IH 46 baler


Saw an ih 46 baler for sale along side of the road today. Is it a baler to steer clear of or take a look at. For doing maybe a few hundredbales a year for myself. Also has a rake and mower both a little better than what i have.
 
Any used baler is a gamble but i think I would go JD or NH as the parts situation is better. Probably more people around who know how to service them as well.
 
The old IH balers can be tricky to get to tie right.Some people get them to work fine and others never get them to work right.I own one so I've had a lot of experience with them.If you really want an IH baler get it and a manual but otherwise I'd look at other manufacturers.
 
ihc made a lot of good stuff... but that baler is not one of them.
cant go wrong with a j. d. 24t from the same era.
used them both.
 
I had a 46 baler. I used it as a back up for my round baler. I baled around 500 bales a year with it. It worked good, but you couldn't push it too hard. I had it for about 8 years, no problems. Bill
 
The IH 46 baler is a low capacity baler so you can not push it much. Also the parts are becoming high priced and some are hard to find. I would go with a NH or JD just from the parts angle. The knotter parts for both the NH and JD fit many models of balers so they can be found at a more reasonable price when compared to the IH baler.
 
Used one for a few years but that was back in late 70's early 80's. I had the kicker on it and put up several thousand bales a year with it. I am glad Dad did not find the John Deere 14T that he wanted. I have no idea how parts would be now. People do not realize the 46 baler was an entirely different baler than the 45 was and that was the bad one. And that baler could be butting 2 bales in the air at once tossing them into the wagon. And that was pulling it with a 49 B John Deere on PTO and pulling the wagon.
 
I bought a 46 in the early 80's , already a old baler when I got it , and baled many thousands of bales with it , even put a thrower on it, and it worked well enough . When I went to big round bales I sold the 46. 10-12 years later , when my boys were old enough to handle bales,I bought a 47 with a thrower . Almost the same baler . Up until 4 years ago we would make 5-6ooo Bales with it each year. We have sold the wagons ,because they were wood ,and I didn't want to store them anymore. Should let the baler go to , just taking up space .
 
The one we had from about 76 to 81 was a good baler, couple of problems when we got it but easy enough taken care of.
 
When I was growing up, Dad had an IH 46 baler. We put up a lot of hay with that machine and didn't have any problems with it. It didn't have the wagon hitch on it, so Dad fabricated one for it.
 
I have dealt a lot with 46 and IH balers. Like anything some love them some hate them. I would go with it and get a manual. BUT WHAT CONDITION IS IT IN??? WHAT IS THE PRICE ?? Around me anymore than $1000 look for a newer one. Sounds like you may have a baler already so there is a back up. OH YES THEY CAN HAVE TWO DIFFENT TYPES OF KNOTTER depending on year. good luck
 
From what I've read, the 45 was the real lemon in IH balers. Folks hate IH balers, but there are folks that bleed only JD green or NH red when it comes to balers and wouldn't ever own the other brand.

Lots of videos of the 46 on YouTube. Would one be my first pick, not really. Not because they are a bad baler, but I should think parts availability and lots of Internet support IMHO could never equal NH or JD balers.

However, if the baler runs and ties reliably and the price is right, I wouldn't be afraid of it. A manual is essential too IMHO.

Good luck,
Bill
 
They are not a bad baler, but they are not a very high capacity baler. A lot would depend on if it has been shedded, as well as how much wear it appears to have. There would be better balers to be had, for sure. It's a little tough to tell without seeing it, or at least pictures. Bob
 
IF I were looking at it I would ask to see what it had baled. If they were putting up at least a 1000 bales a year with it I'd consider it. But if they said "it should work" I'd pass. The 46 is a slow baler and for some reason some worked good and others didn't work worth a damn. If it isn't working I wouldn't try to make it work - the knowledge base on those balers is rare and getting rarer - along with parts.


I think a lot of it depended on the training of the "baler guy" at the dealership that sold it. We owned a 440 baler that we bought new in the early 1970s and the first three years it didn't work much better than the 37 baler it replaced. Finally using far from home my dad talked to another dealership and had their baler guy look at it. He spent about 3 hours adjusting various things (knotters, timing, etc - I was real young) and walking beside it as it was running. Suddenly the baler worked like a Swiss watch and kept working for years afterwards with normal (in our case minimal) maintenance. It had tens of thousands of bales run through it every year. It went from breaking two to ten bales per 100 to one or two per 500 baled - usually a twine issue.
 
I would say 500 instead of the thousand but you are right about the knowlage of the person working on them.
 
I had one for years we baled about 3000 bails with it had a kicker on it kept it for a back up when i brought a john deere baler it worked good but you couldnt go fast we put a 3020 or our 730 john deere
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top