you're saying........it paid to buy a quality machine. It's been flawless.

It's easier to buy a mower. Everything that is worn will show with a good inspection...........checking backlash, etc. Doggone baler is another matter......especially if you've never run the particular model you're looking at. Or not knowing anyone who has one.

Speaking of knowing a guy. The guy that's going to bale for us, if this thing still refuses to run, has a John Deere that he's very happy with. Not a new one, so it might pay to see what his experience has been.

Anyways. You're another decent person. Words of encouragement are not unappreciated, and do go noticed in a big way.

 

[farmersamm]

If the sandyliciousness happens to work and solve your problems but doesn't last long, something you could try is 'Belzona 9211'. It's a ceramic grit that you use (in conjunction with the proper Belzona epoxy) to add a sandy/gritty texture to indsutrial surfaces. We use it for cross-feeding lumber even-end rollers and skids on sawmill equipment. It's amazing how long it lasts and how durable it is. Many of our systems see 100+ green hardwood boards sliding transversely across the rolls/skids per minute in mills running ten-hour shifts, and the grit lasts months (often years) before it starts to wear off and need re-coating. I suspect if properly applied to round baler rolls, it would outlive you and every other component on the baler. Mind you, getting it applied 'properly' is the key. It needs to be applied to a bare-steel, oil-free surface, applied at the correct humidity (best in a climate-controlled environment). And it's not cheap either: For the price of covering those rolls once with the 9211, you could probably do your paint/sand method five-times over.

I'm anxious to see if the cobbled together stuff we applied works. Should know tomorrow afternoon.

I've worked with some epoxy coatings, and they tend to be quite demanding as far as procedure. Our humidity is generally very high here in OK.

Mills of any kind are fascinating places. That anything works, and works 24/7, is a tribute to the guys that keep it running. Back in the day, I used to haul heavy machine parts to CF&I in Pueblo, CO. At that time, before they went under, they still made rails for the railroads. Incredible place. Later in life, I delivered trailer loads of the famous Beechwood Chips to the Bud plant in Fort Collins............same deal.........fascinating place.

For the pure pleasure of seeing heavy operations, you might enjoy this...............

You, and the other guys, are a great deal of help in getting through this mess. Proof that the Planet isn't populated by ###holes.

 

[farmersamm]

........................................

Not gonna jinx it..... Throw a quick video together later, after I'm done.

 

[farmersamm]

The baler works fine..........BUT THE VIDEO DOESN'T

Looks like it's playing in slow motion

The video shows end of day results. No degradation of the ability to start a bale.

Anyways......................................

Did the test baling split between 1:00PM, and again at 7:00PM. 12 bales in the afternoon, another 10 bales in the evening. Just to see how changes in humidity might affect the baler. No dew was on the stuff at any time. (actually, later when I checked......the humidity was lower by 1% in the evening) Dewpoint stayed around70* all day, with temps in the low to mid 90's.

GEEZ,,,,,,,,,,,,IT SURE DIDN'T LOOK LIKE THAT BEFORE IT WAS UPLOADED. PLAYS NORMAL SPEED ON MY PUTER.

The paint is holding up. The tops of the dimples are wearing, but the valleys between dimples are doing pretty good.

Starting in smallish, and large, windrows................no problems. Kept the startup speed low, in 2nd gear. I didn't want to get adventurous.

I feel it's a fair test I guess. Now I have to see how long the paint lasts before the hay starts slipping again. Finish raking the rest tomorrow, and do actual baling the day after that. The cleats on the tractor tires are still sinking into the ground. The tires aren't settling, but the cleats are going full depth. Crazy. Way to wet for this time of year.

 

[caterpillar guy]

I think you are on to something there now. I know dad had a Deere baler he had for a short time that would not start a bale well and he had a lot of trouble with it plugging .He got rid of it and bought another used baler .IT is an IH fixed chamber baler in 6h5w about 1800 LBS for weight of the bale. had worked fine for a number of years. Would probably sell it .It has set inside for the last several years now. IT will bale 30 acres of hay ina day with no problem.I mowed that much one time years ago. HE said you will not get it baled in a day. I said sure we will. I got all bit about an acre baled before it got tough that evening when we started in a couple days after mowing. The IH and NEw Idea blares were both made in the sme place and looked a lot alike. There were some later that differed. These were back in the early 90's.

