Going to look at a small round baler - any opinions on a New Idea 484?
- Thread starter rtimgray
- Start date
I got back to the field and started rolling. Here's what I learned on each bale:
Roll 1: Always make sure your gate is securely shut. I got most of the bale rolled when I noticed that I was losing hay out of the back. Turns out the latch was not closed all the way. Not sure if I could tie what I had in the chamber, I just decided to dump it out and try again.
Roll 2: With the gate securely shut, I started rolling again. This time, I got the roll done, the buzzer went off, and I tried to tie it. I moved the tieing arms into position and started tieing, and the left hand side string broke almost immediately. I finished tieing the right side and ejected the bale. Now in the future, I'm curious if I can stop the tractor/baler, thread the string through, and start tieing again. I don't know if it is problem to start the baler with full load in the chamber or not.
I didn't take a pic or roll 1, but it looks like the left half of roll 2 all the way across.
Roll 1: Always make sure your gate is securely shut. I got most of the bale rolled when I noticed that I was losing hay out of the back. Turns out the latch was not closed all the way. Not sure if I could tie what I had in the chamber, I just decided to dump it out and try again.
Roll 2: With the gate securely shut, I started rolling again. This time, I got the roll done, the buzzer went off, and I tried to tie it. I moved the tieing arms into position and started tieing, and the left hand side string broke almost immediately. I finished tieing the right side and ejected the bale. Now in the future, I'm curious if I can stop the tractor/baler, thread the string through, and start tieing again. I don't know if it is problem to start the baler with full load in the chamber or not.
I didn't take a pic or roll 1, but it looks like the left half of roll 2 all the way across.
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I had enough weeds cut that I was able to mostly complete a fourth roll, but it wasn't quite full when I ran out, so it was a little lopsided, but not bad. I then decided to try to re-roll the first one that I did, so first I had to un-roll it. That actually wasn't too bad, because it was at the top of a hill and I more or less just unrolled it going down hill. I then picked it up again, going nice and slow so as not to plug up the infeed/pickup, and tie it off. It looked pretty decent for a twice-baled bunch of weeds.
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I'll have to say that overall, I'm very pleased with my acquisition. I was curious if my tractor had enough power to run the baler, but that didn't seem to be an issue. Even going uphill with a full bale, the tractor never bogged down or felt unstable. The bales are the size that I was hoping for, because the large rolls that we had the other guy do for us are quite a load for my tractor (once again, I'm not looking forward to handling them in the mud this winter). I ran a new circuit on my tractor to power the monitor box and made all of the wiring quick disconnect, as well as the monitor for the baler. I had to mount the monitor on the left hand side because I already have a radio mounted on the right side (and a tool box on the ROPS that hold my Sirius radio receiver). I also fabricated a stand on the tongue of the baler to hold up the electric line and hydraulic lines to keep them out of the PTO shaft (previous owner just used ropes and bungee cords attached to his tractor to hold them up out of the way).
I know the downside to this size of a roll is that I'll be doing twice as many as the large roll. The upside to it is that I can do it with a tractor I already own and should be able to handle them easier. Additionally, now I'll be able to do hay when I want to as opposed to having to schedule it with somebody else.
As a side note, I'll have to say that I'm really impressed with how simple to operate the baler is. I know that I'll have problems of some sort with it in the future, as all mechanical things will have problems sooner or later, but it seems like it will be as easy to work on as one could be. Just checking online, there seem to be several of these available as salvage units, so hopefully parts will be available when needed. It will probably be another month or so before we do a second cutting and I get a chance to do more rolling, but I'm actually kind of looking forward to it.
My conclusion to this is that if you are thinking about becoming a "one-man operation", this seems like a pretty good option. I'll continue to update as I can.
Good luck and take care.
I know the downside to this size of a roll is that I'll be doing twice as many as the large roll. The upside to it is that I can do it with a tractor I already own and should be able to handle them easier. Additionally, now I'll be able to do hay when I want to as opposed to having to schedule it with somebody else.
As a side note, I'll have to say that I'm really impressed with how simple to operate the baler is. I know that I'll have problems of some sort with it in the future, as all mechanical things will have problems sooner or later, but it seems like it will be as easy to work on as one could be. Just checking online, there seem to be several of these available as salvage units, so hopefully parts will be available when needed. It will probably be another month or so before we do a second cutting and I get a chance to do more rolling, but I'm actually kind of looking forward to it.
My conclusion to this is that if you are thinking about becoming a "one-man operation", this seems like a pretty good option. I'll continue to update as I can.
Good luck and take care.
