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east central MN | Hey guys, I'm looking at a JD 346 twine tie baler and wondering what peoples thoughts are on this models stregnths and weaknesses. I'm a new holland guy so I don't know much about Deere balers newer then a 24t. Any thoughts are appreciated |
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swmn/soin | When we had the dairy, we did a lot of hay baling with a 336. You needed 2 men on the rack to keep up, and if it was hot, half kill yourself. We always had our dad drive the tractor but every once in awhile he would insist on helping out on the rack. If that thing is anything like our 336, very good machine. Check the knives and of course the knotters, plus if the forks have been welded or brazed, might want to check with previous owner as to why. |
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South East South Dakota/winters Tucson, AZ | I have a 346 wire baler and i have rebuilt it 3 times and it just keeps on going. Great baler! I also had a 348 ,but traded for a 468 round baler. |
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east central MN | Sounds good, I know where it is coming from my father in law bought it new in '80 I think and it's in great shape. I currently have a NH 311 and it isn't bad buy the larger pickup would be great and Deere reliability will be an added plus |
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S.E. South Dakota | Had one years ago great baler.A 336 was a good baler just a smaller pickup. |
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Grandfield, Ok. | Bought one in the fall of 73. Mine was wire one of my all times worst buys, still cuss when I think about it. Use for a boat anchor. |
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east central MN | What was wrong with it? |
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Wallis, TX | Best baler out there for making banana bales. The auger feed will also twist up the hay making it harder to get a good bale. Knotters aren't up to NH either. The Deere bill hooks are steel, the NH they are chrome and wear better. Deere is real sensitive to trash build up in the knotter area, not so much for NH. Doing the same work, on the same size windrow the Deere will also break more shearpins when you push it. The only thing I will say good about a Deere is it will eat a damp clump, the auger just tears it apart. |
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Elmira, Ontario | If you are breaking shearbolts when pushing it, it's either a seized slipclutch or a worn bushing in the flywheel. The shearbolt should only break with a shock load. The slipclutch should get warm when running. It should slip just a little bit every plunger stroke. The slipclutch protects the driveline and plunger. The shearbolt allows the flywheel to freewheel in case the plunger jambs but doesn't actually transmit force other than the energy stored in the spinning flywheel. |
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SW Ohio | I kept my 346 as my backup baler. The pickup will leave a strip on each side vs, a 347, same size pickup but less teeth. Most all of the major parts are the same between a 32x , 33x and 34x except the gearbox, The knotter brake is in a different location, and some minor changes in the knotter parts, but basically JD balers have not changed in 30 years. If something works, stick with it. A x4x will be a the larger capacity and might spoil you after running a 311. Almost any baler can be a good one if maintained and operated within its limits, I pushed enough hay through a 273 to feed 2-300 horse lifetimes and it was still cranking them out when it left here. I think my 575 will outlast me now. |
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Grandfield, Ok. | Constant PTO shaft problems. Lots of knotter problems caused by bad wire guides because of the extra speed and twist over the older 224 baler. Could not keep the baler running smooth as plunger would not stay in adjustment over 1500 bales (1 night of baling). Broke almost every shaft in the d### thing at one time or another. Pickup cam problems. Used 35-70 hp tractors so no over powering. Bought it new took delivery at 2PM before 5PM I was putting parts on the sob ran 3 years and It never got any better. Have been around several more of the rolling repair bills and they all had the same problems. Either go get an old JD 224 or get another brand because most of the 346 problems or still with JDs newer balers. |
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Wallis, TX | Well then it was worn since new. Happy day when the green baler went down the road for a red one. |
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| You know... I've got a 327 Deere. Obviously not a 346.... but the one thing I will say for it is that it doesn't make banana bales. It's probably the most consistent feeder I've ever seen. The problem I have with it is that it's too damn slow. Knotters have given 'zero' trouble here. I also don't see much difference between them and the NH knotter considering they work on the exact same principle. I do agree that they are bastards to break shear bolts if you push them too hard. There just comes that point when the slip clutch doesn't quite do it... and they break the flywheel bolt... and I don't have the clutch set very tight on this one either.
Rod |
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ANDALE KANSAS | went from a 224ws to a 346 this spring
So far so good. The wide pickup is really nice, and the extra strokes per minute really helped in the tuff first cutting we had
Like other posters have said, i think any baler will do a great job if you keep it in good condition. I really only bought this one for the wide pick-up and the fact that some of the 224ws parts are becoming obsolete. In my area the 346 /347/348 are still used to bale a LOT of small squares. |
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candor ny | If its a kicker baler the limitation will be kicker wont keep up at least thats the way my 336 was. |
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Prairie of Southern MN | I always wonder what I'm missing when people say the green ones make banana bales, and therefore get a red one. We also run a 336 that is far from new, and it can't make a bad bale. Only problems have been related to worn out bill hooks and knives (both easily fixed). I have also spent my fair share of time behind NH 273s and 276s. On those, the faster you go, the more curved the banana shape is. Some people hate the auger vs. the feeding forks, I think they both plug up if you overload them, difference is the auger is 10x easier to UNplug.
