Round Balers

[ddd75]

These are easy to pull (55hp is fine) and easy to work on. You can usually find good used for 6k-8k range. There is plenty of parts available. It would be good before you buy if you had someone to look it over to check it out as buying any used round baler is risky.

thats what i picked up. I really like how all the bearings are on the outside of the baler! easy maintenance all around on these balers!

 

[cfpinz]

I still can't understand some folks' frustration with netwrap, and don't care to ever have another string tie bale on this place again. Can't tell you how many front axle seals I've put on the 4wd tractors from loose string tails, and the net bales weather a lot better outside than string tied bales.

Netwrap in my baler runs about $1.40/bale, with 3 wraps on a 5'x4' bale - slightly more if I make them 5-1/2' to 6' tall. Tractor uses between 4 and 5 gallons per hour depending on the field and crop conditions, so you can figure cost from there.

What does it cost to string wrap a bale these days? Plastic versus sisal?

 

[jltrent]

I still can't understand some folks' frustration with netwrap, and don't care to ever have another string tie bale on this place again. Can't tell you how many front axle seals I've put on the 4wd tractors from loose string tails, and the net bales weather a lot better outside than string tied bales.

Netwrap in my baler runs about $1.40/bale, with 3 wraps on a 5'x4' bale - slightly more if I make them 5-1/2' to 6' tall. Tractor uses between 4 and 5 gallons per hour depending on the field and crop conditions, so you can figure cost from there.

What does it cost to string wrap a bale these days? Plastic versus sisal?

I think were the extra time comes in on the net wrap is feeding.

Cutting frozen net off takes a long time (on a cold JAN morning with the net frozen time yourself.) From my experience hay fed the same year as baled left outside the loss is very little, but beyond that net would be good IMO.

 

[cfpinz]

I think were the extra time comes in on the net wrap is feeding.

I don't see any time difference in removing the net versus twine, just grab the tail of the net and unwrap it. It's a whole lot easier on my pocket knife, too! They both go in the outdoor wood furnace, so that's a wash. If it's calling for ice, I'll unwrap a dozen or so bales and leave them in the lot beforehand, or just drop them behind the hydrabed and drag them over the field at a pretty good clip - that usually loosens up strings or net from the ice.

 

[dun]

Had a Vicon that was a great baler for picking up hay and making tight bales. The net on it was a P poor design that the wrap would ball up becuase there was no pressure on it. Plus all of the parts had to come from europe and it took forever for them to get here, if you could even find someone that could diagnose the problem. A New Idea that just never was right, belts would almost swap positions. A JD 430, 435, 535 and a 437. The eaisiest to set up and had the least issues was the JD 437. Had all of the pluses of the Vicon without the negatives. The net was run by electronics instead of hydraulics like the 435/535 and never had any issues. Bought it rigth, rebuilt what needed doing for 800 bucks. Used it for a number of years and sold it for half again as much as I bought it for. Guy that bought it had never baled hay before buying it and proceeded t go out and start making good tight bales from his first bale. No sialge kit on it but it would pick up wet stuff that a 435 with a silage kit would plug on.

 

[dun]

I think were the extra time comes in on the net wrap is feeding.

I don't see any time difference in removing the net versus twine, just grab the tail of the net and unwrap it. It's a whole lot easier on my pocket knife, too! They both go in the outdoor wood furnace, so that's a wash. If it's calling for ice, I'll unwrap a dozen or so bales and leave them in the lot beforehand, or just drop them behind the hydrabed and drag them over the field at a pretty good clip - that usually loosens up strings or net from the ice.

Just grabbing the end and walking around the bale is how we do it. We feed in rings and ours are solid and smooth welded so the stuff just rides on the top of the ring as it's walked around. Without the multiple sections fastened together on the ring it doesn;t hang up so it's an easy walk around it. We only used 2 1/4 wraps with JD 437, being electronic it was easy to set to the exact number of wraps.

 

[True Grit Farms]

I have a manual string tie 5400 baler, it makes a tight roll of hay. I prefer net wrap over string and can't imagine why anyone would prefer string over net. The only negative thing I can come up with is the cost of the net wrap baler upfront.

 

[dun]

I have a manual string tie 5400 baler, it makes a tight roll of hay. I prefer net wrap over string and can't imagine why anyone would prefer string over net. The only negative thing I can come up with is the cost of the net wrap baler upfront.

