John Deere 435 Baler problem

[Anonymous-0]

Hello,
I need help with a feeding problem I am having with my JD 435 baler. This has been a minor problem in the past, but is getting worse.

It seems that when I try to bale extremely dry short hay the bale will not start forming and turning inside the chamber which results is stoppage in the front. The only cure is to stop as soon as possible, raise the gate and clean it all out.

It has been extremely dry in Georgia this year and hay growth has been short, stemmy, and dry. My baler would not bale rye grass overplanted in Russell Bermuda last spring (April 2007.) I have never had a problem with rye grass before. I thought it was because they hay was so dry that it started breaking up into chaff in the pickup and as it tried to enter the bale chamber.

Two weeks ago I had the same problem with the Russell Bermuda grass hay. My neighbor came to the rescue both times with his John Deere baler (2 years old)

About 4 weeks ago I baled Brown Top Millet hay with no feeding problem.

My baler is about 15 years old but I have had it since new and only baled about 250 bales a year. Some one suggested splattering some welding bead on the steel bars across the roller that feeds the bale. Has anyone ever done this and exactly how and where and how big do you lay the bead?

My pick-up tines are worn shorter than when new. Is that a problem?

Any other suggestions are welcome.
Thanks,
John in Georgia

 

[snappie]

I have had bale start problems with my gehl since I got it, it has a platform belt and dry hay just slips on the belt, they are famous for start problems. what I do is from the tractor seat, after I've dumped a bale, with the pto running and the gate open. I use a hand bottle sprayer set on long range and spray coke cola on the belt. the hay doesn't slip on the sticky soda. got me out of a bind more then once. boy! am I going to get the devil for this post. LOL.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Worn pickup tines do not help. Pickup drive belt slipping doesn't either. Make sure it is adjusted properly.

At 15 years old, how worn are your belts. They have three steps to the diamond pattern. If they are worn down to the last step you should replace them. Rub your hand over your belts and a new one and notice the difference. If yours are smooth to the touch you might as well replace them.

Roger in Iowa

 

[Anonymous-0]

You are not alone ,Ihad a 335 that would do the same as you describe .The problem is the material is too dry .Red top clover is the absolute worst if it is too dry ,it will grind to powder before a bale will start.I would go to an area of grass,start the bale and then go back to the clover and finish the bale I now have a 638 NH and haven't had the problem. It has mini-rough belts and they aren't as aggressive.

 

[Tx Jim]

JLM,when I worked at a JD dealership back in late 80's JD recomended welding on leading edge of flat rectangular bars. Leading edge would be looking at roller from rear and would be the "top bar edge" you would see. I always laid a rough/tall bead. Other things that can help starting problem are running pto at half speed till core is started and having pick-up teeth as high as possible and stiil pick up hay. As previously suggested a good,tight pick-up drive belt is neccesary. Also changing the direction of travel of the belts can help. How many bales has your baler baled? I put new belts on my JD 467 at beginning of this season and it had 23,000 bales on it. Now it has 28,151 bales. Tx Jim

 

[Anonymous-0]

On short hay i remove my compressor rack(cotter key and bolt) speed up tractor and slow down pto speed..the baler will bale hay but when you cut strings or wrap the bale will fall apart..


MAY GOD BLESS THE USA

 

[caterpillar guy]

Deere makes alot of good equipment but they never should have made round balers. just trade it for a IH or a NI the fixed chamber unit no belts with splices to break and rarely a feeding problem.

 

[Tech 7]

I agree with most of the comments and suggestions other than the poke at Deere balers not going there...I have found that when you encounter really dry hay and worn down belts (bet they are the ones the baler was built with?)you can possibly cheat a bit. When starting a bale,back off your pto speed (throttle)until the bale has started then let her walk like normal. Also if it hasn't been done yet pull the compressor rack off the pickup and hang it on the nearest fence. These are just a couple of tricks I have learned in 15 years of Deere baler service. You still have a good servicable baler,just have to treat her well. Post back if you have more questions,Bob PS that neighbors baler,is it a 467? GOOD machine. Up here we run NHs through them lol.