hesston 4590 baler opinions

[WTA]

I am looking at a Hesston 4590 baler at our dealer right now and wondering what everyones opinion of them is. It looks great and is only a few years old. It was kept indoors it looks like. It has the hydraulic tensioner and quarter turn tail on it which I really like. I can't find a thing wrong with it and the story I get is the owner traded it in on a round baler. The knotters look new so hopefully that is not an indication of a problem.
I'm in a position to get a few custom baling jobs near us this year plus I need to be doing my own land myself. We are cutting Bermuda and alfalfa every month now and I can't really afford the neighbor coming to do it anymore.

I was also planning to get a used New holland pull behind 14 foot swather they have real cheap. It's in the dealers shop right now getting some major repairs. It's ugly but they are fixing it to work so it should be ok.

 

[mark.r]

That's the baler that I'd like to have. I know most people are partial to the NH and JD balers but I like the inline balers and if I had the resources to buy right now, that's what I would buy. I have no experience with them, I should say that as well. It be nice to have one of each but it's not a perfect world.

 

[jimg]

Id go for it if the price is right. Despite appearance Id have the dealers shop assess condition and know for sure whats down the pike maintenance-wise + itll help setting the final price. I let a 4570 get past me last yr...thats what Id have right now instead of the NH326. I really like the inlines a lot!! I think theyre apt to make a better bale w/o all the messing about some offset balers need and theyre much better on the road (narrower). The concept of taking material straight thru makes more sense too. Id be real interested to know if you end up w/ it and how it works out.

 

[zzvyb6]

Only condition is that you have a tall tractor ground clearance. Otherwise, you will not be able to run thru a double or triple windrow formation without it all being balled up underneath the axles and drawbar.

 

[jimg]

Didnt really follow that last comment...why would you need windrows larger than what would normally clear?

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Didnt really follow that last comment...why would you need windrows larger than what would normally clear?

I think what he was saying is you want to have a large enough tractor to clear double or tripple windrows if you choose to bale that way. I normally bale double windrows and have baled tripple windrows from time to time. One field was so heavy that the double windrows were too high for my TN to clear without scrapping the underside hard. In these cases the New Holland and Deere balers are a better option.

I do like the design of the inlines and there was one at an auction local here that made me get strange thoughts of buying a second baler. But my 575 does a great job, is paid for and I can get parts for it easily so I put the thoughts of buying the inline behind me rather quickly.

The only real negative I keep hearing from users who have ran the inlines (both the Case-IH and Hesstons) is that they are built light and wear out faster then the Deere and New Holland units. Since I have never owned one I can not say how well they are built but from the threads I have read I would definitely want it looked over well by someone familiar with them before I bought it.

 

[mark.r]

Only condition is that you have a tall tractor ground clearance. Otherwise, you will not be able to run thru a double or triple windrow formation without it all being balled up underneath the axles and drawbar.

Isn't this an everyday occurance with round balers, doesn't seem much of an issue for them.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Isn't this an everyday occurance with round balers, doesn't seem much of an issue for them.

Small round balers use small tractors and generally only take single windrows. When you start going to larger round balers the tractors get bigger as does the windrow. You try to match the tractor to the implement to the field conditions. Sometimes things don't match up perfectly but things can still work out just not as efficiently or nicely.

 

[jimg]

I see. W/ my rotary rake I can find out prior to baling what I can clear. In my back field I triple raked w/o any clearance problems. When it got round baled there also wasnt a problem and my neighbor used a small Hesston baler for that.

Still, I think theres very little down side to the inline concept esp if you plan to road much and/or you buy from afar and truck it.

I havent heard the 'wear out sooner' story. From my experience I think theyre built tough enough to have a long/productive life. Perhaps the lighter bit comes from not having to handle stresses related to an offset baler?

The inlines only seem popular out west and not sure why they didnt catch on here.

 

[mark.r]

Still, I think theres very little down side to the inline concept esp if you plan to road much and/or you buy from afar and truck it.

This is what caught my eye in the begining . . . I guess now they have just stuck in my mind.

I did however look at a JD 338 at the dealership yesterday. It was brand spanking new so yes I was JUST looking. It's amazing how little these things had changed over the years. The thing that caught my eye the most about the JD was that there were only two hydro hoses which I saw were used to run the "swing hitch" cylinder. After looking it look as if the control to raise and lower the tines is manual??? I thought that was a bit strange? But again what do I know . . .

On a side note, I also looked at some of there larger utility tractors which were all pretty much hooked up to moco's or round balers. I think there nomenclature is actually starting to make sense now.