JD 530 Round Baler

[Anonymous-0]

I broke with some $$$ and bought a used baler. It is local, always been shedded, paint excellent and was used to bale about 100 bale per year. The farmer pointed out a couple small things that needed fixed - one blet splice needs replaced and one chai idler. He said any repairs to get it in order would be all on him as part of the deal. I am going to check it over real good though. Gave $3500.00
I have been around lots of round balers and even worked on a few but never actually run one in the field. Going to have to do a little quick learning. Any pointers?

 

[David from Kansas]

The 530 is a good baler. The later models just have some improvements that make them a little more dependable and easier to operate. As far as operation, be aware that a bearing gone bad can start a fire really fast. Many balers are burned up around here each summer. Not so much of an issue with alfalfa or other green crops as with dry grass hay. Check the bearings in the rollers often and replace any that show wear. We always make it a habit to stop the PTO while turning at the row ends. More wear on tractor PTO clutch, but less wear and strain on the PTO shaft and U-joints. May be a question on the feasibility of that, but just something we prefer to do. That sounds like a good price for a baler in good shape. Good luck.

 

[Texasmark]

The 530 comes with a tow bar extender that has a vertical pin that the 530 tongue connector drops down over. This extender allows you to make the necessary turns to follow the windrow without binding the PTO shaft. The same extender is used with the 1209 swather and allows you to make square corners without having to clean up the corners at the when finishing.

Mine had v belt tensioners on the main drive chain. Obviously this was not good as it was metal to metal and not designed for that. You need chain sprocket tensioners on your chains....have teeth that fit into the links of the chain.

I only had one roller bearing go bad and you could tell it by looking at the ends of the rollers. This one threw all it's balls and was running race on race which produced a lot of heat (which causes fires) and the heat turned the roller blue. I saw it and got it changed before anything happened. If the roller is one that is on slack belting (when you raise the gate) it is a piece of cake to change. On the others it will surely take 2 people all day.

The JD dealer has all the parts you need.

Get a manual from JD online as there are several adjustments that are important to proper operation.

Only problem I have is triggering the tieing process. I have been over it several times with the book and sometimes it works, and other times I have to trip it. I think the trip mechanism is binding a little.

After having had a Hesston 5580, this guy is a dream to run.

But, one difference in this and the Hesston was the fact that the belts were farther apart on it and I could actually see the roll and the twine on it. On the 530 the belts almost touch and you have to get under it to see if it tied.....if you can't tell from watching the process.

SAFETY is a prime concern with these things and when they say turn it all off before you start trying to fool around with clogs or whatever TURN IT OFF, IT ALL OFF, INCLUDING THE TRACTOR. That thing can eat you before you can think and I don't even want to think about what kind of mess that would make.

Mark

 

[Anonymous-0]

Only thing I see that I didn't like as far as re-sale someday is that it is 1000pto. My 1066 has 540 and 1000 so not issue with me but maybe someone down the road.

 

[JMS MN]

Don"t know about that model, but some gearboxes can switch from 540 to 1000 drive by remounting in the opposite position. Op manual should detail that. My NI is that way. Was 540, switched it when the front coupler broke, so changed that to the 21 spline. Then no switching tractor drives between the baler and the field chopper. Good idea to keep a large fire extinguisher on the tractor when baling- hot bearings can toast the machine. Wouldn"t hurt to mount another on the baler, too. Baling? you don"t weave back and forth across the windrow- you"ll get a bale thick in the center, low on the sides. Drive along the windrow on one side- maybe 50-100 yards, then switch to the other side. Continue doing that to fill the bale.You"ll get the hang of it within a few bales.

 

[Anonymous-0]

if you dont have a fire extinguisher a pump up sprayer is better than nothing...if i got welding to do out in pasture i always put my 15 gallon atv sprayer on bed of truck...works pretty good puttin out small grass fires.

 

[Texasmark]

The 530 has a bail indicator that installs in the cab and shows you what the ends/edges of the bale look like...a pair of dial gauges wired to sensors on the outer two belts (tension). I really like that as I have to make pretty squared off rolls to make my neighbors "think" I know what I'm doing. Har Har Har.....yeah I care. It's a pride thing. Grin.

It (the monitor) also has lights that tell you that the gate is down and LOCKED (green light), tells you that the bale is getting ready to tie so that if the needles aren't even, even them up (blinking amber), and that the tie arm has left it's station (solid amber) and is starting the tieing process, and a red light for when you miss all the things that should have happened and the bale is getting dangerously large and you had better pull the manual trip lever.

I baled several of those 6 1/2 foot bales one day and man they are too big to do anything with....and they are really hard on your equipment. Course the baler and I were getting used to oneanother. I had just bought it and things I assumed the previous owner had been using were just a figment of my imagination.

Side to side like you say is how you do it to setup the square (flat topped) bale. Don't worry about the center; it will fill it'self. Only time you center up is to get the bale started, and with the 530 that is a piece of cake.

Mark