kevinecwi

Member
I just bought a NH 273. Looks rough, probably sat outside some. I pulled out all the old hay from the chamber. Needs new wedges in the chamber for sure. What are some other things to check before I feed it some hay? The fellow I bought it from had the manual and gave it to me, so I have that.
Thanks
 
after you get the hay out check timing, feeder and needle timing. Check to see needle brake is working but not frozen up, check knotter stop adjustment. Check knife clearence on plunger and stationary knives. Go through manual for grease zerks and other maintenance, such as gear oil in gearboxes. all of this should be done by hand cycling the baler before you put any power to it.
 
###1 thing to check and then recheck is the plunger safety stop and check it each time you are getting ready to use it because if it does not work it can cost you the whole baler or major repair costs. Next thing to do is check that all the chains are good. Any chain you can pull up much or any in the middle of a sprocket is a chain that is old and worn. Also lube it up real well including the chain and check gear box oil
 

A 273!

My father's farm ran 120 dairy cows and even more youngstock for 30 years with an old 273. I would dare say that I've piled more bales out of a 273 during my teenage years than most :)

Be thankful for modern times, though. The secrets of timing the knotter, plunger and twine forks can be greatly reduced by going to youtube and searching for something like "New Holland knotter service video".....I bought an old 276 myself last summer, and I watched that video over and over for an hour.

Without any hay in the chamber or twine on the forks....have a (very enthusiastic and strong) helper turn the flywheel for you and just watch all of the timing with that video in mind.

I second what Old says about the plunger stop. A properly functioning plunger stop means the difference between a broken shearpin...when it works....to having your entire knotter assembly turned into scrap...when it doesn't.

If you can't find that video...let me know...I think I can find it again and post the link.
 

A couple of other cheap fixes that help immensely with bale shape are having the plunger knife sharpened and making sure that the teeth on the feeder carriage behind the pickup are somewhat close to original length.

I got an old 269 going for a friend a couple of years ago. The knife was dull as a hoe and the teeth were worn down to about half of their length. Taking care of those two issues made the bale shape much better before we even messed with anything else.

The little "hay dog" springs are also dirt cheap. The baler can run passably without them...and many people WILL run without them...just because they're too lazy to replace them.

My 276 needed them, so did my friend's old 269, and they also were a cheap improvement to bale shape.
 
have a helper turn the wheel and run it at slow speed a few turns.. then pull the lever to actuate the needles see how that goes.. Few things I would do and have done is:

1: as said check chains on the side and also the one on the pickup side..cheap to replace..
2: check the bushings on the twine knife arm on both the knotter units..make sure loose and round with no flat spots and roll free..
3: Id make sure the slip clutches work properly.. manual will tell you how..
4: check needle eye for wear.. I braze mine up if close to 1/4 grove has developed
5: check the feed fingers and table they ride on, make sure fingers set properly with springs in tact..Check bearings and wood blocks for clearance when it slides compared to track.. again manual..
6: clearance between blade on plunger and blade on baler..
Most of this stuff is in the manual..

As also said grease and oil.. CHECK gear box and prob drain and replace since you have no idea how long or condition of..

Few things off the top of head for you... good luck
 
I had a 268/269...ie, only difference is the hitch/pto- bought the 269 parts baler just to get the hitch/pto with the extra U-joint, to switch to my 268. (OMG what were the NH engineers thinking when they designed that, even the 269...like tractors were 30 inches wide?)

That being said....make sure you do what old says about the plunger stop! Grease the pivot bushing! Dunno about the 273, but on the 268/269...there are 2 zerks on the pivot...one below (obvious), and one above the plunger stop arm. Make sure you get both. If the stop does not work, you shear off the spendy twine needles! With an old baler, spendy is more than the baler is worth.
 
Funny i just bought a 273 in the same rough condition for 250$ CDN it's decently working, i mean i turned it by hand and worked fine and worked okay when fed straw. Plunger stop work. Need a couple of adjustment on the knotters has they do not always release knot. For the rest everything seems fine, i ordered the manual since the owner did not provide it and plan to put a nice paint coat on it. Maybe not NH red but close enough

Good luck on your project. I hope that both of us will enjoy our "new" baler soon 8)

I also want to thank all the people that answered, it is helping me too since i am new to this.
 
First and foremost....check the needles safety stop. You don't want to break the needles the first day in the field.
Guess how I know?
 

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