HP Requirement for IH 440 Baler

johnsonauto · Jan 29, 2003

We ran an IH 46 pto bailer off a farmall super c , its 20hp or under if i remember right, you had to pop it neutral some times if it got real heavy, but worked good for years, but baling with the ih 560 diesel is alot nicer with the independent pto and the extra weight and hp.

Anonymous Poster · Jan 29, 2003

My ihc 300 is wide front (horrible turning radius with that, but probably good for the baler pto!), TA, 2-point, 3 hydraulics on the distributor pump, & power steering. I have mostly older tractors, but I'll save those discussions for www.ytmag.com, this place is about compacts, which I'm looking at buying...I really like the hay basket (self-loading hayrack, not a bale catcher for a thrower). It doesen't handle sharp corners with slippery stuff, but not a big issue. I learned to back up to the barn with the baler & basket, so no unhooking.--->Paul

Woodbeef · Jan 30, 2003

I've used a gas Fordson Dexta with an IH 430,when my loader tractor was busy. It was o.k. even in hills,but the plunger sure shook the tractor at certain times.

I'd say 40 hp would do the 440 o.k. I'd be looking for weight though too.

RichZ · Jan 30, 2003

What exactly is the hay basket? Is it for picking up bales on the ground?

I use a baler with a kicker, and pull a kicker wagon behind it. That set up is fine on flat ground, but some of my hayfields are on hills, and I just don't feel safe towing the baler and kicker wagon on the hills. If there's something that picks bales off the ground for you, it would make my life a lot easier!

By the way, Rambler, we do have a Vintage Tractor forum. I run vintage tractors myself. So feel free to put in your two cents about older or vintage tractors!! And don't worry about questions that are about other than compact tractors. A lot of TBN members don't even have a compact tractor. I don't. I think TBN has expanded way past dealing with exclusively compact tractors. ANY tractor questions are appropriate!!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

cowboydoc · Jan 30, 2003

Rich,

A hay wagon is for balers that don't have kickers. It's essentially the same thing as your kicker. The bale wagon has a ramp that comes off of the baler and the baler force pushes the bales up the ramp and drops them into this hay basket.

There are machines that will pick up your hay off the ground. They are called hay stackers. It's an independent machine that you drive around and pick up the bales. It puts them in a stack on the machine and then you go and put them where you want. They are pretty expensive though and you rarely will find any of them very far from the west. The reason being that in the west everything is stacked outside because there is little moisture. Once you get to the midwest and east then there is too much rain to stack hay outside. They are also a little pricey for a small operation.

Anonymous Poster · Jan 30, 2003

I'll try to include a pic of my haybasket. Cowboydoc describes it all pretty well. The whole back endgate swings out & dumps on the ground. You remove the baler chute, put on a hitch that is _directly_ below the center of the bales, and away you go!NH makes several models of bale pickup wagons & trucks for picking bales off the ground. Some only hold 66 bales - some ~100, and are pulled with a tractor. But they have lots of hydraulics & are very spendy & require repairs.... Then they have bigger self-propelled models.--->Paul