John Deere 336 Baler

[Farmer Julie]

I bale with a jd 336 baler. I've had it a few years. For its age I think it is a beast of a baler. my jaw drops when I see it tackle with ease my lumpy wind rows made with my kickerLESS v rake.
1. how can I make smoother rows that don't clump from first cutting long stemed grass. ive tried slow, fast, the ends of rake are propped up so I use less #, I only drive over half a row to pick up less, and I have the narrow part of the v as wide as possible that can still make a row my baler can handle.

2. so my rows are a heavy 4 ft wide despite my above efforts. And even though the baler is awesome It still gets clogged once per row despite my crawling speed. I have to get off the tractor and waste 20 minutes pulling out hay. And because my rake is making wide rows there is hay that gets missed from the feeder fingers.

Im considering a newer faster more efficient baler. Because it takes all day to bale 10 -14 acres and I dont have time with my 1 tractor to grapple up all the bales before dark. I called the jd dealer and they told me the newer models arent any faster. So.... what are my options on a baler I can feed a little faster so I can manage. I have almost 100 acres to do. And have only done about 35 so far...

Help a lady get the job done.
Thanks!

 

[MJMJ]

Guess it depends on how much you want to spend. There are absolutely new balers that will handle far more than the one you have. Some of the high capacity inline balers could probably handle the 100 acres in a couple days. But used run between $20k-$30k. I think new are $40k or so, but don't quote me on that.

 

[Tx Jim]

Welcome to this forum
I disagree with JD dealers statement concerning newer balers don't have more capacity. A JD 348 that has close to 1ft wider pickup attachment that has heavier flywheel will out perform a 336. 338 also has wider pickup attachment than 336 & will out perform a 336. If you traded your rake for a hi-capacity rake that would improve your windrow width & consistency. Amount of hay being raked can be lowered just by moving tractor hyd scv lever & windrow width is adjusted by turning crank on the rear of the H&S Hi-cap rake.

 

[Hay maker2]

The capacity of the baler is based on the press size and how many stokes per minute the plunger makes.
With that being stated, the 336, 346, 327, 337, 328, 338 all have 80 stokes per minute.
The 347 and 348 have 93 strokes per minute which is where you will gain capacity.

JD also offered a commercial baler, the 467 and 468. These have a larger press and I think it has 103 stokes per minute.

 

[Tx Jim]

IIRC there's no way a 336 has same baling capacity as 346. The extra foot wide pickup plus twice the # of hay dogs & heavier flywheel on 346 will cause 346 to out perform a 336

 

[Hay maker2]

IIRC there's no way a 336 has same baling capacity as 346. The extra foot wide pickup plus twice the # of hay dogs & heavier flywheel on 346 will cause 346 to out perform a 336

I encourage you to do some research on YT. I posted this info a few years ago from the JD Baler Technical Manual.
Flywheel on the 346 is heavier then the 336

 

[Tx Jim]

I don't need to perform any research but you should read my reply I stated earlier that stated 346 flywheel was heavier than 336. 346 with heavier flywheel & twice as many hay dogs is why a 346 will out perform a 336

 

[Hay maker2]

I don't need to perform any research but you should read my reply I stated earlier that stated 346 flywheel was heavier than 336. 346 with heavier flywheel & twice as many hay dogs is why a 346 will out perform a 336

You stated "IIRC there's no way a 336 has same baling capacity as 346"

Flywheel stokes equal capacity; more stokes per minute equals more capacity
A pickup an extra foot wider only make it easier to stay on your row, this does not equal capacity
Twice as many hay dogs only holds the hay back from the needles and have nothing to with capacity
A heavier flywheel will create heavier bales as it will produce more inertia in the plunger to push the hay through a tighter press.

 

[flying belgian]

I bale with a jd 336 baler. I've had it a few years. For its age I think it is a beast of a baler. my jaw drops when I see it tackle with ease my lumpy wind rows made with my kickerLESS v rake.
1. how can I make smoother rows that don't clump from first cutting long stemed grass. ive tried slow, fast, the ends of rake are propped up so I use less #, I only drive over half a row to pick up less, and I have the narrow part of the v as wide as possible that can still make a row my baler can handle.

