Hesston 530 Type Round Baler Questions

Bill VA

Well-known Member
Around my neck of the woods, there are a fair number of Hesston 530 type small round balers - 39" x 48" small round bales. Some of these balers have different numbers, there is at least one in MF colors and I think these balers were also badged CaseIH at some point in time. Small fields, low hp tractors so a smaller baler. There maybe a Hesston 540 around too - which I believe is a 4x4 baler.

When I see the bales from these balers setting out in the fields, the bales just look ragged and outwardly not very tight. Don't know if it is operator error causing this or just the nature of the design.

I see these these Hesston/MF/CaseIH balers come up for sale from time to time and the prices are generally lower than a Deere or New Holland.

Question is - are these small 530 type balers capable of making a tight - square shouldered round bale? What about their cousin models that make a 4x4 or 4x5 bale? The designs look somewhat similar, except bale size and look basically like they've been around for a long time - even into today's production.

Window shopping....

Any thoughts/comments on these Hesston balers is most appreciated.

Thanks!
Bill
 

1734 MF 8420 CIH

4x4 model

1744 MF 8430 CIH 540 Hesston

I looked at the 39" machines, my conclusion from what I researched was that they were slower than a square baler, made a tiny loose bale and lots of them, and rode on pizza cutter tires, and were manual rope pull tie unless optional electric. make sure you get the bale ramps and gathering wheels if you have heavy hay or make big windrows.

Now, if you are all square bales and want to do it all from the tractor seat, I'd take the 39" any day over the idiot cubes. I'd hold out for a 4x4 machine. you've got enough power to turn a 4x4 baler.

Oh, ended up buying a 4x4 NH cheaper than the 8420's that were available at the time.
 
I thought about a CIH 8420 at first. Talked to a friend of mine that used to have one, and he told me you have to be careful with them as there is no slip clutch or no shear pin protection on them. He never had problems with his, but it is something to think about. I would also hold out for a 4x4 baler as well. That is what I did and paid about half of what they wanted for the 8420's I called on.
 
The 530's are popular around me, or used to be. No, they don't make "pretty" bales, but livestock don't care about pretty. They are a light, inexpensive baler for low HP applications. I know people that have them and love them. They seem to be very simple and reliable, but most Hesston stuff is simple and reliable. There has never been a twine baler that makes a bale as pretty as a net baler and the larger the bale, the prettier they seem to be, I don't know why. You can also make ugly, misshapen bales with a big net baler too, but I think you have to work at it a little more! :lol:

If you attend many auctions with JD and NH stuff in row with Hesston, Vermeer, Vicon, Case, MF, Gehl, M+W, New Idea and maybe some odd duck like a Welger thrown in, you'll see that given equipment of the same vintage and condition JD and NH are just going to bring more, followed by Case, Hesston, Gehl, etc on down the line. The better known a company is for good equipment, the more the rep affects price. You stick an M+W in a line of JD and NH and it's just not going to bring the same price. Just the way things are.
 
I used to own a Hesston 5530 same as a 530. You can make a good looking bale with a little practice. The bales are not tight, we didn't use a crimper and made bales up to 445lbs (avg. on scales). I liked the baler b/c of low power and ability to move them by hand. I will try to upload some photos in the next couple of days so you can see them.
 
I own two of these Hesston built balers. I bale about 1000 bales each season between the two and have baling with this size for 14 seasons. I also run a Hesston built small square baler. To say a 530 doesnt make a nice looking bale isnt true. All depends on the operator and how well the baler is adjusted. Sure you can make a fuzzy bale that is shaped like a football, so start trying a different style. I sure dont know everything, but I have learned ground speed makes a difference. A big change happened when I started spinning the bale over 540. I have a tractor that you can set the PTO at 1000 by a lever. So I would run at about half throttle. This made the bale WAY tighter and better looking. If you have light windrows with short hay I dont care who you are some will just look bad.This baler likes nice sized windrows. I got better looking bales after I took a few inches off the belts. Loose belts make poor looking bales. Adding spring pressure helped also. Last year I installed all new belts on one, but used a belt with tread on it and not smooth like they had when new. This helped even more. I have put a boatload of bales through my balers with very little trouble. I grease and oil them like you should, but I surly dont baby them. I bought them to use, and use them I do! For what I paid for them verses what they have done for me I feel they are some of the best investments I have made. I never had good luck running them with small tractors. Hesston says 35 HP will work. I dont think 35 hp will spin a full bale fast enough while going up a grade or while turning and riding a brake. I use Two 4020 JDs now and that seems to be a good fit. Its true about the shear pin, but most used ones around here have had the shaft break and a collar added to make it now have a shear pin. I bailed about 8 seasons with my first one before I tried to bale some hay that was to green and broke the shaft. The other baler is still running factory. No matter what baler you buy you can make nice looking bales or footballs. Most times it the cowboy in the seat. If you kick out a bale and it looks bad start trying different things. You will figure it out if you try. I do like the look of the newer net wrap bales, but on my farm money comes hard so a inexpensive baler with a good track record wins. Sure is easy to sell these little bales to the horse people, and easy to roll one into the old dairy barn and feed calves.
 

Belts can make all the difference, I sure agree with you there Al. And of course the guy that fiddles around and really learns what his baler likes will do better than the guy that just gets in the seat and drives. "Pretty" is in the eye of the beholder I suppose. My bales out of a Hesston 5500 often look pretty ragged in thin hay. I heavier hay they square up nice. The particular baler makes a difference to when they get some years on. I've had 2 5500's and the first one always made a better bale than the 2nd. Now I have parts from both on the 1st one, some new belts and I've figured a few more things out over the last 10 years. Most of my bales look pretty nice these days. Not NH 648 nice, but pretty nice.
 
Good info everyone - thanks!

I agree 100% that livestock doesn't care what the hay bale shape looks like, square bale or round - they eat it the same.

All of the hay we are making is and will be sold and so appearance is important. So as I window shop, bale shape is an important consideration. IMHO, the ideal baler would be a 4x5 that would be able to tie down to 4 ft diameter for a 4x4 bale so as not to overwhelm my tractor, yet give me a larger bale should a larger tractor come into the picture one of these days. From an appearance stand point, net wrap would be good too. It bugs me that some of these round balers you have to disengage the PTO, seems like a lot of wear and tear on the tractor's PTO clutch.

I'll be window shopping, learning and understanding my needs in a round bale and which baler can fit that mold so when I'm ready to buy, I know exactly what I'm getting.

Thanks again,
Bill
 
Been using a Hesston 540, 4X4 bales, for 10 years and it does wonderful. The secret is in the operator, raking, and experence, with any round baler.We pull with a NH TN65. Better to have more weight and power than not enough. The 540 will make a 4X4.5 bale and do a good job in both tall and short hay. Happy Haying
 
Those narrow bales tend to fall over , unless you are on really flat ground. Most bales left out from any baler start to look ratty after they get rained on multiple times. The Vermeer 504 G, H or I baler would be good for what you need. They roll tight and are easy to work on and don't need a lot of horsepower to run. You can stop the at 4 ft or go to 5 for a bigger bale.
 
We had one for a while. Takes very little horsepower, ran on 42 pto hp for a while but also on 65 hp. Very slow. Have to handle a huge number of of the tiny bales once you are done baling. Ours had trouble starting very dry grass hay often the first couple of days of the season, many hours spent cutting hay out of the pickup.

Now have a 5x4 baler, much happier with that size. Half the bales to handle going in and coming out.
 

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