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| Just bought a Hesston model 5500 round baler in good condition. I know that older round balers have their fits, but it seems like if we have the least bit of moisture in our brome hay it has trouble starting a bale. We around 20 bales yesterday evening with no problems but when it got dark it didn't take very long before it decided the hay was too tough. I'm not much for knowlege of round balers as this is really my 1st one. What are the ideal conditions for a hesston 5500 baler in good brome hay? Also what are some helpful tips for starting out a bale? We had trouble making our 1st bale yesterday and then started in the windrow weaving. It worked. What do you guys think. Sorry if any of this sounds dumb. This is really my 1st experience with a round baler. Thanks. |
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| When we first got a round baler it was a Hesston that was an older model than the one you have. On our first tripp to the field with it we swore it would'nt bale at all! It takes some trial and error to figure out how the old girls work. I think ours worked best by starting the windrow on the right side of the baler and driving at an angle to get hay all the way across the pickup and getting the roll started from side to side first. After the roll gets started, it would usually go ahead and bale. It had harder problems with long slick hay.
We now use a Hesston 5580 and with an open throat it starts much more easily. |
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| When it plugs up it plugs the metal roller behind the pickup. My manual says this is an open throat baler, closed throat has a flat belt on the bottom right? Our belts have a herringbone pattern on them and are smooth on the inside. We just got frustrated with this baler plugging because we were trying to beat out a rain that just suddenly came out of nowhere. I think it will do OK once I find some dryer hay and have the time to not push this baler. Thanks for the advice so far, keep it coming if you have it. What's wrong with the chain balers? Just curious. |
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| The belts have plenty of tread left on them, so I can't see why that would be the problem. They hay we were trying to bale today probably wouldn't have gone through a newer baler. Had been rained on and was still kind of damp. I think patience is the solution to my problem with this baler. Thanks. |
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Brazilton KS | Rich, I wouldn't want a chain baler compared to a modern belt baler, but give me a choice between the first 850 NewHolland built and any 5500 Hesston and I wouldn't have much trouble deciding...let the NewHolland be an 855 and I'd take it over some later model belt balers if it was in better condition. I think we broke three or four chains in the 15 years or so that we ran our 852, and I doubt any of those occured when the chains were not worn beyond 100%. First year with the 664 seemed like if my brother wasn't off the baler tractor pulling something out of the windrow for fear of tearing up a belt, then I was off the rake doing the same thing.....Pretty much just drove that old 852, if it would go through the pickup it would be in the bale....we used to bale some rought stuff and it could be kinda comical what you would find in the bale feeder. The first round baler we used was a 5500 and our experience wasn't much different then K-State's.....spent lots of time trying to get belts untangled and back where they belonged, or unplugging and dumping the wad out to try again when it wouldn't start a bale. The modern belts don't seem to have so much trouble anymore.
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| First thing to do is get your windrow the width of the pickup. If you can't do that, leave the pto off on the baler and pull up into the windrow until the enough hay is pushed up in front to cover the full width of the pickup. Don't like that idea, move over and pick up the little windrows from a 90 degree angle till the roll starts and then go back to your windrow.
Tim |
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Little River, TX | Not familiar with your grass, for hay, but with bermudagrass hay and sorghum sudan hays the leaves shatter as much or more as alfalfa will.
To check it watch the accumulation of leaves below the baler when you stop to tie.
The key to leaf shatter: Hay will shatter only very slightly when the humidity inside the windrow is at or above 70%. This humidity will also encourage, sweating, heating, or mold. As the windrow humidity decreased down to 65% to 55% the leaf shatter will increase.
Thing about grass hay is a bale of stems still can look good, while alfalfa will look like a bundle of sticks. |
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| Say what you want, but my old NH 846 still works. I only make about 300 bales a year though. It is also cheap to maintain. It seams too be more fussy when trying to start thin dry grass on a field that needs to be redone. |
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NE SD | Rich is right on the Brome........most of what our haying is. It's best to start baling Brome at about noon and go through the heat of the day. Once in a while we'll keep baling into the night if its breezy and/or there is no dew. Not much your gonna lose with Brome. On the other hand, I like to start baling straw about midnight and run most of the night......or during the day after a sprinkle, etc. |
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Problems starting bales with round baler, Help please!
