What's the best/easiest older square baler to learn on, operate, & maintain?

[jleus]

It really doesn't matter what color it is, if the previous owners(s) didn't care for it and its worn out, its going to be a headache. Evidence of regular greasing and storage under cover would be more important than brand to me. That said, my $500 24t has been a lot of fun to learn on. I broke some parts, renewed some for preventive maintenance, it was rewarding making it work, and has been kinda neat seeing the quality of the hay I'm feeding this winter.I'd go green again.

 

[zzvyb6]

Go with the brand that has the closest dealer locations. No dealer (for parts) ? Forget it. I'm in Brighton where D&G has 4 or 5 dealerships within 20 minutes of my place. So that means JD. I have a 14T that is very easy to understand and service. I ran it with a 22 h.p. Yanmar at first, now I have a 35 h.p. 1070.

A baler knotter is actually a very simple mechanism compared to a clock or a car.

 

[TSO]

Thanks for all the input so far fellas ...

ZZ ... that makes sense. I've got a JD dealer in town, but they don't have a single piece of used equipment in their lot, makes me wonder if they'd even know which part to order (Greenia's).

I might have to stop by in the spring and see yours in action. What kind do you grow, And what do you cut it with?

 

[Tx Jim]

Banana bales is problem either with technique or baler set up, any baler can make them and any baler can make good bales. All balers do not work the same and when people treat a baler like other balers they have owned they get inferior bales and blame the new baler.

On 2 different occasions before I bought my own sq baler I hired 2 different people to bale some sq bales with NH 570(I think was the model) and both made banana shaped bales. Both baler owners tried to correct the bale shape problem but failed. I rake with a 14 wheel rake and we tried several different sized windrows.

 

[aczlan]

Anything New Holland. They wrote the book.
A NH 273 is a sweetheart but someone else will have to comment on their earlier models. There are a lot of them around.

That's what we have and it works well for us.

Aaron Z

 

[sixdogs]

On 2 different occasions before I bought my own sq baler I hired 2 different people to bale some sq bales with NH 570(I think was the model) and both made banana shaped bales. Both baler owners tried to correct the bale shape problem but failed. I rake with a 14 wheel rake and we tried several different sized windrows.

I had a NH570 and did not have "banana" bales. It was a great high capacity baler that shamed the competition. Banana bales are not a tough fix and I think the NH dealers even have videos showing how to do it.

 

[MH8675309]

I bought an old 273 last year and did 650 bales with it. Good running machine and fairly simple. The lady I bought it from found the original manual and brought it to me - A real plus! You mentioned Greenias - there's one north of Almont. If you're close to Almont try Rosy Bros over in Dryden. Also try asking on swap shop 660 AM radio at 1:00 PM Monday through Friday.

Mark

 

[AGRIMAN]

Personally, I have either owned or worked on many of the small square balers brands. From JD, NH, MF, IH, Ford and a few Oliver’s and they do have their differences, but the basic principle is the same between them all. Currently I have NH (320 & 570) but for what you are wanting to do, I would also recommend you buy by condition/price/dealer and not color.

Just remember, sometimes it’s the slightest of adjustments that makes the difference between whether it bales or not.

 

[dan28040]

New Holland or John deere. Both are good Balers.. They just have to be set up right. It will definitely be a learning experience. It also depends on how well the previous on care for them

 

[catskinner]

From what I found so far that the hay dogs must work, wedges in place, keep blade sharp, match ground speed to windrow. I find that older New Hollands more plentiful for sale. They will make good bales but there is a learning curve to it. A good manual is the first place to start which ever baler you pick. Pic of old iron pulling older iron. They are not pretty, but they work.