ih 430 baler , knotter problems

rkc9700 · Jun 14, 2016

have a 430 twine baler. hasn't baled much hay at all. problem is the right side knotter is giving fits. left side ties every bale. knotter guys are hard to find around here, esp. ones for IHC stuff. I have a knotter repair book and the only knotter guy works for JD. he has worked on it , helped it but still far from acceptable. ties , but won't hold , sometimes no tie at all. what can we do now?

MARK ROBKE · Jun 14, 2016

You can unbolt the knotters with 2 5/8 bolts I believe,and tilt them up.The bolts are in the front and the knotters will tilt to the rear.Take a screwdriver and spread the billhooks.See if there is any dirt keeping them spread apart;the dirt would be in back side where there is a roller.It's kinda hard to explain,but very easy to do,and see once you do it.If the billhooks are being held apart,they won't tie a good knot.Good luck,Mark

khouse6 · Jun 14, 2016

the bills have to be slick, if not they will not work. sand the one that is not working really good. when you get through using the baler take some hard grease and coat them with it. wipe them before you use it the next time, etc.

Charlie M · Jun 14, 2016

I have a IH 46 and while a 440 knotter has some differences there are couple of things to look at that are the same. The baler has 4 hay retainers to prevent the hay from backing up after a compression stroke. If the hay backs up the bill hooks can't catch the string and it ties an over hand knot on one end of the string. I've had the springs in the hay retainers fall out of mine and create the problem I just described. Also there is tension you can adjust on the bill hooks. Has to be tight enough to hold the string long enough to tighten the knot. How easy is it to pull off a knot that hasn't left the bill hook yet. Final piece of advice - if you have the manual I would spend a lot of time with it and skip the baler mechanic. You need to become your own baler mechanic to run an IH baler.

56 Fan 400 · Jun 14, 2016

(quoted from post at 15:22:19 06/14/16) I have a IH 46 and while a 440 knotter has some differences there are couple of things to look at that are the same. The baler has 4 hay retainers to prevent the hay from backing up after a compression stroke. If the hay backs up the bill hooks can't catch the string and it ties an over hand knot on one end of the string. I've had the springs in the hay retainers fall out of mine and create the problem I just described. Also there is tension you can adjust on the bill hooks. Has to be tight enough to hold the string long enough to tighten the knot. How easy is it to pull off a knot that hasn't left the bill hook yet. Final piece of advice - if you have the manual I would spend a lot of time with it and skip the baler mechanic. You need to become your own baler mechanic to run an IH baler.

The last sentence applies to both twine and wire feed balers. We had 2 55 IH wire balers and one newer 57 IH wire baler when I was a pup. Dad and grandpa knew them up and down.

rediron600 · Jun 15, 2016

I have a 430 baler that I from time to time have had some issues. I've found tripping the baler to start the tying process and then roll it over by hand can show some problems. If you have one side that is performing correctly compare it with other side to make sure in same position at all times. One knotter may be out of time. I baled 1200 bales with mine last week and only missed a few.

ih 430 baler , knotter problems

rkc9700

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MARK ROBKE

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khouse6

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Charlie M

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56 Fan 400

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rediron600

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