Cleaning your baler

[Jogeephus]

Tried a leaf blower on the baler today to get all the grass out of the little nooks and crannies and it worked really well.

 

[ERNIBIGB]

Have done that too until someone else decided they needed my blower worse than I did. I usually just take it outside the shop and use a long stemmed nozzle hooked to the air compressor. When done for the year I blow it off then use the pressure washer to clean it up better. Oil the chains, grease it up and put it in the dry then come spring just hook it up and go to work. "Tip", blow it off good BEFORE using pressure washer or it will take all day to clean it. Guess how I know.

 

[denoginnizer]

Tried a leaf blower on the baler today to get all the grass out of the little nooks and crannies and it worked really well.

I was doing that with my bush hog and it worked pretty good, but it took a long time. I found if I use big plastic leaf rake first it takes much less time to get the grass clippings off. The rake is about 3 feet wide and very flimsy so it doesnt scratch the paint on top of the cutter.

 

[Angus Cowman]

Have done that too until someone else decided they needed my blower worse than I did. I usually just take it outside the shop and use a long stemmed nozzle hooked to the air compressor. When done for the year I blow it off then use the pressure washer to clean it up better. Oil the chains, grease it up and put it in the dry then come spring just hook it up and go to work. "Tip", blow it off good BEFORE using pressure washer or it will take all day to clean it. Guess how I know.

one other thing to remember after washing them with a pressure washer be sure and let the baler run and get all the bearings good and warm to dissipate any water that you might of forced inside them while pressure washing
I usually turn mine on and let it run for a good 10 minutes or so then I grease it and oil all of the chains and then let it run for a couple more minutes before storing for the season

 

[novatech]

Spraying your equipment down with diesel after cleaning, especially at the end of the season, will help keep the rust to a minimum.

 

[grannysoo]

The leaf blower trick works good. Thru the baling season, we just keep the grass from building up, but after the season, we do a complete pressure wash, grease, and lube job on the entire equipment. Then it gets parked under the shelter to give the wasps a place to breed... :lol2:

 

[1982vett]

Have done that too until someone else decided they needed my blower worse than I did. I usually just take it outside the shop and use a long stemmed nozzle hooked to the air compressor. When done for the year I blow it off then use the pressure washer to clean it up better. Oil the chains, grease it up and put it in the dry then come spring just hook it up and go to work. "Tip", blow it off good BEFORE using pressure washer or it will take all day to clean it. Guess how I know.

one other thing to remember after washing them with a pressure washer be sure and let the baler run and get all the bearings good and warm to dissipate any water that you might of forced inside them while pressure washing
I usually turn mine on and let it run for a good 10 minutes or so then I grease it and oil all of the chains and then let it run for a couple more minutes before storing for the season

Since several have said they used pressure washers I'll post what our Vermeer dealer and retired John Deere mechanic said. He said not to use a pressure washer because it can force dirt into the bearings. I guess water would be just as bad.

AC seems to have a good answer for the water, but what about the grit and dirt? Just food for thought.

I'd love to take a pressure washer to ours to clean it up. So far have only used air to blow the dust out of it before greasing.

 

[novatech]

Since several have said they used pressure washers I'll post what our Vermeer dealer and retired John Deere mechanic said. He said not to use a pressure washer because it can force dirt into the bearings. I guess water would be just as bad.

quote]
Never really thought about the pressure forcing dirt into the bearings but it makes cents. Also would include the seals as the are designed to keep oil in and not water out.
Thanks for bringing it up.
Also those little places where you can't get to, and wouldn't dry very fast, would hold water/mud and cause those areas to rust a lot faster.

 

[ERNIBIGB]

Have done that too until someone else decided they needed my blower worse than I did. I usually just take it outside the shop and use a long stemmed nozzle hooked to the air compressor. When done for the year I blow it off then use the pressure washer to clean it up better. Oil the chains, grease it up and put it in the dry then come spring just hook it up and go to work. "Tip", blow it off good BEFORE using pressure washer or it will take all day to clean it. Guess how I know.

one other thing to remember after washing them with a pressure washer be sure and let the baler run and get all the bearings good and warm to dissipate any water that you might of forced inside them while pressure washing
I usually turn mine on and let it run for a good 10 minutes or so then I grease it and oil all of the chains and then let it run for a couple more minutes before storing for the season

Since several have said they used pressure washers I'll post what our Vermeer dealer and retired John Deere mechanic said. He said not to use a pressure washer because it can force dirt into the bearings. I guess water would be just as bad.

AC seems to have a good answer for the water, but what about the grit and dirt? Just food for thought.

I'd love to take a pressure washer to ours to clean it up. So far have only used air to blow the dust out of it before greasing.

I don't try to clean everything from around the bearings for that reason. Mainly use the pressure washer for the sheet metal.

 

[grannysoo]

I clean the entire baler with the pressure washer. Around the bearings, I use the lower pressure tips. In my opinion, the key to not having bearing problems is to run it after you clean it. Clean, grease/lube, then run for 20 minutes or so. JMO.

 

[msscamp]

Tried a leaf blower on the baler today to get all the grass out of the little nooks and crannies and it worked really well.

We do a fair amount of custom baling, and a leaf blower is how we clean up the baler/swather/rake between fields. The swather also gets cleaned periodically using a pressure washer and, at the end of the haying season, everything gets cleaned up with a blower attached to the air compressor.