Most Dependable Round Baler

[Joel Sanderson]

My dad has a New Holland round baler that he bought new, oh probably 15 years ago. I want to say it's model BR6070 or something like that. Not sure. At least once every year (and sometimes more) he has to have a service man come out and get the thing to work right. So annoying. Usually it's the net-wrap mechanism that isn't quite right. Or the door won't close. Or the electronic connection at the tractor. Or, or, or...

Now on the flip side, we have a John Deere 336 Square baler that my dad bought new in 1979. Neither of us can remember a service man ever coming out for that baler--never in the 42 years of its working life.

Is there a round baler that's as dependable as the 336?

I would like to hear peoples' opinions and experiences about what round baler is the least trouble and what one is the most trouble. Thank you all. There's nothing like experience talking.

Joel

P.S. It seems like I've raised this question before, so if I have, please be patient with me. (Mighta been about a plow? A drill? Not sure.)

 

[mtf]

My experience has been only with new holland balers. We started with an 853 chain roller, then a 660, then br780, now 560. The 853 was the least complicated, would bale anything, Just not real fast.

The newer belt rollers were more complicated, more electrical stuff to cause pproblems. They did improve capacity and increase efficiency with net wrap. But the more complex they become the more you have to keep up with technology to self diagnose these little problems that pop up.

With most any machine, you will have problems. They can sometimes be solved with preventative maintenance, sometimes not.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Sounds like he needs a better service man that knows how to fix things correctly. Last 2 NH baler a 648 and now a BR7070 with over 20k combined bales and never had the need for a service call or any tuning up.

Keep electrical connectors clean, wire the monitor directly to the tractor battery, check bearing temps with an IR thermometer, grease it, clean it out, listen for noises and smells, and keep on top of maintaince and they are all fairly trouble free.

 

[caterpillar guy]

Parts are the big issue for them is the NI round open throat balers several around here and just keep going. We have a 484 with god only knows how many bales through it. Simple only electronics to it is the switch to trun on the twine tie and switch to run the actuator for the tying. The biggest problem is they are all now 25-40 years old.

 

[Tx Jim]

I've been custom rd baling since 1987 utilizing JD rd balers. JD dealer employee hasn't touched my balers since my balers left dealership. I've baled well over 150,000 bales with JD rd balers. 1st 467 having 30,000 on it & current 467 with 27,442 on the counter. I've read too many complaints about duckbill & sledge roller problems on NH rd balers for me to desire to try a NH rd baler

I did purchase a new JD 466 Mega-wide pickup baler that was not JD engineers most shining ideas.

The 466 feeder crankshaft that was located under pickup which caused the brg journals to wear excessively from sandy soil to the point that it was impossible to keep feeder fingers attached. After several yrs of finger failures I traded for my 1st 467 & never had another problem

 

[dcarp]

No brand of equipment is trouble free/adjustment free. You have to learn how they operate and how to adjust/fix them. Read the operators manual front to back till you understand every word of it. Then if you have to, get a maintenance manual for it. 99% of problems can be fixed by the owner, if you have simple tools and the want to. Unless you hit the lotto, you cant pay the dealer to do simple adjustments/fixes.

 

[Joel Sanderson]

My dad is an ardent manual reader. I don't think he's ever gotten a machine and not read the manual cover-to-cover, making notes about even little things like tire pressure, and so on, before going to the field. But to have even little problems the day of baling, whether we can fix them ourselves or need to call a service man, becomes a big problem when you're rushed to make hay. Yesterday the tension on the net wrap was off (the bill, or whatever it's called--not my baler) and it took several tries to get it right before he could get any real work done, losing more than an hour of sunlight.

Thank you all very much for your input. I hope folks keep commenting for awhile. I'll look into the different models mentioned.

 

[Determined]

(quoted from post at 14:23:09 06/07/21) My dad is an ardent manual reader. I don't think he's ever gotten a machine and not read the manual cover-to-cover, making notes about even little things like tire pressure, and so on, before going to the field. But to have even little problems the day of baling, whether we can fix them ourselves or need to call a service man, becomes a big problem when you're rushed to make hay. Yesterday the tension on the net wrap was off (the bill, or whatever it's called--not my baler) and it took several tries to get it right before he could get any real work done, losing more than an hour of sunlight.

Thank you all very much for your input. I hope folks keep commenting for awhile. I'll look into the different models mentioned.

About all I can suggest is for you to test your equipment a week or two in advance.

Every year I will go through my haying equipment then cut the side of the driveway or the clearing in the feed yard, rake it, bale it etc.

Always going to be some little thing that needs to be adjusted, repaired, replaced, tightened, loosened etc.
The more you use a machine the better you will get to know it.
Having common spare parts on hand is a must.

If all you lost was an hour of daylight I would say that's a pretty good day.

 

[Texasmark]

I have had great luck with JD. Had a Hesston as my first 5x6 roller and did not like it. Commercial guy in town uses NH haying equipment except for the baler and it's a JD.