Krone Rd Balers

[WiJay]

I am looking for some input, I have owned a JD 510 rd baler for 8 yrs. makes a nice bale under perfect conditions, volume of hay, dryness, barometric pressure, wind speed..lol
I need to find myself a better, easy to work with baler.
A friend has a Krone KR151,( had a JD 410 same issues as the 510) he loves his Krone, softcore but a nice tight bale, I have always heard to stay away from chain rd balers.
What are your suggestions for a bullet proof good rd baler.
I am retired with 25 head so I am not going crazy with new.
I have heard some good thing about some Gehl.
Thanks Jay

 

[MJMJ]

The Krone balers will bale just about anything. They are about as foolproof as possible. Not as much hay in a bale, but they sure do get things done. No worrying about hay being perfectly dry. I dont really consider them the same as the old NH chain balers. Two very different styles.

Gehl balers are still very popular around here and make as good of bale as ive ever seen. But certain parts are starting to get hard to find.

 

[wolfman]

I have an M&W 1500, same baler as a Krone 151. Makes a very tight bale, you can still roll them next spring. Bale is very dense around the outside which is why they have less waste.Mine has baled about 200 per year for the last 30 years. Kind of the
Cadillac of balers in their day.

 

[wolfman]

Messicks is a Krone dealer and sends parts same day if ordered before noon.

 

[SVcummins]

The newer new holland like the 855 are a completely different
animal than the old 848 851 loose hay rollers those are one
step if one step above the first round baler that rolled the hay
along the ground . With any chain machine you need to make
sure the chain is kept in good condition because when it
breaks itll ruin your week

 

[Hay hay hay]

I have a neighbor that bought a well used M&W 1500 at an auction, a little grease and a few adjustments and it has become his main baler. He leaves his much newer, much more expensive belt baler parked in the shed.

 

[Hay hay hay]

You did not say how much you want to spend. If you want to go cheap, I think you might look at these. I have an old OMC 595 Drum baler. Mine
is a giant 5x6 baler but they made a 4x5 (590 model). Very simple design, very reliable, fixed chamber-soft core. Very easy to start and
roll, will gobble up piles of hay. Obviously, pretty slow when compared to a newer $30K baler on a 120 HP tractor. But what do you expect for
$2-4K? Not a pretty bale for selling, but my horses devour them. I did a lot of research (same design as Claas on license). They don't bring
much at auction, but for a low volume, home use bale feeding operation, you might want to check them out. They are more common in Wisc. and
Minn. Like Krone, they are not everywhere, but have worked OK for me for 10 years. Gehl made the same baler as a 1310 (small) and 1710(big).
After reading many complaints about belt baler problems starting bales, plugging and hay moisture woes, this old baler has served me well,
and been a reliable fit for my little operation, 100 bales a year. I also do about 2000 square bales/yr.

 

[Tx Jim]

(reply to post at 14:40:40 11/13/21)

WiJay
If you could bale hay successfully with a JD510 rd baler you would love one of the newer JD rd balers. Newer JD rd balers have open throat design with adjustable hyd tension on the bale forming belts with no lower floor belts. They also have auto wrapping be it twine or net. JD 535 & newer balers have bale push bar that eliminates need to back up before ejecting bale from the bale chamber.

The newer the JD rd baler model the better they are & easier to operate. Even the JD 430/530 models are much better than the JD 510.

 

[rrlund]

I've had Gehl balers since 1979. A 1500A, 1450 and two 1475s. One of the few times I ever bought hay, I bought some baled with a
Krone. Exactly half as much hay in them as with the Gehl. I was unrolling them in the feed alley in the barn, 22 cows on a side. I
could feed three times with the Gehl bales, down, back and down again. With the Krone bales, I could roll one down and half way
back. Took two to feed three times. Gonna mean twice the hauling and handling.

If you look for a Gehl, look for a 60 series or newer. The 00 and 50 series used a table belt, the 60-65-75 and newer used a
roller.

 

[SHALER]

Hard to understand the question as you seem to be asking about Krone rollers, but then ask What are your suggestions for a bullet proof good rd baler. While
you state you are not going to buy new, you do not specify a budget or bale size or net/twine, or chain/belt. You apparently have a JD510 now, and congrats to
you for putting up with it for 8 years.The 510 will be worth maybe $500-1,000 if you sell that. If you are looking for a cheap replacement if you were in my
area it would be the old NH 84X or 85X chain balers. There would be older Vermeers around too. As TxJim says, the 430/435/530/535 are good candidates but you
may not want to write that check. On the topic of Krone balers, I have run a Bellima which is a little 4x4 chain baler with net that is a very simple, solid
baler. Guessing something like that would be out of your price range tho.

 

[hoghollow]

jd 535 I bought one last spring very happy with it and did not break the bank. I am
in southwest wisconsin only make 75 or so bales a year. You watch for one and can find
good one for 3000 or so

 

[Tx Jim]

Not all used JD rd balers will break the bank. Here's an example of a JD 430 for $1500 on local CL. Just the converging wheels are worth significant $$$. I'd take it over a JD 510 or NH chain baler any day.
https://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/grd/d/gordon-baler/7401213550.html

 

[tomstractorsandtoys]

I will add to the comments about a newer Deere. I had a 335 which was a 4x4 baler and baled thousands of bales with it with no problems. The
only reason it left was I wanted net wrap and knives. I would not buy a Gehl as parts are getting to be a big problem for all Gehl equipment.
Tom

 

[markhenry63]

I have an M&W 1500, same baler as a Krone 151. Makes a very tight bale, you can still roll them next spring. Bale is very dense around the outside which is why they have less waste.Mine has baled about 200 per year for the last 30 years. Kind of the
Cadillac of balers in their day.

I'm having trouble with pickup bar wheel failing on the left side. I've had three failures in as many years and only bail ~100 per year. Krone replaced the first one but not the second. I'm not interested in dropping another 170 for another guaranteed failure. Conversely, the right side wheel is original...
Have you had this trouble?
I'm thinking of either making one or finding a solid wheel replacement as the krone wheels are hollow.
Thanks!

 

[maqbill]

Ran a Gehl baler as a hired man for several years on a massy 1130 or a case 730, used less power than the new Holland, and would eat just about anything. I loved that 730 and l'm a deer guy.