I would like some opinions form some of you old timers here. I love to tinker with and restore old tractors and farm equipment. I used to love to bale hay as a kid. Now I have a chance to bale some hay again after all those years. Of the older square balers, is there any one kind that had a really good reputation and stood out above all the rest? If I was to look for an older square baler to buy, what brand should I consider? Thanks for any recommendations!
- Thread starter Jim R
- Start date
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
most old balers were good and similar, ih being the oddball.
Fred T. Hart Jr.
Member
a baler that works good and you can get parts for in your area.
I always liked New Holland, but we had a NH dealer in community.
Nothing sounds better than a NH hooked to a AC, WD-45. Governors would open each time the baler plunger would hit.
I always liked New Holland, but we had a NH dealer in community.
Nothing sounds better than a NH hooked to a AC, WD-45. Governors would open each time the baler plunger would hit.
New Holland (69 through 271 models) and JD (T14 & T24) were the first to figue out how to make a dependable, reliable, working knotter. All the other companies were more hit & miss on making a good knotter. You might get a good machine, or you might not, on the other old brands.
'Here' NH is most popular by far, but JD was good too.
--->Paul
'Here' NH is most popular by far, but JD was good too.
--->Paul
old
Well-known Member
- Location
- Camdenton Missouri
I have used and owned a few over the years and hands down NH by far is the best. The the JD 14T, 24T etc. NH is easier to work on and keep up then the JDs are BTDT many times and prefer the older NHs
Hobby farm
Hobby farm
old
Well-known Member
- Location
- Camdenton Missouri
Paul, JD never did make a T14 or T24 but they did make a 14T and 24T. Had to point that out because if some one tried to find one of what you said they could get laugh at or have a real hard time finding one
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
I'll go back along way I think the old case wire
bailer was hard to beat, but it was a three man
operation. Had to have a needler and a tier thats
how us kids made money in the summer. All day
on that baler and you headed for the creek.
I guess them were the good old days
L. A.
bailer was hard to beat, but it was a three man
operation. Had to have a needler and a tier thats
how us kids made money in the summer. All day
on that baler and you headed for the creek.
I guess them were the good old days
L. A.
Know what you mean. I got one when my wife and I first got married. We did custom baling. She drove the tractor, I ran the neddle and we hired a highschool kid to stick wires for one cent a bale. My wife was a good driver she could work you into the ground. She kept that old wisconsin on the baler barking. If it wasn't she would speed up. Everyonce in a while she would forget to slow down and I would have to hit the kill switch on the baler. On a good day in Alfalfa we could get 800 bales. Not Lady Bales but 90 pound bales and then the farmer would claim they were to light. He alway had some young buck loading on the wagon as the bales came off of the baler. Wish I had that old baler. gitrib
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
How old?
I started off years ago with a New Holland 273. Decent baler all in all.
A few years later I uprgaded to a Deere 336. Still have it. I"ve ran thousands and thousands of bales through it. A tough act to beat. I"m not a huge fan of Deere over-all, but their balers are top shelf.
I started off years ago with a New Holland 273. Decent baler all in all.
A few years later I uprgaded to a Deere 336. Still have it. I"ve ran thousands and thousands of bales through it. A tough act to beat. I"m not a huge fan of Deere over-all, but their balers are top shelf.
Thanks guys for all your comments. I have a couple questions though. What was it about the IH balers that made them the odball as one man said? Also does anyone remember the old Roanoke balers? I'm 55 now and remember my Dad when I was very young, having a Case 2 twine baler with a Wisconsin engine. If you ever shut it off and try to start it when it was still hot, forget it! No way would it start! My Dad, out of frustration, would go to a local implement dealer and rent a Roanoke, PTO baler to finish his baling and he really liked it. If anyone out there might have any old manuals or brochures on the Roanoke balers that are still in readable condition, I would pay a fair price for them, just to have as a remembrance, as I collect old brochures on the old equipment. Thanks again for all your comments!!
