Lower hp round baler

[Chief 83]

Is there a newer round baler that would work with a 45 or 50 horse tractor? This would be on flat ground. With the cost of hay help and me getting older handling round bales may be in my future. Don't really care about bale size but would want a real baler not a miniature.

 

[DanielW]

The easy answer is Yes: Lots of newer balers will work with lower HP. The more complicated answer is, What do you consider, 'newer'?

I've heard good things about the new Masseys rated for 40 HP, and excellent things about the Vermeers. The Vermeer 5410 Rebel is a common, low HP, new(ish) model that seems to be quite popular, but Vermeer also has several other models that work with lower HP as well. In general, Vermeer does an excellent job of doing more with less HP. Some aspects of their balers might be a little light, but overall they're very well built.

If you're like me, however, 'New' means anything built after the Eisenhower era. So it's a much broader question. The Deere 335 which was made (I think) until the mid 90's was a decent, lower HP baler. I have an older Vermeer 504G at my father's. The 504F and G's were really stout, low HP balers. 50 HP is plenty of HP for them in stock condition, and you can change the main drive sprocket on them for one with one or two less teeth and drop the HP requirements even more. I've used mine behind a 40 HP Case 530 without issue. But they're getting a little long in the tooth now. The newer 504s (The 'I' series or newer) work down to 50 HP and might be a better buy. My G still makes solid, nice-looking bales that are at least as good as those made with my newer Deere 435, but I had to put a new set of belts on this year, as well as a pile of roll bearings.

The Hesston 5530, Hesston 530, and Case 8420 are all the same baler, were made for a pile of years, were very popular, and work with as little as 35-40 HP. They're quite simple and perhaps built a little light, but people seem to love them. I thought that Massey was still building them until quite recently under a different model number, but looking into it now I can't seem to find any record of that, so my memory must be wayward. The main drawback of them is that they make a pretty small bale: A little less than 4' wide, and just a hair over 4' tall if you really push the diameter to the max. Great for selling to horse people, but it means more bales to handle in the field.

Maybe give us an idea of price range you're willing to spend and what year range you're thinking of and it might help narrow it down.

 

[MJMJ]

DanielW pretty much covered it. A 50 hp tractor will run most 4x4 round balers, given the terrain isn't too hilly. Many of the Vermeers are made with slower RPMs to allow smaller tractors to run them, so they have the reputation of being small tractor friendly. I've made a lot of bales in an M&W fixed chamber baler with my Ford 3000. The only issue I've run into is hydraulic capacity. I have a Vermeer 505SI that the 3000 can run, but the gate cylinders are too large for the tractor to open the gate.

 

[Destroked 450]

Are we talking about an older 45-50 pto hp tractor or one of the newer 45-50 gross hp tractors that is actually only 35-45 pto hp

I pulled a Hesston 5545 and a NH 640 round baler with my 52 pto hp Ford 4000 for several years. But that was all that tractor wanted in requards to hp requirements and baler weight
A 40-50 pto hp tractor should handle any round baler that will make a 4x4 bale but will be limited to what 4x5 baler it can handle

 

[rrlund]

I used to do just fine pulling a Gehl 1450 4x5 with a 53 horse Oliver 1550. Unfortunately the newest Gehl baler you can buy would be a 1475 (and I'm drawing a blank on the very last model that replaced the 1475). They don't run hard.

 

[RodinNS]

Essentially any 4x4 belt baler will run on lesser hp tractors. Just dump the bale out sooner. Beyond that, balers that have lesser capacity per hour or turn slower will be your ticket. Higher capacity is generated by faster running balers... which take more power.

Rod

 

[Chief 83]

I don't really have a dollar figure just thinking about what might be possible. There won't likely be anything available close to me so shipping or travel expenses could get expensive. Just looking
at machines could be a challenge. My big tractor is an Oliver 1550 diesel. Runs good but currently has weak hydraulics. Usually use my Massey 245 diesel on the square baler. Does a good job with what 42ish hp.

 

[495man]

You'll run most 4x4 belt balers made, 4 MPH or so baling.

Not sure your budget or what is "old"

 

[Texasmark]

I run a JD 375 at 800' altitude, slight rolling hills with a 57 PTO tractor making a 5x4....smaller diameter baler than the used to be popular 5x6. I weighed one the other day with well cured hay and it measured 790+#. Even with the diameter marker in the red zone, it keeps on tugging.

