NH 273 baler needles

[keljan11]

Hey all,
Last year, while baling a heavy crop of alphafa last year, I managed to throw a shear pin on the pto. So, carrying on I changed the shear bolt, but being rather new to baling and this machine, I forgot to put the needles back in the home position. And anybody who does a lot of hay baling will know what happened. (I finished the baling with my old MF #9 square baler, which did the best baling it ever has since I've owned it).

What I'd like to know is, are most New Holland baler needles interchangeable? ie: can I use any model NH baler needles on my 273? I've got one replacement but need one for the other side.

Thanx in advance for any info

 

[fishheadbob]

There are a lot of different needles for a NH baler. Look up the proper part number. When I broke mine I took them to a very good welder and the weld held up. You can find used needles too.

 

[RickB]

Needles from any 200 or 300 series 14”x18” NH square baler are the same part number. Needles for a 565, 570, or 575 will work if you use the proper metric hardware. The 500 series needles carry the same casting number as the 200/300 series needles and are a LOT less expensive new.

 

[aczlan]

Needles from any 200 or 300 series 14”x18” NH square baler are the same part number. Needles for a 565, 570, or 575 will work if you use the proper metric hardware. The 500 series needles carry the same casting number as the 200/300 series needles and are a LOT less expensive new.

Good to know. Out of curiosity, does the MF 50 baler use the same needles as the 273? I have the needles from a MF 50 baler that I ended up scrapping and they look to be almost identical to the needles in our 273, but I haven't had a chance to pull the needles out of the 273 to compare them.

Aaron Z

 

[RickB]

Good to know. Out of curiosity, does the MF 50 baler use the same needles as the 273? I have the needles from a MF 50 baler that I ended up scrapping and they look to be almost identical to the needles in our 273, but I haven't had a chance to pull the needles out of the 273 to compare them.

Aaron Z

No clue, but I’d bet they do not interchange. No reason to think they would.

 

[keljan11]

I had thought of having them welded too. Just gotta find a welder who does a lot of cast iron welding in my area.
Thanx

 

[keljan11]

Needles from any 200 or 300 series 14”x18” NH square baler are the same part number. Needles for a 565, 570, or 575 will work if you use the proper metric hardware. The 500 series needles carry the same casting number as the 200/300 series needles and are a LOT less expensive new.

Good to know. Have been looking for a scrapped NH baler in my area, but think they've all been sent to the scrap yard. Will look for a good welder who can weld cast iron
Thanx.

 

[Mace Canute]

Hey all,
Last year, while baling a heavy crop of alphafa last year, I managed to throw a shear pin on the pto. So, carrying on I changed the shear bolt, but being rather new to baling and this machine, I forgot to put the needles back in the home position. And anybody who does a lot of hay baling will know what happened. (I finished the baling with my old MF #9 square baler, which did the best baling it ever has since I've owned it).

What I'd like to know is, are most New Holland baler needles interchangeable? ie: can I use any model NH baler needles on my 273? I've got one replacement but need one for the other side.

Thanx in advance for any info

A friend did that with his 168 NH baler soon after he got it. I forget exactly what the primary cause was but on his there's an inter lock that's timed with the knotter mechanism that's supposed to prevent that from happening, it's a block that comes up in the way of the plunger every time the knotter mechanism activates and is pulled out of the way all the rest of the time. If it's working properly it will cause the shear pin to shear if the phasing between knotter/needles and the plunger is wrong in order to save the needles. Just shearing off a shear pin will never affect the timing of the knotter/needles and the plunger...there's something else wrong.

 

[keljan11]

A friend did that with his 168 NH baler soon after he got it. I forget exactly what the primary cause was but on his there's an inter lock that's timed with the knotter mechanism that's supposed to prevent that from happening, it's a block that comes up in the way of the plunger every time the knotter mechanism activates and is pulled out of the way all the rest of the time. If it's working properly it will cause the shear pin to shear if the phasing between knotter/needles and the plunger is wrong in order to save the needles. Just shearing off a shear pin will never affect the timing of the knotter/needles and the plunger...there's something else wrong.

Hey there,
Yes, there actually was a lot of things wrong with this 'field ready' machine, (or so I was told by the guy I bought it from). When I first hooked it up to my tractor, the counterweight didn't make one revolution before it blew the first shear pin. (I used my MF #9 again that time to bale my field). Anyways, I later went through the 273 from hitch to bale chute, and found it was totally out of time, it was missing quite a few springs, there had been a few 'repairs' done that I had to redo, etc. ( I had gotten the manual from another 273 owner to figure out what was missing/wrong with this machine)
After a lot of missing skin on my knuckles and a lot of swearing, I tried it out on my next cut, and it worked really well. On my 3rd cut that year, I went into a really heavy alfalpha field, and that was when I broke the needles. Good thing I had kept my first baler as a back up machine.

As I said, I realized later that I had forgotten to put the needles back into the home position when I replaced the shear pin, and that's when I broke the needles. I'm now trying to locate a replacement needle as I was given one already.

 

[mattv1]

As I said, I realized later that I had forgotten to put the needles back into the home position when I replaced the shear pin, and that's when I broke the needles. I'm now trying to locate a replacement needle as I was given one already.

you shouldn't have to do that.

If the needles are engaged, there is a dogbone that should spring out to keep the plunger from rolling into the chamber. It should instantly snap the flywheel sheer bolt until you manually move the needles, clear the dogbone, and resume operation.

Open the cover on the plunger arm, look down and to the right - you should see the mechanism there. I had a 273 for several years and clearly remember the first time i broke sheer after sheer and couldn't figure out WTF was going on...then i noticed the incredibly slight engagement of the needles, and saw the dogbone.

good luck.