small round baler I think its time

[BryanM]

well I think its time to get a round baler, I am loosing my help for small squares, we only do 1200-1500 smalls a year but I am thinking it may be time to do rounds. The hay is for our own use.

This is my question I have a 55hp tractor so looking for a small round baler and have a couple lined up to look at. They are both same size and brand- New Idea 484
here are my questions: 1.) when round baling with this baler do you need to shut off the pto everytime you eject a bale?
2.) how much does a 4x5 hay bale aprox weight? 3.) can you make a bale smaller say 4x4, I am assuming so?

we bale in ohio on totally flat ground, so I don't think hp will be a problem, but am curious on what you think a new idea 484 in good shape will be worth, it ranges so much on tractor house, I cant get a good idea on what a fair price would be?

thanks for your time

 

[Bigfoot62]

To directly answer your questions,
1. Nope.
2. APPROXIMATELY 800 pounds. (weight can vary widely, due to bale density, moisture content, etc)
3. I don't think you can with that particular model. It looks like it is 5' wide. If so, you can't make a 5x4, but you could conceivably make a 5x3. (but I wouldn't)
4. Don't have a clue about price. I've never seen one of those balers in my area. TH would be the only reference I would have.

I couldn't find anything in your signature that identifies your tractor. A 55 HP "farm" tractor will handle a baler very differently from a 55 HP compact tractor. Also, 55 HP will likely be at the bare minimum for most round balers. I run my 4x5 with a 85 HP tractor, and wish sometimes that I had more. Point is, you can probably get by with your tractor, but it won't be ideal.

 

[Ed of all trades]

A lot of companies make lower HP round bailers. I would look around before I settled on that model.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

We run a little Hesston 540 that makes a 40" by 48" bale. Only takes about 35 hp to run, tag on it says to not use oget 60hp on it

 

[rtimgray]

I started doing this same thing with my 45 hp (Kioti CUT) tractor a couple of years ago with a New Idea 484 roller, and it handles it well. The previous answers given are spot on, as far as I can tell. I don't think you can make a different size roll with the 484; it can be smaller, but it will be really, really loose and it will change from round to flat in about a day (I know from where I finished out a field with only about enough half a roll). Well, it's still a roll, just half-sized....nevermind.

Anyway, I don't have any trouble running mine, so I assume a 55 hp would run it fine. As I've mentioned in another thread, the only problem I see with the roles is that they are soft-centered, and if you handle them alot, you might have some trouble spiking them, but again, this may depend on the type of hay, density, etc.

If you end up with a 484 and need a manual, let me know. I have it in .pdf form.

As far as what they're worth, I see them between $3,000 and $6,000. I paid $3,800 for mine and I've only had to replace a couple of bearings, plus is was only about 20 miles from my house, so transport was easy.

Whatever you end up with, good luck and take care.

 

[sweettractors]

Below is a link to 7 small roll balers that we have in stock today. Additionally, I brought 4 more in today and should have those checked out thoroughly and listed on the website within a couple weeks. Ken Sweet
Sweet Farm Equipment - Inventory Balers;page=1;items=20;sort=0;wid=1;disposition=any

 

[Murray54]

BryanM, I think you have some good advice already. With your small tractor I would stay with a hard core baler rather than a soft core, they don't need the extra power to squash down the bale once its started. I have a 4 foot wide Hesston 555T that seems to handle a tremendous volume of hay without working my 80 hp tractor at all. No, you don't have to shut off the pto, and yes, you can make any diameter you like, up to 6 feet, with mine at least. I make a good tight 5 foot diameter bale that weighs about 1000 lbs.

 

[BryanM]

a couple more questions about round balers I only have 1 set of hydraulics on a jd 2155 that I will be using. whats the difference of hydraulic tie and electronic tie? what do I want? how do you know if its hard core or soft core baler? does it make a difference?

Is there a web site that tells specs of older round balers? what do you think would be a good fit for a jd 2155 as far as round baler?

 

[Bigfoot62]

You need one set of remotes to open and close the tailgate of the baler.

You would need another set of remotes for hydraulic tie. So, for your tractor, electric tie is a must. (unless you want to go through the trouble and expense of adding another set of remotes)

Soft core balers are the drum type. (ex: Claus) Any belt style baler will compress the entire bale, from core to outside. (ex: JD, NH, Hesston, Vermeer)

The advertised PTO HP for your tractor is 45. 45 HP at the PTO is the absolute MINIMUM for a JD or Vermeer 4' wide baler. NH says 40 PTO HP is min.
From my previous post,

55 HP will likely be at the bare minimum for most round balers. I run my 4x5 with a 85 HP tractor, and wish sometimes that I had more. Point is, you can probably get by with your tractor, but it won't be ideal.

I stand by what I said. Your tractor MIGHT barely get by, but you will want more HP at the PTO than 45.

 

[Tx Jim]

You could use a JD 430 or 435 rd baler as they only require one remote to open/close tail gate. You could make a bale up to tractor powering out which would probably be 4.5-5 ft in diameter unless one lowered baler pressure.