small sq baler input HP

[slowzuki]

Cowboydoc,
I think a lot of it too is what people consider hills. We have a something like 15% grade to get to one of our fields but our fields are only about 5% in the direction of work. That steep grade on the access road makes it really challenging getting hay out once the dew has fallen. With only 150 bales on the wagon its no prob but start trying to push 200 and things can get slippy no matter which tractor we use.

Even just taking the loader tractor down it in 2wd with nothing behind it can surprise you. We now try to use the 4wd always and I don't let anyone else take wagons down it. The neighbours tried to take a small wagon down with their 4x4 F150 extended cab and got pushed pretty good.


I can't imagine in the really steep stuff what size machine is needed.

I have been in a kicker wagon with 220 stacked bales behind a Ford 3000 without loaded tires with a NH baler between us when it jackknifed while the farmer was rushing our load down the hill to the barn as it was a thunderstorm. On the wet pasture he got the tractor crossed up but was able to let go of the brakes and steer out of it. We only took out one fence post on the way /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Not a steep hill either.

 

[dubba]

It's funny how times change..

When I was a kid, a local farmer hayed with what looks to be that exact same tractor as the pic. The only difference was it didn't have a PTO, so the baler had a one lunger & a big flywheel. I can't imagine there was any 75hp there /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I don't know how much hay he put up each year, but I do know his hay barn was 80x150, 5 floors tall, He filled it each year., small bales.

 

[cowboydoc]

What people fail to realize is that just because you can do something doesn't mean it is safe. There are bigger tractors now that do the job safely and take all the risk out of it. Back then that was all you had to do it with. You don't think that if that local farmer had a choice he wouldn't have wanted to have a bigger tractor pulling that baler?

 

[Farmwithjunk]

How did they do it?

They worked from daylight 'till AFTER dark, 7 days a week.

There was plenty of cheap labor when it was time to fill that barn.

Those old guys on those old tractors got killed occasionally, when that "too big" load of hay shoved that "too small" tractor down a hill.

They did it because that's all they had to work with.

The quality of the hay might have suffered a bit from laying on the ground a while longer tha it would today.

There were about 15 times as many full-time farmers back then. Their productivity wasn't as high as it is today, EVEN with all the hard work they put into it.

And those old balers with the big ol' Wisconsin power units were more than capable of the task at hand.

 

[HayDoc]

I started years ago with too small a tractor for the New Holland and JD 348 small square balers. My local JD rep had warned me that it would be like the "tail waggin' the dog" once either baler got into the thick stuff and he was right.

I got a 5420 which had an interesting "E540" PTO which would run the PTO at 540 while the engine was about half RPM for mowing and lower HP tasks. This gave me an opportunity to see exactly what the working differences were with differing PTO HP when all other variables were the same.

The 5420 will run both balers on the Economy 540 setting, but the capacity of both balers dropped significantly and even a bit of thick stuff would clog the works. Of course, the 348 JD baler is a higher capacity baler than the old New Holland, but it could do an amazing amount more, faster with the full 60 HP PTO. Some of my neighbors use the 348 on the 100+ HP PTO tractors and it will swallow one heck of alot of hay in no time with the extra horsepower.

To sum it up, even the old, low capacity NH baler gave improved performance with more PTO HP. High performance models like the 348 JD (and I am sure NH has equal or better new models) love the high HP PTOs and can produce at a head spinning rate when all is balanced.

John

 

[jwcinpk]

For one to realize and appreciate the extra pto hp they have to use it. I hayed for a few years with my IH McCormick 46 baler and a MF 135. Got the job done I never felt unsafe, but I never pulled anything but the baler. I mistied a lot of bales and spent a lot of time going slow, clutching, and stopping to get it done. We bought a new Mahindra 6000 a couple years ago and the hp difference made a huge difference in the action of the baler. Most of the misties are gone and well it just does a lot better job all around. The Ih is rated for 35 hp too, but it does a lot better job with 60.

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Dubba,
Well my grandad had a small dairy farm in the Catskill mountains, about 100 acres. He used a horse drawn sickle mower, horse drawn dumprake, a few haywagons and a few hayforks to fill his barn /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Dont think Im up to that job. It scared my Pop so bad, he opted to go to war in 1943 /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

But I bet you slept good at nite /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

scotty

 

[dubba]

It truly was a different era, But I'm not that old /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Try to picture the lawsuits today from this senario...

5-10 neighborhood kids, ages 9-12, running sickle bar mowers, tedders, balers, & 2 old 1/2 ton Chevy flatbeds with a 3 speed on the tree hauling hay wagons. Did I mention the hay barn didn't have a floor? Just 2 18"beams the same width as the pickups. It's amazing none of us were killed, maimed, etc. But what a great time /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Banjo]

I know this topic has been quiet for a while, but I thought I'd add this info that I got today. Baler questions seem to never go away .

I was at a longtime NH dealer near here today and got talking with someone who turned out to be one of the owners. He's obviously been dealing with balers for decades, as, for instance, he seemed to know everything about my 271 without looking it up.

I asked about the HP requirements between the 565 and 570 balers. His comment was that the 570 is capable of higher capacities, that would need more HP (obviously). So this seems to confirm my thoughts (anyway) that a lot of it has to do with how hard you are, and can, drive the baler. If you're prepared to go slower, you need less HP (in general). I also asked about PTO speed, and he said always run at the full 540 (or recommended strokes per minute).

As has been mentioned, you also need a tractor with sufficient size not to be dragged around by the baler.

So, for what it's worth.

cheers, Andrew