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sweettractors
Advertiser
Good looking roll of hay and a fine looking helper. We sell several of those rollers and They are good solid machines. Ken Sweet
Finally got around to doing some actual hay (mostly fescue/timothy) with my new roller. It was the second cutting of the years, so considerably shorter and thinner/lighter than the first cutting. I was able to make 20 rolls in about 3 hours of work, and everything worked out very well. I had one roll that didn't tie right and I had two that wouldn't eject - I had to turn off the PTO and get out and pull them out - that was a pain. The good news is that the rolls are small enough that at least that is possible. It looks like the gate doesn't quite open as much as it possible - I've got to figure out if that is adjustable or not. After the second one, I just made sure to get the baler manuevered to a bit of a downhill position when I opened the gate - after that, I didn't have any problems ejecting the rolls.
My tractor handled the roller fine, and when I got done, I was able to easily handle one roll on the back and one roll on the front, so toting them in from the field wasn't too bad either. I've still got about 5 or 6 acres more to cut and roll, so I'll get to use it at least a little bit more this season.
Just thought I'd update and give a bit of closure to this thread. Thanks for all the help.
My tractor handled the roller fine, and when I got done, I was able to easily handle one roll on the back and one roll on the front, so toting them in from the field wasn't too bad either. I've still got about 5 or 6 acres more to cut and roll, so I'll get to use it at least a little bit more this season.
Just thought I'd update and give a bit of closure to this thread. Thanks for all the help.
Finally got around to doing some actual hay (mostly fescue/timothy) with my new roller. It was the second cutting of the years, so considerably shorter and thinner/lighter than the first cutting. I was able to make 20 rolls in about 3 hours of work, and everything worked out very well. I had one roll that didn't tie right and I had two that wouldn't eject - I had to turn off the PTO and get out and pull them out - that was a pain. The good news is that the rolls are small enough that at least that is possible. It looks like the gate doesn't quite open as much as it possible - I've got to figure out if that is adjustable or not. After the second one, I just made sure to get the baler manuevered to a bit of a downhill position when I opened the gate - after that, I didn't have any problems ejecting the rolls.
My tractor handled the roller fine, and when I got done, I was able to easily handle one roll on the back and one roll on the front, so toting them in from the field wasn't too bad either. I've still got about 5 or 6 acres more to cut and roll, so I'll get to use it at least a little bit more this season.
Just thought I'd update and give a bit of closure to this thread. Thanks for all the help.
My tractor handled the roller fine, and when I got done, I was able to easily handle one roll on the back and one roll on the front, so toting them in from the field wasn't too bad either. I've still got about 5 or 6 acres more to cut and roll, so I'll get to use it at least a little bit more this season.
Just thought I'd update and give a bit of closure to this thread. Thanks for all the help.
timdyson
New member
What is the biggest difference in the soft core baler compared to the chain driven. Looking at a 8444 model from new idea and am not familar.
I don't know the difference. All I can tell you is that when I'm rolling hay, you can look into the chamber and see the bale being formed and for the first several "layers" of the roll, the hay more or less folds over instead of rolling, and there is no pressure on the mass of hay as it forms. Once it builds up about 30% size, it seems as though that's when it starts to "roll" and it starts packing tighter just because of the weight of the roll as it sets on the hay feeding into the chamber. Finally, when the bale finishes, it pack the outside pretty tight. That's pretty much all I know about my 484.
I've noticed on the soft core bales that if you handle them alot with a spike, you can push out some hay and it can get a little loose, especially after it had set in the barn for the winter and kind of lost its shape. I would guess that you can spike them 4 or 6 times without much trouble, but who know. Finally, I can tell you that my old cows liked eating the small soft core rolls that I made better than the larger rolls that the other guys did for use - it was a lot easier for them to get started eating the middle out of the bale.
I don't know if the soft cores are more likely to rot more if stored outside or not - as long as the outside is tight, it should shed most of the water, but I try to store most of my hay inside, so I don't really know about that.
Good luck and take care.
I've noticed on the soft core bales that if you handle them alot with a spike, you can push out some hay and it can get a little loose, especially after it had set in the barn for the winter and kind of lost its shape. I would guess that you can spike them 4 or 6 times without much trouble, but who know. Finally, I can tell you that my old cows liked eating the small soft core rolls that I made better than the larger rolls that the other guys did for use - it was a lot easier for them to get started eating the middle out of the bale.
I don't know if the soft cores are more likely to rot more if stored outside or not - as long as the outside is tight, it should shed most of the water, but I try to store most of my hay inside, so I don't really know about that.
Good luck and take care.