massey harris steve
Member
In my much younger days i put more bales than I like to remember, but my back just keeps reminding me. Of all the different baler I worked behind, the JD 14T was the one that kept you the busyest. Worst problem were the knotters, keep them cleaned and oiled and they run like a clock
Sheez. I knew that. The 'T' stands for Twine, correct? & they made a 'W' version for Wire tie - which was never popular in these parts.old
Well-known Member
- Location
- Camdenton Missouri
Ya I think the T is for Twine and the W for wire. I've had both NH and JDs over the years and my self I prefer the NH balers. They seem to be easier to work on then the JDs are
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
I am, by no means, the expert on the subjects of tractors, balers, or anything else for that matter. But a John Deere 4020 diesel with PowerShift Transmission with a New Holland 320 Baler hooked up behind it is a VERY hard act to follow...much less beat.
Jim
Jim
Sorry to be comming into this one late but I have the option of getting either a Massey 124 or a NH 269 baler.
Both have been sitting for awhile and I am sure I can get the Massey for less than the NH.
Dont know much about either since all we had at the farm was JD.
Can you guys help out a bit?
Both have been sitting for awhile and I am sure I can get the Massey for less than the NH.
Dont know much about either since all we had at the farm was JD.
Can you guys help out a bit?
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
Good choice of baler but Case 930 COM was better riding/driving and cheaper to run.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
Jim,
The IH knotter system was completely different, the story involved corn/oat binders and McCormick selling the patent on knotters then having to use a new system ???
Best part of baling with the Wisconsin was those 90 degree July days when it wouldn't restart and you had a 2 hour break.
The IH knotter system was completely different, the story involved corn/oat binders and McCormick selling the patent on knotters then having to use a new system ???
Best part of baling with the Wisconsin was those 90 degree July days when it wouldn't restart and you had a 2 hour break.
Was always told IHC developed 2 different knotter designs. Sold the best one to everyone else and kept the poorer of the two. I believed it when I bought an International 45 model way,way back when.
Traded it in a on a new Deere 336 when they first came out. Thought I had died and went to the big hayfield in the sky.
Traded it in a on a new Deere 336 when they first came out. Thought I had died and went to the big hayfield in the sky.
buickanddeere
Well-known Member
No matter the brand. if the knotter is worn, dirty or out of adjustment. You are going to abhor that baler.
Around here Deere is considered to make the squarest bales.
Around here Deere is considered to make the squarest bales.
Mel in SW Iowa
Member
The best older small square baler is the one that
is (1)worn the least, (2)has the manual, and (3)that has available parts.
I have a good Oliver 60T and 620T that are excellent on 1 and 2 above, but some parts are
getting difficult to find, so in hind sight I
would recommend JD or New Holland that has been
inspected and evaluated by an experienced owner.
is (1)worn the least, (2)has the manual, and (3)that has available parts.
I have a good Oliver 60T and 620T that are excellent on 1 and 2 above, but some parts are
getting difficult to find, so in hind sight I
would recommend JD or New Holland that has been
inspected and evaluated by an experienced owner.
There's probably lots of good older balers out there. I think most of the problems with many were a lack of proper adjustment...
What I'd suggest is that you stick to a popular model that's still likely to be well supported. NH and Deere are probably the best in that department. The 268 or something similar in the NH line would meet that requirement. I've never laid eyes on a Deere baler around here because there simply wern't any Deere dealer to sell balers in this area at the time that square balers were selling. Here it's NH, IH and some Massey with NH having a wide advantage in numbers.
I've got a Ford 532 myself. It's a very good old baler when it's adjusted properly in spite of being much maligned by some people. It's problem is that they quit making them in 1981... and it's now an orphan. A lot of parts are not available other than basic wear parts, so if you smash something major, you're on your own. It's other fault is that pickup fingers are extremly expensive and prone to failure. We keep the old thing going wecause it was mostly rebuilt a number of years ago and does a good job for us... but it's not a baler I'd recomend anyone buy. I've been eyeing an old NH268 myself, just for a spare.
