I think I might have found my problem. Over the week-end I cleaned out the bale chamber and cleaned the baler greased-oiled everything to store it for winter. I noticed one of those upper spring loaded hay dogs or what ever they are called FROZEN in the up position. It would have been a pain to take it apart to unstick because of the knotters in the way but some penetrating oil did the trick after some soaking. The frozen dog is located in the upper part of the chamber on the left side facing rear about where the plunger reaches the end of the stroke. Its a spring loaded hook like device and I'm sure you baler guys know. There is a dog on each side. I didnt notice it until I cleaned the bale out was blowing all the crap out and saw it was stuck in the up postion. All summer I also noticed the string on that side was also very slightly looser..... now I'm wondering if this was my problems all along?? thanks for the replies and help so far!!
It's always a good idea to rotate the knotters upward when servicing. I like to insure the grease is getting down the actuator shafts. That's a required procedure for any bailer if you want it to operate properly. Not a scary thing at all.
A frozen dog tells me you don't blow the knotters off after every use and the chaff is laying on the baler frame, collecting moisture and allowing the dog pivot to rust. The dogs are supposed to have plenty of play and each has a spring that keeps the dog in the bale chamber and against the bale as it advances toward the rear. Newer bailers have dogs plus wedges in the bale chute sides and some have adjustable hay wedges (my 575 has them) to allow fine tuning of the bale density. Hay wedgtes are an easy refit. The just bolt on the inside of the chute, toward the rear on the vertical sides.
SOP for me is to blow the bailer off with compressed air
every time I use it and then grease it. I don't care if I only bale 50 bales. Rotten, moldy chaff is acidic and rusts the metal and locks mechanism's.
Just remove the bolt or pin and clip that's attached to the ear of the knotter that attaches it to the knotter frame and rotate the knotters out of the way. That allows access to the bale dogs. They rotate right up (knotters). It will also expose the twine knives so you can see the condition. You want the knives to be sharp and the edge parallel and true. I take mine off yearly and stone the edge. Old bailers have riveted on twine knives, newer bailers have bolt on knives and all knife replacement blades are bolt on. You grind the rivets off and replace the twine knife. Just make sure the knife shield is facing the right way.
Rotating the knotters upward also allows you to ascertain the clearance between the wiper arm and the billhook. The wiper arm is what the twine knife attaches to. The wiper arm should just clear the billhook or touch it lightly as it passes the lower hook. That's what 'wipes' the knot from the billhook and that is the primary reason why bales are missed. Too much clearance and the knot stays on the billhook, the new bale advances, tightening the twine until it reaches a point that the twine breaks and you have a missed bale.
Adjusting the wiper arm is simply a matter of bending it. It's maleable steel for that reason. You can buy a tool specifically made for bending the wiper arm but a hammer and some careful use works just as well. I use a long screwdriver as a lever to bend mine, when they need adjustment. Too much clearance between the billhook and the wiper arm radius is the primary cause of missed bales or erratic tying. It's permissible to allow the wiper arm radius to actually touch the billhook as it passes it's radius, howeverm if the clearance is more than 1/16", you are flirting with missed bales. The wiper arm must securely engage the knot and remove it from the billhook, no exceptions.
With the knotters in the up rotated position, look carefully at the billhook, especially at the end where the moveable upper jaw intersects the cutout in the lower jaw. Make sure that it's not worn to a sharp edge and has no burrs. Just take a small whetstone and stone the sharp edge and/or burrs off and smooth the edge to a radius. It don't take much. It's very important that the twine can slide off the billhook without any resistance. Burrs and sharp edges also cause missed bales and erratic tying.
Billhooks are replaceable and some bailers can run hardened steel billhooks that reduce wear, especially with poly. My 575 has hardened billhooks and moveable jaws.
While they are rotated up, take a look at the cam plates and the tapered gears and make sure the gears have all their teeth ans the cam plates do as well. The gears are easily replaceable but to replace a cam plate, you need to remove the knotter stack, disassemble the stack, replace the cam plate and reassemble, insuring that the cam plate to shaft clearance is correct, a job best left to a dealer. The cam plates are keyed to the knotter stack shaft as are the actuation cams.
There is really no mystery about a knotter tying a knot, it's all about the knotter timing in relationship to the twine needles (which is just like your wife's sewing machine but on a larger scale) and the function of the cam plate and gears as it rotates the billhook and actuates the billhook upper jaw to make the knot. It just occurs so fast it can't really be seen, but it happens.
Finally, depending on the vintage of the bailer, if older, it was designed for sisal. A sisal bailer can run poly but it must run 170 to tie correctly. 170 is basically the same diameter as sisal and older bailers, as a rule, only have 2 section twine discs. To run smaller diameter twine, it takes a 3 section disc assembly. The 2 section disc can't retain the twine under tension unless it's 170 (or sisal).
The most important thing is keeping the knotters and the area around the knotters free from chaff. I carry a cordless leaf blower and blow off my knotters in the field... and cleaning the knotters and the entire bailer for that matter, everytime you use it.
Remember, no equipment breaks in the barn.......