2. so my rows are a heavy 4 ft wide despite my above efforts. And even though the baler is awesome It still gets clogged once per row despite my crawling speed. I have to get off the tractor and waste 20 minutes pulling out hay. And because my rake is making wide rows there is hay that gets missed from the feeder fingers.

Im considering a newer faster more efficient baler. Because it takes all day to bale 10 -14 acres and I dont have time with my 1 tractor to grapple up all the bales before dark. I called the jd dealer and they told me the newer models arent any faster. So.... what are my options on a baler I can feed a little faster so I can manage. I have almost 100 acres to do. And have only done about 35 so far...

Help a lady get the job done.
Thanks!

Sounds to me like you need a different rake more than you need a different baler.

 

[flying belgian]

Sounds to me like you need a different rake more than you need a different baler.

Sounds to me like you need a different rake more than you need a different baler.

Sounds to me like you need a different rake more than you need a different baler.

 

[Tx Jim]

I demonstrated/sold NEW 346 & 336 sq balers. If you think a 346 & 336 are equal in capacity that's fine with me. But I'll assure you there not the same capacity. If you think double the number of hay dogs & heavier flywheel won't increase capacity you're wrong again. Heavier capacity could be described in tons per hr not bales per hour. Have a nice day, Jim

 

[tim s]

If that 336 baler is working at even half capacity it should easily bale 15 acres per day...and of course the bigger balers will do much better...you need to re-think the way you are preparing your windrow..

 

[Hay maker2]

I demonstrated/sold NEW 346 & 336 sq balers. If you think a 346 & 336 are equal in capacity that's fine with me. But I'll assure you there not the same capacity. If you think double the number of hay dogs & heavier flywheel won't increase capacity you're wrong again. Heavier capacity could be described in tons per hr not bales per hour. Have a nice day, Jim

You should consider going back to baler school....

 

[Loosehandle]

I bale with a jd 336 baler. I've had it a few years. For its age I think it is a beast of a baler. my jaw drops when I see it tackle with ease my lumpy wind rows made with my kickerLESS v rake.
1. how can I make smoother rows that don't clump from first cutting long stemed grass. ive tried slow, fast, the ends of rake are propped up so I use less #, I only drive over half a row to pick up less, and I have the narrow part of the v as wide as possible that can still make a row my baler can handle.

2. so my rows are a heavy 4 ft wide despite my above efforts. And even though the baler is awesome It still gets clogged once per row despite my crawling speed. I have to get off the tractor and waste 20 minutes pulling out hay. And because my rake is making wide rows there is hay that gets missed from the feeder fingers.

Im considering a newer faster more efficient baler. Because it takes all day to bale 10 -14 acres and I dont have time with my 1 tractor to grapple up all the bales before dark. I called the jd dealer and they told me the newer models arent any faster. So.... what are my options on a baler I can feed a little faster so I can manage. I have almost 100 acres to do. And have only done about 35 so far...

Help a lady get the job done.
Thanks!

Is it actually getting nice and dry in huge windrows? Bunches are usually wet in the center especially for small square balers.

 

[SHALER]

Consider this another vote for examining closely your hay rake and not the baler. I also have a V- Rake, with a kicker wheel by the way and I do not use it for heavy first cutting hay, it behaves the way yours does and only causes problems. It is a heck of a rake for 2nd and 3rd crop tho. I use a rotary rake for 1st cut. I would advise you go this route or if funds are tight get a bar rake for now until you can upgrade.

 

[620 John]

I'm gonna have to agree with what the other folks have said and doing something different with the rake. We run a 336 and if we really want to push it (which we usually don't) with everything set right that baler could keep two guys busy on the rack. We rake everything with a bar rake and the only real issue we can run into is around the corners because there's usually a more hay piled up.

 

[Northvale PA]

I agree on the rake too. But it takes me 1/2 hour to bale 1 acre single raked. So 14 acres a day is a huge amount of ground to cover. It sounds like you need another tractor and operator.