4x4 round balers - good ones?

[AKfish]

I don't know squat about round balers! Never used one or been around one in the field working, either.

But, I can very well appreciate how fast you can wrap up alot of hay in a very short time with 'em!

So, I'd like to find out more information and I'm looking at the smaller machines; 4x4 or 4x5.

We have NH and JD up here. Any thing else might be a challange to get parts and/or repairs.

Recommendations...?? Thanks for any advice.

AKfish

 

[bigbull338]

i would talk to both the NH an JD about their balers..personally id go with the 4 by 5s but thats just me,because you can get more hay in a 4 by 5.do you want a loaded baler or a stripped down baler.

 

[Verticaltrx]

We use a JD 446 (4x4') round baler and it has been an excellent baler. It has the hydraulic twine tie and bale ramps. I would have also liked to have the windrow converging wheels, but with careful raking we get by. I don't know what the current model number is, but as far as I know they haven't changed it very much. It makes a very tight bale and takes the hay as fast as a 65hp tractor can feed it. Aside from a hydraulic hose and an idler pulley it has been very reliable for the last 10-12yrs making a couple hundred bales a year.

 

[whodat526]

nh br 740a's are whatever the newer number is of that baler is a real good baler and has been around for the last 20 years all the have done is changed the sheat metal and the pto drive shaft so they will most likely always have parts for them and are simple to operate and work on with the auto wrap system.
i run a 648 nh and love it

 

[jdbnh]

NH roll belt 450 utility baler is the one to look at. twine and net options and a bunch of other features that other balers dont even offer are standard. Priced in the mid teens to twenty

 

[blueriver]

I am sure like me budget is an important issue ... there are alot of good 4x4 and 4x5 balers on the market, depending upon your PTO hp that will also help you decide. When I bought mine budget and hp both played a factor ... I needed a good baler that 40hp would handle ... So that lead me to the Case IH 8430 ... The John Deere shop had taken it in on trade and assured me parts would be available and it was a local trade and I got to talk to the previous owner ...

Its been a champ ... in the years I have owned it replaced one roller bearing, called JD from the field and it was in stock and they ran it out to me ... wish I had the gathering wheels and the bale kicker.

 

[AKfish]

Well... budget is a hurdle, definitely! I just signed the papers on a JD 5075M cab tractor. So, that pretty much limits how high a round baler price hurdle I can jump over...

I'm looking for a good, used machine.

Was thinking double twine wrap but now more inclined to go with net wrap. Not many used machines up here -- could count them on both hands -- seriously!

So, that likely means a trip over the hill and down the valley for a baler; 'bout 8,000 miles if I don't veer too far either left or right!

Very much appreciate the model numbers and sideline info regarding how your particular baler has worked for you.

I've got something to work from now and I can research prices and look for the differences in options, etc. between the machines.

AKfish

 

[slowzuki]

All I can say about 4x4 twine wrap balers is, if you've used a square baler, you will be frustrated by how slow they are. I wouldn't go under 4x5 with rounds, waste of time, there is almost 2 4x4's in a 4x5.

I estimate baling, picking up and stacking 4x4's with one person, if the stupid pickup doesn't clog on the baler (closed throat on the one I have used most) with one person doing everthing takes about 3x as long as baling squares with one person riding the wagon and the same two people unloading.

Going to 5x4 would cut half the time out as you tie half as often, handle half as many bales etc. The 4x4's are only good for making light baleage bales, and you can make 4x4's in a 5x4 baler.

The dreaded baler we used was a Case-IH unit, rebadge of a Hesston. Hard core. Only good thing is low hp needs, ran perfectly happy on my Kubota L5030 HSTC in the hills with AC on full blast.

 

[MyJoBota]

Not to Hi-Jack this thread but I have a simple question. How many remotes are typically required to run these balers?

 

[MyJoBota]

Let me take my question one step further and ask what is typically required on your tracter to make hay? For example I realize you need a draw bar and a certain amount of horse power but what about pto and pto spd., 3 pt. hitch, hydraulic remotes, 12v. electical outlet, ect... ???