Rod
What I'd suggest is that you stick to a popular model that's still likely to be well supported. NH and Deere are probably the best in that department. The 268 or something similar in the NH line would meet that requirement. I've never laid eyes on a Deere baler around here because there simply wern't any Deere dealer to sell balers in this area at the time that square balers were selling. Here it's NH, IH and some Massey with NH having a wide advantage in numbers.
I've got a Ford 532 myself. It's a very good old baler when it's adjusted properly in spite of being much maligned by some people. It's problem is that they quit making them in 1981... and it's now an orphan. A lot of parts are not available other than basic wear parts, so if you smash something major, you're on your own. It's other fault is that pickup fingers are extremly expensive and prone to failure. We keep the old thing going wecause it was mostly rebuilt a number of years ago and does a good job for us... but it's not a baler I'd recomend anyone buy. I've been eyeing an old NH268 myself, just for a spare.
Rod
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
IH did have both knotters, the Deering and the McCormick from when they were sep. companies, the Mc made a stronger knot but was more troublesome, these were used on the 45,46,37,47,440 ect., the deering was used by nh,jd ect. and left short pieces of twine on top of the bale, we had a 425IH with the deering knotter and it was an excellent baler,the mf 124 had a good rep. but I was never around them, a jd 24t and 336 are good, I am not a nh baler lover but some did manage to get hay baled with them, worked good to stack in round barns! Depends how much you want to spend.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
My dad bought a JD 216 wire about 25 years ago and that baler was tired when he bought it and it has made good, consistent bales for the entire time. the only ties it misses are when the wire rollers get stiff or the hydraulic tension malfunctions or when the wire is defective but it still makes more consistent bales than the 4655 hesston inline I bought this year although it is way slower but also way older. It has had so much hay ran through it that where the auger is the metal underneath is actually wearing through in places. It has broken the frame where the hitch bolts to it and we rewelded it then When I was a kid I broke the tounge pieces off of it but the neighbor has a few old JDs that we robbed parts off of. I don't know what is better but that old 216 has came through when all of the neighbors were in a bind moree than once. It needs greased regularly and all of the rollers need oiled often but It has always worked very well I really like my hesston but I can already tell that It won't outlast that JD by no means. The only reason that I bought another baler is that the hesston was cheap and the wire was getting too high but I think when my hesston gets wore out I'll stick with JD The hesston is faster but the JD is an excellent machine. The only thing wrong with JD is that the Hydraulic tension blows the O-ring every few years but Ours id the only one I know of that old with a hydraulic tension most are manual and with that in mind, don't buy a JD witha HYD. tension, get one with a manual tension and I hope it should last a good long while The 930 case and the old JD baler seem to be unstoppable in my neck of the woods so far.
PJBROWN VT
Member
MF made the best balers you ever could get..... #12 or 120
We started with a NH 68 way back when. You could really pound the stuff through it without a problem. I believe one year my mom raked the straw 3 windrows thick. The neighbor couldn't believe it took it without a problem.
Had an IH 46 (I think, been a few years) that was a poor excuse for a baler. Wouldn't take the hay like the NH or straw, no double or triple windrows for that machine.
Later on we used a NH 270 and it was a very good machine. Spent a lot of hours in front of and behind it. Very little went wrong with that machine.
Currently I have a MF #3 and a JD 24T. Both are good balers. The MF has very little capacity but I knew that when I bought it. It was a neighbors auction and it went for a song. Been pretty trouble free for its age. The 24T will pack it in like there's no tomorrow. the old WD gets quite a workout on it.
Had an IH 46 (I think, been a few years) that was a poor excuse for a baler. Wouldn't take the hay like the NH or straw, no double or triple windrows for that machine.
Later on we used a NH 270 and it was a very good machine. Spent a lot of hours in front of and behind it. Very little went wrong with that machine.
Currently I have a MF #3 and a JD 24T. Both are good balers. The MF has very little capacity but I knew that when I bought it. It was a neighbors auction and it went for a song. Been pretty trouble free for its age. The 24T will pack it in like there's no tomorrow. the old WD gets quite a workout on it.
charles todd
Well-known Member
Update, that old baler I grew up on was a NH 278...
Charles
Charles
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