I agree that the net baler costs more up front but I have yet to see the net premium that was paid when it was bought not be returned when it's sold

 

[True Grit Farms]

I have a manual string tie 5400 baler, it makes a tight roll of hay. I prefer net wrap over string and can't imagine why anyone would prefer string over net. The only negative thing I can come up with is the cost of the net wrap baler upfront.

I agree that the net baler costs more up front but I have yet to see the net premium that was paid when it was bought not be returned when it's sold

I try to buy used equipment and it's easy to find a low count string baler, and a used low count net wrap baler is close to the same price as it sold for new, even being a few years old.

 

[Farm Fence Solutions]

I bought a 5400 Vermeer, with less than 1,000 bales on it, for $4,500 in 2008. Baled somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 with it and sold it for $5,000. It was still in great shape, and the only trouble we ever had out of it was starting a bale in the drought of 2012.......The drive roll was so slick that it wouldn't turn the belts. The fix from Vermeer was to wrap the drive roll with duct tape, and it worked just fine. (After the dealer ran up $735 worth of fixes that didn't fix) The old man that sold me that baler made me agree to keeping it washed and waxed, and not letting it ever spend a night outside.

 

[Ridgefarmer63]

Gentlemen, This is exactly the discussion I was looking for. I appreciate all who responded with input.

I'm thinking get a baler that's sized right for the JD 5320 regardless if it's net or twine. My operation may someday grow to 40 or so animals wintered over, max, and for that amount I think I can put up with either type baler.

That Vermeer looks soooo nice.

One more question, I think I understand fixed chamber verses variable chamber ( you can set the diameter of the bale... correct me if I'm wrong) but whats the advantages of open throat versus closed throat ? And what is open throat verses closed??

Thanks,

Mike

 

[1982vett]

Traded for 40 rolls of netwrap hay at a good price this fall. Never again unless it's so cheap I can't say no. I have a mess of netwrap in the cab tractor and also in the pickup. And this was stored inside. Hate it.

:nod: Feller at the sale yesterday had half a pickup truck load of used netwrap on the back..... :secret: course I was impressed that he even pulls it off.

I store in barns so I have little use for net, however you need to use good string. I once had a 410 John Deere baler and got by with the cheap 110 string but it's a failure in a Vermeer 605L. I have a mess in the barns from it. About 90% of the strings are popped from moving or just storage. Gotta at least use 125 on it. Had a guy bale some in 2014 on halves using net. Maybe he didn't get enough net on, but it got tore up too from moving and storing the bales. And yes....what to do with it after you pull it off at the rings...two wrappers and the theirs no place for you on the tractor. ;-) Guess you have to feed it with a 4 wheel drive truck so have a truck bed to throw it on....

 

[1982vett]

Gentlemen, This is exactly the discussion I was looking for. I appreciate all who responded with input.

I'm thinking get a baler that's sized right for the JD 5320 regardless if it's net or twine. My operation may someday grow to 40 or so animals wintered over, max, and for that amount I think I can put up with either type baler.

That Vermeer looks soooo nice.

One more question, I think I understand fixed chamber verses variable chamber ( you can set the diameter of the bale... correct me if I'm wrong) but whats the advantages of open throat versus closed throat ? And what is open throat verses closed??

Thanks,

Mike

http://passel.unl.edu/pages/information ... 13&minto=1. Believe the covers it.

 

[Ridgefarmer63]

Gentlemen, This is exactly the discussion I was looking for. I appreciate all who responded with input.

I'm thinking get a baler that's sized right for the JD 5320 regardless if it's net or twine. My operation may someday grow to 40 or so animals wintered over, max, and for that amount I think I can put up with either type baler.

That Vermeer looks soooo nice.

One more question, I think I understand fixed chamber verses variable chamber ( you can set the diameter of the bale... correct me if I'm wrong) but whats the advantages of open throat versus closed throat ? And what is open throat verses closed??

Thanks,

Mike

http://passel.unl.edu/pages/information ... 13&minto=1. Believe the covers it.

Perfect. Thank you.

 

[ddd75]

you guys with a 5400.. how are you starting your bales? slow until it starts or do you just go at it right from the get go?

it does a good job baling or do i need to know any 'tricks' >?

 

[Silver]

I think were the extra time comes in on the net wrap is feeding.