 

[jdbnh]

Let me take my question one step further and ask what is typically required on your tracter to make hay? For example I realize you need a draw bar and a certain amount of horse power but what about pto and pto spd., 3 pt. hitch, hydraulic remotes, 12v. electical outlet, ect... ???

well it all depends on the baler and bale size you are making as far as the hp you will need. but sicne this thread is talking about a 4x4 or 4x5 baler all the horse power you would need is 40 for a 4x4 or 60 for a 4x5. and that is pto hp. most round balers only need one set of hydraulic remotes to open and close the tailgate on the baler to eject your bale. you would need another set if your baler was equipt with a hydraulic cylinder on your pickup attachment to raise and lower it. so at the most two. but only one is a have to have. most balers run on normal 540 pto. some people want 1000 especially on say a 5x6 baler but not often. your electrical is simple on a twine tie only baler, you have a simple monitor that has a full bale alarm and bale chamber gauges to direct you side to side if need be to fill your bale chamber evenly to make a nice bale. If you have net wrap your monitor is more like a little computer. you can change all your bale settings and wraps, etc from inside the cab. it has bar graphs for your bale chamber fill and a near full bale alarm and a full bale alarm. but both are simpply hooked to your battery and a ground. (this is all info based on New Holland's system, most other brands are similar but not totally, new holland has the simpliest, user friendly, setup) any more ?? let me know

 

[HayDR]

Not to Hi-Jack this thread but I have a simple question. How many remotes are typically required to run these balers?

Most round baler these days only need one spool or pair of couplers. The twine and or net is electrically controlled. Hydraulic twine ties can require more spools or on older JD's have a diverter valve mounted on the baler.

 

[bigbull338]

well it all depends on the baler and bale size you are making as far as the hp you will need. but sicne this thread is talking about a 4x4 or 4x5 baler all the horse power you would need is 40 for a 4x4 or 60 for a 4x5. and that is pto hp. most round balers only need one set of hydraulic remotes to open and close the tailgate on the baler to eject your bale. you would need another set if your baler was equipt with a hydraulic cylinder on your pickup attachment to raise and lower it. so at the most two. but only one is a have to have. most balers run on normal 540 pto. some people want 1000 especially on say a 5x6 baler but not often. your electrical is simple on a twine tie only baler, you have a simple monitor that has a full bale alarm and bale chamber gauges to direct you side to side if need be to fill your bale chamber evenly to make a nice bale. If you have net wrap your monitor is more like a little computer. you can change all your bale settings and wraps, etc from inside the cab. it has bar graphs for your bale chamber fill and a near full bale alarm and a full bale alarm. but both are simpply hooked to your battery and a ground. (this is all info based on New Holland's system, most other brands are similar but not totally, new holland has the simpliest, user friendly, setup) any more ?? let me know

you left out the 5 by 6 balers they need 70 to 75 pto hp to pull nicely.

 

[jdbnh]

big bull you are right and actually on a 5x6 85 to 90 hp is better. time you factor in your A/C, heat outside, field condition, etc. the 5x6 calls for a minimum of 80 pto so a little extra is good.

 

[blueriver]

Let me take my question one step further and ask what is typically required on your tracter to make hay? For example I realize you need a draw bar and a certain amount of horse power but what about pto and pto spd., 3 pt. hitch, hydraulic remotes, 12v. electical outlet, ect... ???

540 pto speed I would think is most common, the 3 point is not used, 1 hyd remote for the tail gate, and hard wire your monitor to the system, the electric tie is in the monitor system, unless you have hyd tie then another set of remotes.

 

[Verticaltrx]

I would say the PTO hp's listed above are the absolute minimum and really you wouldn't be happy using them much on those size tractors. We pull our 4x4 round baler with either a 65pto hp tractor or a 85pto hp tractor. They both move along pretty quick with it but on some of the steep hills the 65hp tractor will be down in 2nd gear to pull it. I know a guy that used to run the same size baler with a 40pto hp tractor and every time he would hit a big clump of hay it would stall the tractor instantly.

When you get up to the big balers they can take a lot of power to run efficiently. Most guys around here use tractors with at least 100pto hp for 5x6 balers. I used to know a guy that did custom baling with a JD 4650 (165pto hp) and 556 JD round baler. Talk about putting up some hay, I never did ask him how fast he ran it but on some of the flat fields I bet he would be going 10-12mph or better.

 

[HayDR]

We have hundreds of 5x4 balers being used in East TN mountains on 40-55 HP tractors.