Inline vs Traditional small Square Balers?

[aczlan]

One more question for all of you reading this. Can you give your thoughts to this?
Rotary or Wheeled Rake. I like what I am hearing about the Rotary Rakes but how do they compare to a Wheeled rake? I hope I am describing this correctly so as not to look any more dense than I already am.

By wheeled you mean the ones with the "pinwheels" running at an angle or in a vee shape (such as: Hay Rakes )? If so, IMO, they move the hay similar to how a rollbar rake does and some of the downsides are that they:
1. Don't work when stopped or creeping along
2. Can introduce dirt/dust into your window as the tines are on the ground
3. Dont work for tedding or fluffing the hay when it is flat as they will cause windows

On the plus side, they are:
1. Cheap
2. Reliable
3. Work well at high speeds

Aaron Z

 

[jerry shannon]

Yes i was talking about the "pin wheel" type of rakes. Not the v rakes. Where we have gotten our hay the last several years, they use a pinwheel type of rake and we get sticks, dirt, small rock, the occasional bird or hawk, ect. Not impressed. That is why I have asked. I would rather pay more on the front end and get a quality job done as I will most likely be selling hay as well to mostly horse owners and you can get a bad reputation very quickly if you have a horse colic and they blame the hay.

 

[aczlan]

We use a PTO powered "basket" tedder to ted the hay and a rollbar rake (powered by a shaft from the rear wheels) to windrow it before baling. We still get the occasional stick (usually from the side of the field where a branch fell into the field and didnt get picked up). No rocks, dirt or critters (yet).

Aaron Z

 

[jerry shannon]

Thanks again aczlan. My hay supplier is a dairy farmer and as may know,, horses are different than cows. I have gotten dirty hay, moldy and the random dead critter in the bales. I have not problem with the seldom bad bale but last couple of years I am not sure what field he is pulling out of and this is why I want to start using my 25 acre field for my hay and sell what I do not need. I will have to buy hay this year but I think I should get something out of the field this first year. It was planted back the first of Apirl. Thanks.

 

[F3506]

I've had an inline Hesston sq baler for about 15 years now. Never had any trouble out of it. The only way to get banana shaped bales is to tighten one side down and leave the other loose the same way you do on a traditional baler. It has the same flakes as all other square balers do.

Some of the inline sq balers are a little smaller size. The only thing this means is you have to lower your baling speed or make your windrow smaller, but getting the right size windrow for your baler is to do no matter kind of baler you are running.

The benefits to a twine tie square bale is, it's much easier on the fingers when picking them up in the field. The downsides are the little strands of twine sometimes left on top of the bale after the knot is cut and every once in a while you'll have a bale break if you have it adjusted too tight.

 

[Tx Jim]

The only way to get banana shaped bales is to tighten one side down and leave the other loose the same way you do on a traditional baler. It has the same flakes as all other square balers do.

Please explain if the bale compression apparatus is applying pressure to "the center(top & bottom) of the forming bale" and the cranks attach into springs how this affects a banana shaped bale? I was taught that banana shaped bales are caused by the size of windrow,ground speed,which area of PU hay is fed into on baler & how the feeder fingers are adjusted IE both sides of bale need correct amount of hay. I agree number of flakes per bale is the same for all brands determined by ground speed,windrow size and baler strokes per minute.

 

[F3506]

If you don't set the tension evenly on the bale with the hand cranks, you're not applying pressure to the top center of the bale. There are also side shims that I guess could fall out or be left out that might contribute to one side being loose.

 

[Tx Jim]

Ok explain how if both upper(parts key #6) & lower(parts key #5) channels in bale case are pivoting on each extreme side how more pressure can me applied on one or the other side of channel with just spring tension? I randomly picked a NH small sq baler schematic but all brands are similar in channel attachment.