I don't see any time difference in removing the net versus twine, just grab the tail of the net and unwrap it. It's a whole lot easier on my pocket knife, too! They both go in the outdoor wood furnace, so that's a wash. If it's calling for ice, I'll unwrap a dozen or so bales and leave them in the lot beforehand, or just drop them behind the hydrabed and drag them over the field at a pretty good clip - that usually loosens up strings or net from the ice.

I don't even get out to cut twine, just slip a bale spear under the twine and lift up.

It's not like we didn't want net wrap to work for us. Paid the extra money for a baler with both, and fed a lot of it for two winters. I think it would be fantastic in a better climate, and I know hay keeps better with it. Just not willing to go through that anymore.

 

[cfpinz]

I don't even get out to cut twine, just slip a bale spear under the twine and lift up.

It's not like we didn't want net wrap to work for us. Paid the extra money for a baler with both, and fed a lot of it for two winters. I think it would be fantastic in a better climate, and I know hay keeps better with it. Just not willing to go through that anymore.

For my sheer curiosity, what does it cost you to sisal wrap each roll?

There's no one-size-fits all in anything, it's just what works best for the individual. My wife's father used to work for an outfit that used sisal tied squares for everything, they lost a high dollar horned Gert bull one time and couldn't figure out why. Autopsy found his gut was packed full of sisal strings that had been removed from squares, apparently he developed a taste for them.

 

[Silver]

I don't even get out to cut twine, just slip a bale spear under the twine and lift up.

It's not like we didn't want net wrap to work for us. Paid the extra money for a baler with both, and fed a lot of it for two winters. I think it would be fantastic in a better climate, and I know hay keeps better with it. Just not willing to go through that anymore.

For my sheer curiosity, what does it cost you to sisal wrap each roll?

There's no one-size-fits all in anything, it's just what works best for the individual. My wife's father used to work for an outfit that used sisal tied squares for everything, they lost a high dollar horned Gert bull one time and couldn't figure out why. Autopsy found his gut was packed full of sisal strings that had been removed from squares, apparently he developed a taste for them.

It costs about $1.30 Cdn to wrap a 5x6 with sisal.

 

[jltrent]

you guys with a 5400.. how are you starting your bales? slow until it starts or do you just go at it right from the get go?

it does a good job baling or do i need to know any 'tricks' >?

What starts the bale on these are the teeth, roller scraper adjusted properly and pickup timing. After wear the pickup timing may need a little adjustment which takes about 15 minutes on the adjustments in the side of the pickup. If the teeth are bent or worn bad, new teeth will help starting a bale. Usually about a half inch adjustment on the timing angle on the teeth and you will get bored from just driving unless it is a twine or net issue. The open throat Vermeer balers will take hay for a variable chamber baler good. If you need information on how to do this just call Vermeers headquarters in Pella Iowa give them the Model # and Serial # of your baler and they will send you free of charge Operator and Service manuals. Also they have techs available to help that will respond within 24 hours to any questions.

 

[Atimm693]

Traded for 40 rolls of netwrap hay at a good price this fall. Never again unless it's so cheap I can't say no. I have a mess of netwrap in the cab tractor and also in the pickup. And this was stored inside. Hate it.

:nod: Feller at the sale yesterday had half a pickup truck load of used netwrap on the back..... :secret: course I was impressed that he even pulls it off.

I store in barns so I have little use for net, however you need to use good string. I once had a 410 John Deere baler and got by with the cheap 110 string but it's a failure in a Vermeer 605L. I have a mess in the barns from it. About 90% of the strings are popped from moving or just storage. Gotta at least use 125 on it. Had a guy bale some in 2014 on halves using net. Maybe he didn't get enough net on, but it got tore up too from moving and storing the bales. And yes....what to do with it after you pull it off at the rings...two wrappers and the theirs no place for you on the tractor. ;-) Guess you have to feed it with a 4 wheel drive truck so have a truck bed to throw it on....

The same goes for net wrap. Used some cheap net from MFA in the Vermeer 6650 that we used to run and it would leave tails and failed to cut reliably. Changed to Vermeer net and all the problems went away.

We just burn the used net in a barrel. Stuff burns hot as can be with no smoke. Great for getting a brush pile going too.

I can slice net with a sharp pocket knife and pull it off a lot faster than I can slice strings and pull them out 2 or 3 at a time. When you're feeding more than a dozen bales a day in the winter, it makes a big difference. Roll the net up like toilet paper on your hand and I can fit more than a dozen of them in a cab tractor, toss them up against the door on the right side.