 

[farmersamm]

Starting the core in 2nd gear for about 10-15 feet

Geared up after starting core. Don't have high range on the Hydra Power, so I'm stuck using low range.......maybe about 5mph.

Changed processing software........seems to be running in "real time".

Anyways...........happy with the mods.

 

[farmersamm]

Made a little over 4 bales to the acre. Not ONE plug after applying paint. Some issues with the twine arm actuator..........had to climb down every bale to cut the twine. The actuator won't go to its full extension. Probably try to tear it down, and maybe clean it, or whatever needs doing.

Climbing on/off is hard on the knees. I'm damn glad I made those fancy steps a few years back.

Borrowed a loader to move them off the field, and we're paying a guy to run it. This absolves me of any liability if the damn thing breaks down. The guy works for the guy that we borrowed the tractor from.

Rain coming in tonight, and high chances of rain for the next 4 days. The field is already up about a foot. A good rain, and it'll cut again in Sept, or October.

This year I baled at a full 60" diameter bale. Last year, I made them around 56" to break the new belts in. Also, jacked up the pressure on the hyd cylinders that tension the belts. Some good, hard, bales.

 

[DRussell]

Made a little over 4 bales to the acre. Not ONE plug after applying paint. Some issues with the twine arm actuator..........had to climb down every bale to cut the twine. The actuator won't go to its full extension. Probably try to tear it down, and maybe clean it, or whatever needs doing.

Climbing on/off is hard on the knees. I'm damn glad I made those fancy steps a few years back.

Borrowed a loader to move them off the field, and we're paying a guy to run it. This absolves me of any liability if the damn thing breaks down. The guy works for the guy that we borrowed the tractor from.

Rain coming in tonight, and high chances of rain for the next 4 days. The field is already up about a foot. A good rain, and it'll cut again in Sept, or October.

This year I baled at a full 60" diameter bale. Last year, I made them around 56" to break the new belts in. Also, jacked up the pressure on the hyd cylinders that tension the belts. Some good, hard, bales.

So, it appears that your problem is the sledge rollers are worn smooth?? How is the paint holding up on the rollers?

 

[farmersamm]

So, it appears that your problem is the sledge rollers are worn smooth?? How is the paint holding up on the rollers?

Not really. If you look at the pre-paint pics, you'll see that the top 2 rollers are the same as the newer red roller near the bottom, they just don't have paint on them. The dimple wear is the same on all of the rollers. All rollers are probably the same age. The "new" pivot roller likely came out of a scrapped baler the same age.

What this whole experiment shows, is that the original design was faulty. The dimples simply don't have enough traction, without additional welded cross bars, or the paint mix I added. These rollers have constantly undergone change, even to this day. It seems that they have to constantly "upgrade" them to solve issues.

The paint is holding up tolerably well..............by tolerably, I mean "it gets the thing back in the field". It's by no means a permanent solution. A coat wears down after about 50 bales.........not exactly a stellar situation.

 

[UAFitter]

Not really. If you look at the pre-paint pics, you'll see that the top 2 rollers are the same as the newer red roller near the bottom, they just don't have paint on them. The dimple wear is the same on all of the rollers. All rollers are probably the same age. The "new" pivot roller likely came out of a scrapped baler the same age.

What this whole experiment shows, is that the original design was faulty. The dimples simply don't have enough traction, without additional welded cross bars, or the paint mix I added. These rollers have constantly undergone change, even to this day. It seems that they have to constantly "upgrade" them to solve issues.

The paint is holding up tolerably well..............by tolerably, I mean "it gets the thing back in the field". It's by no means a permanent solution. A coat wears down after about 50 bales.........not exactly a stellar situation.

So it’s almost as if they found and addressed issues that came up after manufacture like, say, guys that want to bale long stems the size of a pencil that have laid on the ground and been rained on and dried out three or four times? Shame on them for not planning for baling hay that isn’t worth the fuel it takes to bale it. Cue “cow candy” BS in 3, 2, 1 closely followed by “my old chain baler was better but I’ve never fixed it….”