 

[Texasmark]

My 375 is a '91 year model and has been well cared for and kept under shed, by me and PO. No idea as to bales but about half the paint has worn off the pickup tooth yellow shroud. The pressure on the belts is derived from the two gate lift cylinders which do double duty as a bale compressor. I have a pressure gauge on the front of the baler and somewhere near the end of the roll the pressure hits 3k PSI and holds due to the popoff pressure relief valve. Rolls are extremely tight, twine tied. Most bales fight the TSC spear which is a long tapered, sharp pointed spear. FEL spear has an easier time of it since you have more control.

 

[86LG4T5]

I'm surprised nobody said Vermeer 504R Classic. I think it's rated for 40 or 50 HP and makes a 4x5 bale up to 1000 lbs. That would be my choice if I had the money. They have a net wrap option too. For older balers, Vermeer made several lower horsepower round balers over the years.

 

[lastcowboy32]

I'm surprised that I have an input here, because we only do small squares..anyway...a while back, I was picking up twine at the dealer. The twine is out back by the shop doors. Next to the twine pallets was a New Holland RF440 baler. It looked new, and about the size you describe. It looked simple. That's what caught my eye. Sort of like how I wish you could buy a simple tractor...like a Ford 5610, brand new...anyway...

I looked them up when I got home, and the RF series is a new, current series aimed at small farms that want a simple round baler.

 

[495man]

(quoted from post at 04:59:15 08/19/23)
I'm surprised that I have an input here, because we only do small squares..anyway...a while back, I was picking up twine at the dealer. The twine is out back by the shop doors. Next to the twine pallets was a New Holland RF440 baler. It looked new, and about the size you describe. It looked simple. That's what caught my eye. Sort of like how I wish you could buy a simple tractor...like a Ford 5610, brand new...anyway...

I looked them up when I got home, and the RF series is a new, current series aimed at small farms that want a simple round baler.

Yes, RF is simple, only problem is the baler aimed at small farmers, but price isn't

 

[MJMJ]

The RF is New Hollands first jump into the fixed chamber market. But there have been fixed chamber balers out for decades, there are lots of used Krone, Claas, and other fixed chamber balers out there for sale. They are simple, but they need HP to form a full size bale. And if you have to form a full bale for it to shed water correctly. Just some info to consider.

 

[Phil T]

The RF is New Hollands first jump into the fixed chamber market. But there have been fixed chamber balers out for decades, there are lots of used Krone, Claas, and other fixed chamber balers out there for sale. They are simple, but they need HP to form a full size bale. And if you have to form a full bale for it to shed water correctly. Just some info to consider.

What is the parts availability for a KR 130 Krone?

 

[MJMJ]

What is the parts availability for a KR 130 Krone?

Never looked myself, but I would suspect most parts are still readily available. They aren’t an old baler, I think all have been made in the 2000s. You should be able to look on Messicks and see if common parts are available.

 

[Jim.ME]

What is the parts availability for a KR 130 Krone?

United Ag and Turf (Fairfield) shows up as the Krone dealer in Maine. You might call them to see if they stock parts, ordering if needed, etc.

 

[Phil T]

Never looked myself, but I would suspect most parts are still readily available. They aren’t an old baler, I think all have been made in the 2000s. You should be able to look on Messicks and see if common parts are available.

Yes Messick's does have a lot of parts listed

 

[DanielW]

Keep in mind the KR130 is a soft-core baler. So less desirable bales if you're going to sell them, a little less hay in each bale so more bales per field, and HP might be a concern. The manual for the KR130 says it only requires 35 HP, but with soft core balers the published HP values don't always tell the full story. Some of the New Idea 483/484 series, for instance, had very low published HP values. And you can certainly roll a bale with a soft core baler with very little HP. But to get the outer surface packed tight enough to shed water and really hold its shape, you really need to stuff them near the end of their rolling cycle, and when you do this HP jumps up significantly. I'm not saying you shouldn't go with the Krone: Good balers, no belts to worry about, compact size, and totally fine if you're feeding your own animals. But if you want decently-shaped bales (especially if they're being stored outside), you should probably have a lot more than 35 HP in front of one.

KR130 manual: https://cdn.piecesmoinscheres.com/catalog/krone/fixedchamberbalerparts/274-000-0 E.pdf

 

[ford4wd08]

The RF is New Hollands first jump into the fixed chamber market. But there have been fixed chamber balers out for decades, there are lots of used Krone, Claas, and other fixed chamber balers out there for sale. They are simple, but they need HP to form a full size bale. And if you have to form a full bale for it to shed water correctly. Just some info to consider.

I thought new hollands chain balers where all fixed chamber? Like a NH 848?

If you aren't transporting down the road, I have a JD 375 like Texasmark described above.

Simple baler and fairly easy to work on, makes a good tight bale when you have it set up correctly.

Sort of an oddball size, but works well for me.

I tend to lean Deere on most things, manuals are easy to come by and part diagrams are easy to look up.