HELP, big problems baling oats. What am I missing?

fastline

Member
Baler is an m&w 4x5 fixed chamber baler with the solid bars and sealed housing rather than belts. Starting up with this thing has been a NIGHTMARE!!! pickup plugs up constantly. I think we finally got things figured out on net wrap so it will work but if I can't pickup hay, who cares!

Ran for 5 hrs yesterday, made 4 disasters and 3 good bales! On a couple bales, the net did not reach the outside edge so looks like crap.

My windrows were a serious problem to make. Rake wanted to clog as well so now rows are not perfect and some parts are wider than the pickup. Most is 2-3ft high.

Baler seems to suck at started the bale and will clog up TIGHT at the pickup and have to dump the bale and spend 30 PAINFUL minutes digging out just to do it again in 5 min.

There is a tine bar that rides over the top of the pickup that I hear people refer to as the "windguard". Not sure though but that is where it packs up. Some have indicated to remove this bar from other balers but non on an M&W. I need to try something.

Also, will the wider windrow not work at all? Once the bale is going, it looks like a vacuum and sucks everything in but that is only the last 1/3 of the bale. The other 2/3 are nail biting "will it work this time".


I need serious help here. I am losing money by the hour with no relief in sight on this issue yet.
 
Run down to your nearest big implement dealer. Let him show you his used equipment. Take one home that is "field ready" Get the manual while there. Take it home and bale your hay. Buy if you like it.
 
Oats tends to be slippery, and not dry well.

And you made big, lumpy, huge windrows.

Ah.

This will be a learning experience, you can look back and
laugh - a little - in a few years.

Paul
 
Just looked it up on the internet. You might want to take it back where you got it and get your money back and go to a real machinery dealer and get a real round baler.
 
It sounds like you are having trouble getting the bale to start. When the bale core doesn't spin the hay wont feed in, then it backs up the pickup and clogs everything up. This will happen on any brand baler depending on conditions. Things that usually help are to reduce pto speed, and reduce the speed at which you feed the hay in. Give the baler time to pull the hay in and get it rolling in the bale.
 
Thanks for the replies. Today I was able to remove the "wind guard" or tine bar and it certainly works better on the intake but does make a mess now sometimes puking a little hay at the pickup and throwing some over the top with the circulating bars.

Finicky is a GD UNDERSTATEMENT. It really does not want to start a bale. I know when it does because it becomes a friggin vacuum and you almost cannot feed it enough. It will suck up the big piles without issue.

So when it starts, it seems to feed OK. However, I know better now and move carefully until I see it sucking. If I happen to get into thicker hay while still trying to start it, I have to back up several times and try to clear it. Nothing like yesterday. We are at least baling hay.

The net wrap is yet another disaster. rope to start feed, rope to cut, what fun. Pull net a bit too late without enough hay on pickup, net will wrap up on its feed rollers and cause a 15min good time.

So, we have manual net, net that totally sucks to load and feed, and a bale that does not want to start..... So, I am on a budget but this is OBVIOUSLY NOT working out. I need automation, monitor in cab, and something that is designed right. What shall I shop for? I would like 4ft wide. 4x5 is a nice size but variable chamber to run 4x6 might be nice.

Please don't point me to $10K balers. Budget can't do it. Unless that is what it will take to get something that actually works.
 
Not sure where you are located, but you will be hard pressed to find a net wrap baler for under 10k in the east. I would look at a new holland 650. You will need 65+HP. Good machines,parts are available. You should be able to find one for 4-6k with twine wrap. I just sold a field ready 650 for 5400.
 
(quoted from post at 04:10:45 06/23/13) Not sure where you are located, but you will be hard pressed to find a net wrap baler for under 10k in the east. I would look at a new holland 650. You will need 65+HP. Good machines,parts are available. You should be able to find one for 4-6k with twine wrap. I just sold a field ready 650 for 5400.

Net wrap would be a must. I bought the M&W with the understanding that it had automatic net. It has auto twine and manual net. I could certainly automate the net myself on this machine if I liked everything else but even loading the net leaves a guy wondering WTF...
 

You're going to have to look for an older machine. I'd stick with Hesston, JD, NH or one of the other big names. Start calling dealers and check Ebay and Craigs List. There's a CL search engine called serachtempest that works pretty good for stuff like this. Be prepared to do some driving and looking.
 
In that case I may want to look at mods for my current baler to make it work better. I can somewhat automate the net wrap easy enough but making it eat hay better might be tough. I need to find someone that KNOWS the inner workings of balers.
 
Did you get your M&W problems worked out.I bailed
with a Claas for a number of years it did not have
belts on occasions it would tend not to take the
hay into chamber to start a roll,what i found out
was to go a few feet stop for a few moments let it
clean the pu,then restart then it would flow in.I
always assumed that helped to start the core and
not be packing it in the throat and clogging up.
Also net not covering bale,could be tension on net
while applying,which would cause it to stretch,
maybe dirt and trash in the net tray.No idea what
a M&W chamber looks like, nor the net system.Just
my past experiences with Claas.
 
(quoted from post at 18:30:04 07/06/13) Did you get your M&W problems worked out.I bailed
with a Claas for a number of years it did not have
belts on occasions it would tend not to take the
hay into chamber to start a roll,what i found out
was to go a few feet stop for a few moments let it
clean the pu,then restart then it would flow in.I
always assumed that helped to start the core and
not be packing it in the throat and clogging up.
Also net not covering bale,could be tension on net
while applying,which would cause it to stretch,
maybe dirt and trash in the net tray.No idea what
a M&W chamber looks like, nor the net system.Just
my past experiences with Claas.


That is pretty much where we are. There is a point in the pickup cycle where it just does not want to take hay. We roll into the row, then either slow or stop and ease back it. It all but stopped the clogging but certainly zapped productivity huge. Regarding the net, near as I can tell, the tensioning system is a complete joke. I brought it back to the shop to figure out if I want to design some upgrades or dump it. As I add tension to the net roll, the feed roller fails to pull net. There is a VERY difficult margin in there. The rubber feed roll does have some age cracking in it so I am wondering if replacing could help but that is probably another 300 dollar gamble.


It made probably 100 clean bales. It was only until it got to the end of the roll where things started going bad. Due to the price of a roll, you bet I expect a baler to run completely out of net. Probably another 40 small bales left on te roll.
 

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