baler choices

i've decided to upgrade to a newer baler. i have found 2 locally, both about 5 years old. one is JD 328, the other is NH 5050. both baler owners are retiring from
making hay. both balers are in excellent shape, as both have done about 1000 bales a year. both balers are the same money, and the dealers are both 20 miles away.
my experience in the past has been with massey ferguson and new holland balers. that makes me kinda partial to the new holland baler i guess, but i see alot of
the 328 balers around. being retired, this will be a big investment for me. anyone have any advice for me? thanks
 
Both are good balers. It would come down to what your used to and local dealership support. I will tell you right now there are few LARGE chain JD dealerships with anyone that knows a darn thing about a small square baler knotter. I get a call or two each year on JD balers here locally that are still under warranty, and will not tie correctly. The one service manager will pay me to adjust them. The other local one acts like I am dirt and works on them himself an really screws them up.

15 years ago I would go to JD service training on the square balers and there would not be very many people there. A small square baler will not generate a large enough repair bill for a lot of dealerships to even work on them. So they sure will not pay to have anyone trained on working on them.
 
I agree that both are good, but I've had good results from Washington Tractor, so if it were me, I might go that direction.
 
The Hell they don't generate large bills. I had a 14T and asked the dealer about adjusting the timing a bit because one knotter would occasionally skip a bale - yeah we got a guy that knows all about them. Figured I would have about a $400 repair bill but the baler would be functioning as it should. $1800 later the baler was so screwed up it never tied another bale again. Turned out their guy that "knew all about them" happened to have a JD square baler at home - that made him the shop expert.
 
I have a new holland 273 Great baler.. buddy has a 36 j.d. great baler..
I will ditto the support and or parts dealer advise from other posts.. I have dealers for both brands 30 minutes south and east of me so have multiple places for parts.. although I get most parts online unless an emergency situation..I will not allow any service guy to touch my baler...LOL I do all the repairs and adjustments..
Since you've been around balers you must be familiar with how they work and how to make them work.. So the advise of getting manuals and familirazing yourself with the new one so you can make it work and adjust accordingly you will already know that value.. so..with that I say good luck.. both would be good balers imo
 
IMHO - both balers are very good. The BC5050 is going to have the older New Holland flow action feeder design (which IMHO helped put them on the map). The BC5060 and BC5070 will have the newer rotary feed and packer fork design.

The only thing that crosses my mind with these two balers is...

1. Pretty sure the 328 will have a wider pick-up.

2. Probably a non - factor, but while the 5050 resembles older New Holland balers, if you reach out on the Internet for support, you might have to qualify that baler is of the older design, whereas the 328 has been around for over 30ish years - no identity problem when chatting with potential internet helpers. Not a big deal IMHO.

3. IMHO, the 328 with auger and packer fork (like all JD balers of that design) are very forgivingand seem to pound out bricks. I?ve been around 3 JD square balers and never experienced any banana bale issues. BTW - I?ve got a NH 68 and it pounds out bricks too, one just needs to better understand how to run it vs the JD. That?s MY experience/opinion - take it with a grain of salt.

Good luck,
Bill
 
Over the years I have had a 14T, a 24T and a few years ago I bought a brand new 328. The first two were great balers. I am disappointed with the 328. It's often troublesome in picking up and feeding the hay to the bale chamber. All the John Deeres have a tendency to plug between the end of the auger and the left side of the pickup bay, but the 328 is very easy to plug. The pick up tines retract sooner than the other two and it often plugs there. The knotters are reliable but the crankshaft connecting rod bearing disintegrated after 3,000 bales. The dealer would not warranty it. I'll never buy a small JD baler again.
 
I hate to tell you that an $1800 bill is chump change when compared to a $25K combine annual spruce up or a $30-40K forage harvester annual tune up.

Most JD shops want their top techs to gross $7500 PLUS for parts and labor each week.
 
If I have questions on what adjustments need made on my JD 336 BALER THAT IS NOT TYING ON ONE SIDE YOU MAY HELP ME ? I replaced knife arm and biilhook after I bought it because the arm was original and shaft worn out and the billhook arm had no pin in it but replaced those and cannot seem to get the baler to tie consistently on that side.
 
(quoted from post at 13:29:12 07/12/18) It's often troublesome in picking up and feeding the hay to the bale chamber. All the John Deeres have a tendency to plug between the end of the auger and the left side of the pickup bay, .

I've never witnessed a JD baler having plugging problem at end of auger. I know my 347 won't plug at end of auger. Is auger drive belt in good condition & tight? Is auger belt idler sheave on top of the belt not under the belt?
 
The idler is under the belt, that's how it came brand new. It seems that the auger is too short and it builds up a wad of hay which the feeder
forks can't reach. Also the pickup tines retract several inches from the auger, causing a build up of hay there which the auger won't grab. My
other JD balers brought the hay right into the auger.
 
I have a 336 baler and I bought a second 336 as a backup. The second 336 would plug at the end of the auger all the time. Upon studying
the augers on both balers I could see the plugging auger was not aligned. The previous owner must have picked up a fencepost or large branch
and bent the auger frame . I took it apart and the auger frame was out of parallel by over an inch . Bent it back and now it works great ,
no plugging at all.
 

David
I agree that the belt was on top of idler from the factory BUT if idler is relocated above the belt then the belt has more surface contact with both sheaves therefore as same level of belt tension has more gripping power so much less tendency to slip. I think the belt when ""new is too tight"" to put idler on correctly. What type hay builds up between pickup teeth & auger & what length are the stalks/stems? I've also witnessed auger frames can get distorted.

I delivered/demonstrated/serviced 336/346 balers when they were new.
 
The hay build up between the tines and auger is usually the complete length of the auger. The tines don't and can't get close enough to
effectively push the hay into the auger and the auger isn't grabbing very well. The type of hay doesn't seem to make any difference. The pick
up bay can't be moved closer to the auger because the bottom of the auger bay would prevent it (I think). I'll relocate the idler to the top of
the belt, it could be that the auger is slipping but not enough to obvious to the eye.
 

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