New Holland 273 Baler or Something Else

Bill VA

Well-known Member
Looking ahead to next year and a used square baler for about
12 to 20 acres. I had one time a JD 14T and worked a hay
wagon behind a JD 24T. The 24T was an especially great
baler and made bricks! Rare was a knot that didn't tie. I also
had a friend that used a New Holland 273 and pulled a hay
wagon behind it - using a Ford 2000 diesel. That NH was a
great baler, but the bales were somewhat ragged and banana
shaped compared to the JD 24T.

Fast forward to today. I've got 2 teenage boys and would like
to get them some square baler experience, something to do
with their time other than TV and video games and maybe give
them a path to make a little hay for sale to fund some college
expenses in a few years.

I really liked the JD 24T, but they don't seem to be many for
sale around my area and the ones I see are pretty much wore
out. What I do see is many NH square balers for sale -
especially the 273. I have to believe the 273 was one of the
most popular/produced square balers made by NH or anyone
else. Though I've never owned or used one, reading online,
these New Holland balers are simple/easy to service/repair
and parts are still available.

So I'm thinking I may focus on buying a 273.

Question is - are these balers just to old now to be considered,
even for the 12 to 20 acres per year? If not the 273, any other
recommendations?

BTW, I'd pull it with a Massey Ferguson 50 diesel.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
Bill
 
273 is a fine baler! Perfect for 20 acres...Even though it is early 70s,parts are readily available.A lot of guys are baleing lots more acres with lots older machines. You wount go wrong with a 273.
 
What Delta Red said is spot on! I run that much or more thru a 67 NH with few missed bales or break downs. Jim
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I just finished 400 bales of grass cleaning up my acreage with my 275. No misses, 1 bale every 13 seconds. Bought it for 1200 7 years ago.
 
I believe any baler except an IHC can be made to work near perfect. Problem is most guys do not give them the proper maint. and adjusting they need. You need to keep it in like new condition. Replace parts as they ware. Keep it in a shed. Keep the knives super sharp. Shim the knives close(I like to set mine so close that they click when they go by). Make sure hay is dry when you bale. I put up 8 to 10 thousand bales per year with an old New Holland 65. I bought it 12 years ago so have run near 100,000 bales with that thing. I completely went through it when I got it and then repainted it to look and act like a brand new baler. I keep track of number of bales without a miss and always get over 3000. When it does miss it is when twine changes balls. This year I have baled 1600 bales so far with no misses. I sell all my bales so color and looks of bales is everything. So my bales need to be super tight and square. To be fair the 65 was New Hollands compact baler so 10,000 bales is the equivalent of maybe 6000 regular size bales but tying 10,000 bales is still tying 10,000 bales. I agree with the others. You will not regret buying a New Holland.
 
Great info everyone - thanks!!!!!!!

One of the things I look for these days when buying old equipment is the level of internet support. The response to my original posting is very encouraging and has me thinking if I buy a 273, I stand a fair chance of getting some great support!

So - when looking at a 273 (or that vintage baler) what should I be looking out for? What are signs of a good vs bad NH baler?

Before I forget - I'm amazed at the number of bales you guys are putting through these balers in a year! Around my neck of the woods, most field sizes might limit someone to 1,000 - 3,000 in a year. With the qty bales you are putting through these old NH balers, I'm thinking maybe a weathered baler might still kick out a ton of bales, even if it's 40+ years old.

Thanks again!
Bill
 
The amount of use a baler has had is more important than the model. Find one from a guy that has it sitting in the back of the barn for the last 15 yrs. Or go to a auction of a retiring farmer or a deceased farmer. The ones on the dealer lot are trade ins that were being a problem for somebody else.
 
Anything can be rebuilt if you want to do the work. There is an Amish company in Landcaster PA who replaces frame sections, whole bale chambers and whatever else is needed to repair NH balers no matter how rough they are. I don't know how the newer NH balers are, but, any NH baler of that era on it's best day will never come close to making as nice a bale as the JD balers make. We had both a NH 273 and a JD 336. Nearly every one of us who used the two preferred the 336. Nothing wrong with the 273 but we all liked the 336 better.
 
And I thought I was he only guy doing that kind of volume with a compact 65! I have two of them and they both work great. Just did over two thousand bales since Friday night. I have my bale length set up at 3 ft, or longer if in heavy hay, and I am averaging 40 lb bales. The big thing about these balers is the bales are so much nicer to handle, and stack way nicer. We bale onto the wagon and the wife and brothers kids can handle these bales all day long whereas the bigger bales are just too much for them. I have had JD 24T, two different 273's a 270, and a 310. don't have any of them any more just the two 65's They are not exactly high capacity balers, but they will pump the bales out as fast as you can build a load I also agree with you on the older IHC balers. A fellow by the name of Royce Lambert was a very reputable Local Baler Mechanic years ago. I can remember him telling Dad "Don't buy an international baler" He had more service calls on them alone than all the other makes combined.
 
Used a 273 in the late 70s and early 80s. Loved that baler. Baled about 5000 bales a year, mostly custom work. No problems whatsoever. Could always count on it.
Own a totally rebuilt John Deere 24T now. Do about 1000 bales a year. Also a very trouble free baler.
Difference is this: the 273 needs to be fed with consistency to make nice bales either with proper window size or adjusting ground speed. The 24T can make a nice bale at slower speeds and even make nice looking bales if you want to make them shorter and lighter for easier handling. Like my help is the wife and grandchildren. The 24T feeder fingers allow for this. I don't believe you could get results like this from a 273. As I get older I really don't care to throw around many 36" bales weighing upwards of 60 pounds anymore.
 
I believe the 24T that I wagon stacked behind, those bales were 30 inches long. I recall my buddy's Dad was retired (he bought the baler new) and stacked too - all day. I seem to remember them saying those bales were 35-40 pounds. I know they were easy to handle.

I have a friend that use to use a New Holland 276. I believe the bale cross-section was larger and he tried to get 60-80 pound bales. I don't remember how long the bale was, but he was very proud of those heavy bales. But he was also on the tractor all day too... :)
 
We are going to target horse folks with our square bales. If I'm not being to nosy, what is the hay you are baling? Timothy, alfalfa, orchard grass? What kind of price can one expect for a 30 inch long bale?
 
"The amount of use a baler has had is more important than the model. Find one from a guy that has it sitting in the back of the barn for the last 15 yrs. Or go to a auction of a retiring farmer or a deceased farmer. The ones on the dealer lot are trade ins that were being a problem for somebody else."

This is VERY sage advice - I was thinking the same thing. Thanks!!!!
 
I bought a 273 5 years ago, had been sitting in a barn for years, broke the pickup chain the first time out, after that it's been bullet proof, nice baler.
 
Bill thought I'd put in my 2 cents on this.. I have and operate a 273. Have had it for about 12 years now. LOVE IT. I bale about 50 acres a year with it..I make a 36 inch bales 60lbs. The reason I like the 36" are when you stack them cross wise on each other you will have a square pile..and a nice looking stack once its all done.. Keep it inside when not in use.. clean it and maintain it and it will be a great baler.. I have dabled in the thought of looking for a 276 down the road..but for what I do with mine it would have to be a good deal..FYI I pull mine with a J.D. 3020.
 
Thanks for the comments. I'm pretty fixed on getting a 273, but just reading over some of the different models of NH balers post and prior to the 273, they all sound pretty good.

What I don't fully understand is which balers had the wadboard, what it is and other areas that wood was used on these balers. I'll post a separate topic on that question.
 

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