24T pickup issues

[AKfish]

zzvyb6

This seems to be a systematic problem on this forum: Don't tell someone you have the wrong equipment, tell them a clever and constructive way to make it work if possible.[/quote]

I think it would be hard for you or me to tell over the internet if a piece of equipment justifies/not justifies repair or is the wrong implement.

What do you think "the cure is for the systematic problem" of this forum? I chose to try to help if I possibly can.[/QUOTE]

I have greatly appreciated the information provided by zz, Tx, and Barry with regards to balers and hay equipment in general. You fellas are a great resource for the rest of us! :thumbsup:

That said - it is a challange to "read between the lines" and/or discern some of the problems and particular issues that different makes/models might have when trying to decide what baler to buy or mower, etc.

It takes time... to read all the comments and weigh the pros and cons offered by different users. Sometimes I'd really like to see folk's that have owned and used the equipment to just "lay it out there"!!

We all know the "everybody's got an opinion" line - and more often than not - direct opinions bring forward the best discussions - although at times; contentious. Nonetheless, it is often the best opportunity to really learn about the pitfalls of a particular machine before you plunk down thousands of dollars!

That's why I passed on a number of 24T's and a 224 before finally landing a 336! But, I sure had to "sift" thru alot of info before setting my sight's on a better target.

AKfish

 

[Tx Jim]

AKfish
If you like your 336 you should try baling with a 346 or 347. They have 6 hay dogs instead of 3 on the 336,wider pickup attachment and heavier flywheel which gives them a lot more productivity. I agree a 336 has advantages over a 14 or 24T but some people still bale a lot of hay with the 2 older model balers.

 

[Tx Jim]

sjbrunk0
There a gentleman on another tractor site that I frequent that is parting out two 24T that if he close enough you might could get a compressor assembly from him. His phone # is 203=888=4628

 

[sjbrunk0]

Thank you all so much for the advice!

So I wound up discovering that the pickup drive chain was jumping a tooth from time to time. I looked closer at some pictures of the baler and discovered one of the idler sprockets was entirely gone. Yikes. I guess it had been run that way in the past... I had to get it into the field so just removed two links from the chain and that sorta took care of the problem.

Summary is I put up 450 bales and didn't have any insurmountable problems along the way. I guess I probably had a half a dozen bales that didn't tie right, I just ran the hay back through and re-baled it. I was tickled pink for my first time ever putting up hay.

Since then I bought another 24t baler for parts ($400) and have stolen quite a few parts off of it, including some compressor rods which seem to help the pickup from overloading, the missing sprocket, and some other goodies. I'm very pleased with how it's working now, thanks so much to everyone for the great advice!

 

[Tx Jim]

sjbrunk0
Dang it you just proved some posters on this thread to be incorrect. Even an sq baler amateur such as you can get a fence-row baler to bale hay.

Congratulations

 

[DaveOmak]

The trouble I'm seeing is when I operate it, the hay starts tumbling in front of the pickup wires so instead of the hay lifting up on top, it just kinda rolls and accumulates, eventually leaving trails on either side of the pickup.
I wound up having to go over each windrow three times which was pretty rediculous.
Has anyone else ever seen anything like this?
Thanks in advance.

sj, mornin, I am a little late to the party here but have experienced you problems in the past.
I have a 14T and it is my first baler.. Like you I spent many hours fixing, replacing and adjusting things... I use a 4 wheel Simak hay rake. Some folks here do not like them because they twist the hay into a rope so to speak.. I found that beneficial to the 14T.. Twisted up into a rope allows the hay to feed nicely.. windrows don't fall apart and the feed is consistent.. That solved the loose hay rolling up in front of the baler.. Second I found adjusting the ground speed and baler speed was important.. I will try to describe it.. When both tractor and baler speeds are adjusted to accomodate the 14T, the windrow is picked up and fed in a continuous ribbon.. the windrow is not pulled apart nor is it compressed while still on the ground.. That is what I have come up with to make the 14T work very well.. Hope that description helps... I find the baler a great tool to use behind my Ford Naa tractor.. Very good combination..

Dave

 

[sjbrunk0]

Sure appreciate the tip Dave!
I was able to get my baler going after some fiddling and put up over 900 squares this year without too much trouble. Like you said, twisted up windrows do feed in awfully nice!

 

[AKfish]

Sure appreciate the tip Dave!
I was able to get my baler going after some fiddling and put up over 900 squares this year without too much trouble. Like you said, twisted up windrows do feed in awfully nice!

There ya go...!! Keep at something long enough - persistence i.e. stubborness - and you'll get it figured out! :thumbsup:

AKfish

 

[flusher]

sj, mornin, I am a little late to the party here but have experienced you problems in the past.
I have a 14T and it is my first baler.. Like you I spent many hours fixing, replacing and adjusting things... I use a 4 wheel Simak hay rake. Some folks here do not like them because they twist the hay into a rope so to speak.. I found that beneficial to the 14T.. Twisted up into a rope allows the hay to feed nicely.. windrows don't fall apart and the feed is consistent.. That solved the loose hay rolling up in front of the baler.. Second I found adjusting the ground speed and baler speed was important.. I will try to describe it.. When both tractor and baler speeds are adjusted to accomodate the 14T, the windrow is picked up and fed in a continuous ribbon.. the windrow is not pulled apart nor is it compressed while still on the ground.. That is what I have come up with to make the 14T work very well.. Hope that description helps... I find the baler a great tool to use behind my Ford Naa tractor.. Very good combination..

Dave

Windrow roping is not a big problem here in the North Sacramento Valley since the humidity is so low during the baling season (May-June for dry land haying) that the roping doesn't cause major drying problems. Must be the same situation up north where you live. On the other hand, folks in the Midwest complain about the roping they get with side delivery rakes and the contamination caused by wheel rakes. From what I read, rotary rakes are the hot setup in that part of the country where humidity is high and showers arrive every 3 or 4 days during the hay harvest.

 

[DaveOmak]

Windrow roping is not a big problem here in the North Sacramento Valley since the humidity is so low during the baling season (May-June for dry land haying) that the roping doesn't cause major drying problems. Must be the same situation up north where you live. On the other hand, folks in the Midwest complain about the roping they get with side delivery rakes and the contamination caused by wheel rakes. From what I read, rotary rakes are the hot setup in that part of the country where humidity is high and showers arrive every 3 or 4 days during the hay harvest.

Flusher, morning... I have seen folks use wheel rakes incorrectly.. I suppose they think the wheels need to drag on the ground to work correctly... I set my wheels about 1/2" off the dirt.. the hay turns the wheels just fine and no dirt is picked up...
It does take some "tuning" of the top link and right side lift bar to get everything perfect but it is worth it for quality hay...
I forgot to mention I grow fine stem alfalfa on irrigated land and it grows pretty well... I stop irrigating at knee high and 2 weeks later it is about 36" tall and twists up pretty well.. AND I forgot to mention it took some doin' to figure out how to "fine tune" the wheel rake to rake clean hay...