Short video of our new to us JD348 baler that I was troubleshooting from an earlier post.
In the video, the tractor is running at 540 PTO rpms, 1st gear which is about 1.8 mph. Hay is timothy, it is our first cut of the year. The baler is our new to us JD348. This particular windrow was very large as several windrows were raked together. Not sure why the windrow was so big - but it is what it is. My boys were hopin' on this windrow, but it was relatively short in length. Don't think anyone could sustain a full day at that pace... ;-)
I feared my 50 hp JD5055d tractor might come-up short on hp for this baler. Deere says (which I take with a large grain of salt) 35 hp minimum. Again, I'm running 50ish PTO hp.
I think if the hay was higher in moisture - say late in the evening, the tractor might not workout so well on a throat full of hay in this baler. This hay was cut, tedded, raked and baled in unusually low humidity and fair winds, 8-14 mph, so it was very dry. No chunk of hay anywhere on this field flunked the three twist test.
Had a good day out with the baler - think we are on the way to having the kinks worked out - knock on wood!
Bill
JD348 At Work
In the video, the tractor is running at 540 PTO rpms, 1st gear which is about 1.8 mph. Hay is timothy, it is our first cut of the year. The baler is our new to us JD348. This particular windrow was very large as several windrows were raked together. Not sure why the windrow was so big - but it is what it is. My boys were hopin' on this windrow, but it was relatively short in length. Don't think anyone could sustain a full day at that pace... ;-)
I feared my 50 hp JD5055d tractor might come-up short on hp for this baler. Deere says (which I take with a large grain of salt) 35 hp minimum. Again, I'm running 50ish PTO hp.
I think if the hay was higher in moisture - say late in the evening, the tractor might not workout so well on a throat full of hay in this baler. This hay was cut, tedded, raked and baled in unusually low humidity and fair winds, 8-14 mph, so it was very dry. No chunk of hay anywhere on this field flunked the three twist test.
Had a good day out with the baler - think we are on the way to having the kinks worked out - knock on wood!
Bill
JD348 At Work