Hesston 5580 round baler

Larry NEIL

Well-known Member
Age is playing a role in my looking at a Hesston 5580 round baler while at the local JD dealer this morning. It looks like the belts are in good shape and that the baler has been cared for well.
Since I never owned a round baler, any input would be appreciated. The dealres rep said they are asking $2500.00 but the price is negotioable
 

Never dealt with that baler, but checking the belt condition is a good start. Check belt lacings to see if they look like they are going to pull out also. Also check condition of chains and sprockets. If at all possible the baler should be hooked to a tractor so you can hear it run, when I bought my present baler it had a bad bearing which made a terrible knock. (dealer took care of it) With the baler running you can check to see if any shafts are running crooked and that no sprockets are warped. Raise tailgate and see if it leaks down.

KEH
 
check the roller bearings by disengaging the belts. lift the door, and put the pins hanging on the side, into the holes slightly above them. Check the pickup bars for straightness, by looking at the PU teeth, from the side. they should be in a straight line. Check the gearbox input, and output shafts and seals. Check the drive chains for wear, and the drive sprockets too.
 
I can buy that baler for less then a $1000. Unless its an extremely low count, with new belts, I think they are WAY over priced!!
 
I have a 5540 which I belive is the same machine only 4 ft wide whereas the 5580 is 5 ft.
I have never run other balers so I can't do a comparison. As a belt baler it can be used for hay and straw but only for silage with great patience as the crop will build up behind the belts. Mine has a problem with baling straw that is very dry and crispy. The bale will press so much against the sides of the chamber that it gets stuck when half size.
Like the others say, have it hooked up and run and listen to the bearings. Check the chains and see if the sprockets are worn. Chains must be well lubricated and bad chains destroy the sprockets. With tailgate open remove the coverplates for the pickup and check the nylon bearings and the metal sleeves for the pickup bars as well as the tines. Also check the wide angle PTO shaft (expensive part to miss) and try the function of the twine wrapping actuator. If you need any specs or part numbers for the machine I can look it up in my manual as it covers both models.
 
we have a 5580 and around here in ky 2500 is the going rate.. id say that different areas would be less or more.. owers is a great roller.. had it for 4 years now.. iv only replaced a few belts and i try to keep a eye on laycings.. they make a 5+5 and have a electric tie.. its a spring tension roller and makes about a 1200-1500 POUND ROLL.. there been a few updates on this roller that the book shows.. one is look at the starter roller.. its square.. one of the up dates the book shows is welding angle iron across it on the flat spots.. the next update is the shorting of the belts.. the book says that these two updates make the roller take shorter hay and also make a tighter roll..
 
I had one years ago. I thought it was a good baler. Make sure you check the belt roller bearings. I had a couple go out. Not too much fun to replace. Make sure the electric motor on the twine arms works. It was expensive to replace. I converted mine to hydraulic cylinder when it went out. If you happen to buy it and need to remove any bolts for any reason, Locktite the threads when you put it back together. Seems to be a lot of vibration in the machine and the bolts will work loose. Cost me several thousand dollars worth of bent chamber parts to find that out.
 
I had one that was used but in what I thought to be good shape. My problem was that starting a roll was a real bear. I don't know if it was open or closed throat, but I sold it and bought a JD 530 and I could look at a ww and it would load.

One thing I did like about it was that the 4" belts had a couple of inches of spacing between them so you could see that your bale was adequately tied before dumping. On the JD, the 7" belts are so close together you can't see the wraps and that has caused me some problems when the baler was malfunctioning and I didn't know it.

Mark
 
I had one that was used but in what I thought to be good shape. My problem was that starting a roll was a real bear. I don't know if it was open or closed throat, but I sold it and bought a JD 530 and I could look at a ww and it would load.

One thing I did like about it was that the 4" belts had a couple of inches of spacing between them so you could see that your bale was adequately tied before dumping. On the JD, the 7" belts are so close together you can't see the wraps and that has caused me some problems when the baler was malfunctioning and I didn't know it.

Mark
 

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