When are the belts tight enough? (Vermeer 504I)

[fdwyer]

Hello again.

Hope everyone is having a good year. Not too bad on our farm, so far.

I was wondering if there was a rule of thumb for how tight the belts on a round baler should be at rest? Mine seem loose. When starting a bale, sometimes hay gets wrapped around the rollers and an outside belt jumps it`s groove toward the middle. We have a Vermeer 504I that has a big spring and a smaller one on each side. The big spring has no tension at all when empty. It has to travel about 4-5, maybe even 6 inches before it starts working.... The smaller spring seems to have a little tension, but harder to tell.

I think I`m too loose (and can always use a tighter bale), but after re-lacing the belts this year, I don`t want to tighten them down too much ....

Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks!

Frank

 

[kenny thomas]

Were the belts resized as well as relaced. Hope so as the belts will stretch with use. If you are having the problems listed sounds like someone messed up. Were you having same problem before they were relaced? Cant remember how the I is made, but I warped the frame that held the roller on a Hesston roller and it done the same thing.

 

[fdwyer]

Thank you for the reply, Kenny.

The belts on the 504I are supposed to be 224inches, but when I replaced two this year, I was suprised to learn that ours are only 214inches. We had to get baling and I had two belts around that were 424inchesand had them cut down and and relaced to the same length as the others (214). Surprisingly, even though 10inches short, they seem loose. Now we generally don`t make 5ft bales, so I wasn`t too worried about the length. At least not until now....

Frank

 

[fdwyer]

Oh, it happened from time to time last year and isn`t happening that much more this year. A few times, but it can be a pain to have to cut the hay out.....
If anything, the belts are all consistent in length this year. That wasn`t so much the case last year. ..

Since we only redid 2 belts and we took a third off to get the lengths all exactly the same, I wouldn`t think that this would be the problem. But maybe?

 

[kenny thomas]

How warn are the belts? Could they not be carrying the hay all the way to where it is suppose to be. I do think the only problem with the belt jumping is the hay on the roller.

 

[fdwyer]

Two are new and the others are all older, but fully functional, I would think.

On one hand, they seem too loose, but on the other hand, I am not sure that the hay wrapping on the feed roller is an indication of too loose or too tight?

Frank

 

[1982vett]

Two are new and the others are all older, but fully functional, I would think.

On one hand, they seem too loose, but on the other hand, I am not sure that the hay wrapping on the feed roller is an indication of too loose or too tight?

Frank

Your maintenance manual will tell you the lengths the belts need to be....(small deviation shouldn't be a problem)

wrapping on the starter roller (other than hay is to green or damp)
1) Belts are to tight
2)Pickup teeth are not aggressive
3)Knife to starter roller clearance too large
4)Too much clearance between pickup and starter roller

 

[fdwyer]

Thanks for that. I have been trying for two years, but haven`t managed to secure a manual for it. I keep asking Vermeer on their website, but no joy.

I dont believe the belts are too tight. They sometimes slip a bit until we get some hay to it. That was leading me to believe, maybe too loose....

I`ll have to get a manual to provide me with some clearance measurements. I`ll try Vermeer again.

F.é

 

[1982vett]

Mine is a 605L so belt lenghts would obviously be different....don't know about the clearances if they are different so best advise on those.