24T pickup issues
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AKFish,
Thanks, got it. The strippers are all intact and secure.
The bobbing I mentioned even occurs when it's stationary... something is binding up inside the pickup head when it is running, and the torque on the drive sprocket lifts the pickup head until it overcomes that friction, then it breaks free and the head drops back down. I need to find the source of the friction but it seems like there are about 100 places to look.
When I looked at some similar balers for sale online I didn't see compressor rods on any of them, are they normally required?
Thanks, got it. The strippers are all intact and secure.
The bobbing I mentioned even occurs when it's stationary... something is binding up inside the pickup head when it is running, and the torque on the drive sprocket lifts the pickup head until it overcomes that friction, then it breaks free and the head drops back down. I need to find the source of the friction but it seems like there are about 100 places to look.
When I looked at some similar balers for sale online I didn't see compressor rods on any of them, are they normally required?
I have a 24T baler and have seen what you descride when doing light windrows. What did you mow it down with ?
Balers like long stemmed plant material not short clippings.
Buy bales hay or straw and spread it out into windrows or hand toss it in to see how it works..
Balers like long stemmed plant material not short clippings.
Buy bales hay or straw and spread it out into windrows or hand toss it in to see how it works..
Back to basics: Did you cut the hay with a brush hog or a sickle type mower? Hay length is an important factor in pickup operation. Too short and it won't get picked up. A brush hop mower will sometimes work for haying, but there needs to be a lot of hay. Did you rake it into a windrow? If not, you need a substantial amount of hay on the ground in order to have the pickup work.
The pickup tines should never touch the ground. That makes the tines stall and grab and then break free. Adjust the header height so that the tines ride no less that an inch above the ground. You should be able to make a ground riding gauge wheel to let the header float along with the ground level if you have hilly land. This was a factory option. The header should not be making a lot of noise. If it is, then the cam riding rollers may be frozen up or the tines are rubbing against the strippers, which can cause the choppy header operation.
The pickup tines should never touch the ground. That makes the tines stall and grab and then break free. Adjust the header height so that the tines ride no less that an inch above the ground. You should be able to make a ground riding gauge wheel to let the header float along with the ground level if you have hilly land. This was a factory option. The header should not be making a lot of noise. If it is, then the cam riding rollers may be frozen up or the tines are rubbing against the strippers, which can cause the choppy header operation.
Thanks, zz. I am just getting my #9 sickle bar working for the first time this year, field has been brushogged in the past so there is some thatch in there. I also did not fertilize this spring (kicking myself now) so the grass is pretty thin.
The thatch in the few test bales I did pick up does not smell so great. I wonder if I'm going to run into this "old nasty thatch" problem everywhere.
The thatch in the few test bales I did pick up does not smell so great. I wonder if I'm going to run into this "old nasty thatch" problem everywhere.
Tx Jim
New Member
The 24T chain drive on the pickup(if rusty & stiff) along with worn drive sprockets can cause chain to hang in the teeth of the sprockets creating the bobbing of the pickup up attachment.
So i take it your baler did pick up enough material to cycle and create some bales? your crop should be at least knee high and cut with a sickle or disc cutter.
I took over a old bushhogged field for hay and it took a entire year to get it cleaned up for good grass hay. the first years hay wasnt too good with all the old thatch picked up.
I took over a old bushhogged field for hay and it took a entire year to get it cleaned up for good grass hay. the first years hay wasnt too good with all the old thatch picked up.
Thanks, Jim.
I did make about a dozen bales. The baler was picking up fine at times, and at other times the stuff started to roll and build up in front of it, leaving a couple of messy rows on either side of the baler. I think I'm gonna hope that with longer hay I won't have so much trouble with this. I made my boys run along with a hand rake and pull the mess into a single row, they said if they gotta do all 40 acres this way they will go on strike
Regarding the bobbing pick-up head, you may be onto something with the chain binding up. The drive chain was pretty frozen up when I started and I have not been able to fully loosen it up even after soaking in motor oil overnight, using lots of PB Blaster, cleaning the sides of the chain links with a wire wheel, etc.
Maybe that is the real cause and it will work itself out with time if I keep oil on it? A guy can always hope...
I did make about a dozen bales. The baler was picking up fine at times, and at other times the stuff started to roll and build up in front of it, leaving a couple of messy rows on either side of the baler. I think I'm gonna hope that with longer hay I won't have so much trouble with this. I made my boys run along with a hand rake and pull the mess into a single row, they said if they gotta do all 40 acres this way they will go on strike
Regarding the bobbing pick-up head, you may be onto something with the chain binding up. The drive chain was pretty frozen up when I started and I have not been able to fully loosen it up even after soaking in motor oil overnight, using lots of PB Blaster, cleaning the sides of the chain links with a wire wheel, etc.
Maybe that is the real cause and it will work itself out with time if I keep oil on it? A guy can always hope...
Tx Jim
New Member
Glad you're making progress on the baler. I would invest in a new chain. Back when I grew up on the farm, labor strikes by me weren't allowed by my father. Oh how times have changed. I hated walking up/down corn & cotton rows with a hoe but striking by me never crossed my lips.
