New Holland 275 Baler Knotter Problems with Plastic Twine - only one side

[Blueacre]

I have a 275 New Holland Baler - it was starting to miss quite a bales using sisal twine and missed a lot more on plastic twine. I decided to overhaul the knotters. Did the following

I installed new bolted twine knifes
new twine holder springs
new brass rollers on twine knife arms
replace twine box tension plates
set twine disc timing
adjusted twine fingers
adjusted knife arm to bill hook clearance (slightly rubbing)

I loaded with 9000 ft plastic twine and did the first baling of the year last week - I baled about 60 bales with no misses and then it started to miss but always on the left side ( side opposite the twine box) It gradually got worse over the next 100 bales to the point where it was missing a bale about every 5 or 6 bales on the left side. I switched back to sisal on the left side and it didnt miss another bale for the rest of the field - abut another 300 bales.

The string in the left knotter that was missing did not have a knot on either end of the string ?

Before the next baling i rechecked the adjustments - coiuldn't see anything that look out of adjustment or differnet from the right side that was working well. I checked the twine box tension with a fish scale - had less than a pound with plastic twine - tried to set to 3 to 4 pounds but I had to tighten it where there spring was fully compressed to get to close to 3 pounds and then it was so tight the the knots in the string where the balls were joined would not pull through the tension plates. I had to bck off a little till there was enough movement in the top plate to let a knot pass.

Tired baling again yesterday 2 new rolls of 9000 ft pastic twine installed - same problem - left knotter was missing frequently - I had read in one forum to try reducing the twine holder tension if there was no knot on both ends of the twine - I loosened the bolt 1/4 turn at a time - after half a turn looser it was a little better but still missing every 10 or 12 bales. At this point it was getting late in the day and had to finish baling so I switched back to sisal on the left side. Baled 400 bales after the switch to sisal and it only missed one knot on the left side with sisal and one on the right side with the plastic twine.

I am going to try and borrow a go pro style camera and mount on the left knotter are so I can try and see what is happening

I am not sure what to try next. Appreciate if anyone has any suggestions on what parts may be faulty or other adjustments that I might have to make.

thanks Gary

 

[zzvyb6]

'Plastic' twine is much more slippery than sisal, so there are TWO twine tension adjustments needing to be made on EACH knotter:

1) Twine box pullout force = 10 lbs. This is the force level needed to yank the tine from the twine box alone. Measure with a fish scale or a bag of sugar, doesn't matter to me what you use. This keeps the twine in the needle groove under control of the tucker fingers and makes sure it lands in the twine disk and stays there. Usually a couple of slipper plates and some wing nuts and springs involved.

2) Twine disk hold force. Also 10 lbs. This keeps the other end of the knot in place. Otherwise, the needle draw may pull it out. Look for a bolt to tighten that clamps the twine in an ungodly awful location that takes a midget to reach. But necessary and evil.

Take a gander at the existing force levels before you start to see if all this makes sense so far.

Make sure you have good twine, too. Sometimes owners mistakenly pick up a box of round bale twine and even overseas suppliers cheat on the thickness and strength characteristics of their products (That's a GLOBAL 'benefit' of using shady international trade some of you may have already found out about. I've seen incredible thickness variation even in brand name twine, too. WTF ?

I'd re-thread the machine, too, because using two new bales will (hopefully) keep you from running out 1/2 way through using one side. That's another good check: Both sides should start the spare twine ball at about the same 'time' to show you that bale tension and packing is nice and even. There should be a threading map in or at the twine box.

A reply back would sure help the next person with a similar problem. If this doesn't fix it, there is a bit more to check, adjust, bend, or replace !

 

[Blueacre]

Thanks for the reply zzvyb6 - finsihed baling my fist cut so wont have a chance to do more troubleshooting till second crop.

A few comments / questions re your reply

- twine tension - I did adjust the bolt for twine box pullout tension where the twine comes out of the twine roll holder. Problem is I tightened it till the spring was fully compressed and still only get 3 pounds using a fish scale. I can tighten further to get more tension but at that point is flattening the twine between the two plates and it is impossible to pull the knot between the two balls through the plates. It is also puzzling that the one knotter works perfectly at the lower tension.

- did make adjustents both looser and tighter on the twine disk holder tension but I wasnt sure how to measure the tension on the twine disk ? Any suggestions on how to do that appreciated.

- I agree that twine quality is an issue but again it works perfectly in one side and not the other even though the adjustments are the same. I did switch the balls between the two sides to rule out the possibility that one ball was poorer quality than the other but no change.

Just bought an action camera on eBay (cheap go pro knock off) that does 120 frame per second slo motion so when I do more testing come second crop time I will hopefully be able to see what is happening that is different on the knotter that is missing.
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[zzvyb6]

If you have the time, you don't have to wait for the next cutting. Break open a few bales you have on hand and keep re-baling them.

There ought to be a way of increasing the bale tension beyond 3 lbs. Check the contact surfaces.

You manual ought to have good diagnostics for your specific baler.

Meanwhile, check out these 3 videos.

Small Square Baler Knotter - YouTube

How to String a square baler Sperry New Holland 311 Farming Agriculture Alfalfa Hay - YouTube

John Deere Baler Knotter Action - YouTube

 

[zzvyb6]

If you have the time, you don't have to wait for the next cutting. Break open a few bales you have on hand and keep re-baling them.

There ought to be a way of increasing the bale tension beyond 3 lbs. Check the contact surfaces.

You manual ought to have good diagnostics for your specific baler.

Meanwhile, check out these 3 videos.

Small Square Baler Knotter - YouTube

How to String a square baler Sperry New Holland 311 Farming Agriculture Alfalfa Hay - YouTube

John Deere Baler Knotter Action - YouTube