Another big advantage to the Deere that few people mention is that you get the centrifugal force of the flywheel working for you with the flywheel mounted alongside, instead of crossways in front.
Bottom line for the OP. Get the 346 and give a quick check to knives (both the twine, and the plunger head), and go bale. You'll love it. |
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east central MN | thanks for the info guys, this one had the 8 pack accumulator so no worries about going faster than it can kick. I may keep my 311 till im sure I like this one but I know where it came from and that it has been well maintained. I do have to say that I have baled my whole life with that 311 and have seen more banana bales both sideways and straight on come out of that damn thing then any Deere I have ever been behind. My biggest concern was the auger vs the forks |
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candor ny | Keep the auger belt tight and it will eat double windrows first cutting. |
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Wallis, TX | I don't know how you make straight bales with a JD! lol We ran over a 100K through ours in the time we had it. Always driving looking behing you to count strokes per bale and always resetting the fork position. Set it, bale an hour, reset it, bale another hour and it would change again. Get in a thick windrow, start putting 12 strokes per bale and they would be crooked, get in a light one and put 18 per bale and it would be crooked, but the other way. This was in bermuda grass hay, normally 50-60 sometimes 80 bales to the acre, raked with either a Vermeer twin rake or a 10 wheel V-rake. NH can make a crooked bale as well, but,,,,, is more forgiving to changing windrow size in our conditions. |
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Prairie of Southern MN | Well, I will be the first to say I have no experience with bermuda. I am mostly alfalfa with a little brome grass. Our bales per acre (at least in alfalfa) sound roughly comparable, though I've never done as high as 80. Any baler that gets your hay done before the next rain is a good one in my book. |
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SW Ohio | First cut is late and heavy here, got one field sneaked in between rains, 124 50#ers per acre. |
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Prairie of Southern MN | Yikes. Had it flowered out on you yet? Long ways from hay here. In addition to the 10+" monsoon we've had the last 3 weeks, it's still pretty cold for this time of year. Did see a couple guys making some baleage, though
Edited by Deere3020 6/6/2013 22:51
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Elmira, Ontario | I've seen slip clutches of all brands seized from new. Symptoms are early driveline and gearbox failures. I know your baler is long gone, so I'm just putting this out in case others are experiencing similar problems. A basic diagnostic is to feel the slip clutch after an hour. It should be warm from slipping a bit on each plunger stroke. It's possible yours was working correctly. Something else could have been wrong, but this is where I would start. I put some 150,000 bales through a 346 when I was working as a hired hand. I was able to pump 6" cakes (6 strokes per 36" bale) all day long in crappy windrows with lots of slugs. I couldn't believe the manual said 12 to 18 cakes per bale. That seemed unreasonably slow. Who had time for that? The flywheel shearbolt used to fail at times, but usually under light or no load. I learned since it was likely a worn bushing at the flywheel. The driveline never failed despite also running the hydraulic pump for the kicker. The baler tongue did from the constant up and down jerking from the kicker. The resisters in the bale chamber wore out. The symptom was it would not tie properly if I pushed it any harder than the 6" cakes. |
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Wharton, TX | Hi everyone I'm new to this forum and to haymaking but I have had a 346 for the last 4 years. Gave up on it and went in hock for a NH575 and don't regret it. That being said, if I had more knowledge or a good JD repairman it might be a different story. I have replaced nearly everything on that machine and getting ready to replace the needle/knotter drive cam. I had it all good last summer, baled 160 in a row without problems, put it up for the winter. Last week got it out to test it, baled 4 then the knotter went continous and jammed up. I think the measuring wheel system gets hung and won't shut the knotter down after one cycle. When I first got it it made banana bales, mistied, jammed up, broke shear pins etc. It was just old and worn out. Bought it from some sheister who said it was field ready. It had mud in the main gearbox. So I began to fix things one by one. I also put the airbaler on it. It eats hay and makes nice bales, it's just unreliable. BUT, it's a toy compared to that 575. If you're a NH guy then stick with that, you won't get any benefit from JD in my opinion unless you have a resource to go to for repairs and advice.
Edited by haydog 6/22/2013 07:28
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east central MN | Haydog, I put up all first crop with it and didn't miss a bale so maybe there were just some duds out there, it is comparable to my 311 nh in capacity but the larger pickup is nice and the price was a long shot from a 575. If I was doing 20k+ bales a year I would go for the 575 but at on only 5-6k this looks to be a good machine, but I also knew where mine came from |
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Wharton, TX | Eweland,Agreed, I just didn't know enough about the machine. I think now I have the final problem adressed. gonna test it out shortly. Each time I work on it I learn something new. But it's frustrating when you DON'T know. I don't have much free time to get my baling done, so if I have a problem with my NH, I can get a farm call and get it fixed right. If I have a problem with the Deere, it's back to the drawing board. It costs more $$ but vs losing the crop, which has happened to me with equipment problems, I'll have to go the more expensive route.
Thanks for the opinion and the help. |
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John Deere 346 baler
