Baler Suggestions

mrinehimerm

New User
Interested in hearing what recommendations for a square baler the YT community may have. Looking for a inexpensive baler, that is easy to repair and fairly reliable. I know it seems as though I'm asking for the holy grail of balers but really I just want to hear which balers you think would work best for my application.

Plan to bale ~1,000 bales a year over fairly flat ground. I was planning to run the baler off an AC 160 which puts out 40 PTO HP and has a weight around 2.5-3 tons. What suggestions do you have? I was thinking about a NH 276 or JD 336. Thanks!
 
Hard to beat a New Holland in those 270 numbers. I hear too many stories anymore from guys with those older Deeres getting a lot of grief at the parts counter about them being an "old" baler.
 
Know nothing about New Hollands other than there are a lot of them out there still being used. Personally, I really like the John Deere 336 balers. I had one, sold it when I thought I no longer needed a square baler, and am now looking to buy one back again sometime in the near future.
 
IMHO - the NH 276 and Deere 336 are two of the best square balers ever made.

Other balers: Any JD from the 336 to the present balers, except maybe the 346, 347 and 348 due to their higher capacity. NH 273, 311, 315, 316, 565 or BC5050.

When looking at older balers, consider working order and overall condition vs age. Anything over $300 and I'm wanting to see it run and make/tie a few bales.

Get one with a hitch to pull a wagon too as you bale.

Also for future reference, once you wade into balers and such, you might try posting on the implement alley section of this forum - you might get a few more replies.
 
I like the 336 balers too - a very good machine. The old, worn out 336 I used to have was better than the new John Deere 328 I replaced it with. If you look at an older New Holland, check the hitch and tongue thoroughly, I have seen many of them cracked and broken. Most people in my area have had to repair and reinforce them.
 
I also believe you can't go wrong with a JD 336, we had one for a few years great baler, I now have a JD 346, I thought it was a higher capacity baler than the 336 as far as strokes per minute but my manual specs it as the same as a 336, it does however have a wider pickup than the 336, it also had the multilube.
 
(quoted from post at 11:04:59 03/01/17) Hard to beat a New Holland in those 270 numbers. I hear too many stories anymore from guys with those older Deeres getting a lot of grief at the parts counter about them being an "old" baler.

I'd blame that statement to a "lazy" parts person. Some parts people will whine about having to get up out of their chair.

A lot of part especially knotter parts on a 336/346 will fit a current production baler(338/348) baler. Even the billhook(AFH205783) for a 348 will fit the 1st twine baler(14T) that JD built
 
You just described why I went from everything here being Deere,to everything being something I can get parts for at the Agco dealer.
 
Not to mention the continually variable parts prices. Our local dealer in Portland seems to try to get a premium for parts. A friend went there yesterday to get a bushing. Was twice as much as another deere chain. He showed them on his phone and the price was corrected to the cheaper price. Not the first time this has happened.
 
I'm with Tx Jim on this one. Currently have a 338 and a 336 JD baler. Parts are readily available. We also run a Hesston inline. For an operation like you are thinking a JD baler would suit you just fine. If you weren't so far from me I would think about selling you my 336. Think shipping would be a real deal breaker.
 
We baled a lot of hay with a D-15 and a new holland 273 square baler. Never had any trouble with it for all those years.
 

My first baler was a Ford 250 that I got at auction for $25.00. after the operation grew some I got a JD 336 that was probably around 20 years old at the time. It served me well until the kids left and it was time to get one with a thrower. I got a really good deal on an MF 224. The big thing about the MF is that it will take in two double windrows at a time without complaint. There is a place in one field where even in first gear riding the clutch it would be too much for the JD and it would break a shear bolt. Nearly every year! I would just drop a gear on the powershift with the MF and it would just keep taking the hay. It is the feeder forks instead of the auger that the JD has. The New Holland has feeder forks but they are aluminum on a chain and need frequent checking and occasional maintenance. Parts availability is not an issue because no matter what the color, the dealer would prefer that you did not darken his doorstep if your stuff is over ten years old, and he will have to order the parts in anyway. You can get parts much faster and also usually cheaper from a dealer that does a big on line parts business such as Messicks in PA.
 

I've got a NH 270, it's a good old baler for the few hundred square bales we put up, we roll most of our hay.
271 is the same baler with a bearing on the plunger rod instead of a bushing.
If I was going to put up more square bales I'd look for a 268 or newer.
I've heard good things about JD 336 but have never been round one, we've always had NH and Hesston balers.
 
Finger Lakes Equipment in NY specializes in all the older JD balers and sells used and repro parts. Good service and knowledgeable.
 
I'd just buy a new one last the rest of your life no hassle and bring almost as much as you paid for it 10yrs from now
 
(quoted from post at 03:29:37 03/05/17) I'd just buy a new one last the rest of your life no hassle and bring almost as much as you paid for it 10yrs from now

Yeah and it will cost twice what my first house cost. And my house increased a lot in value.
 
i ran deere 327 and new holland 570 back in the day. both good units just one way bigger than the other. 327 would be great unit for you 570 would be way overkill.
 
Per below if you can find a nice JD 336 you will be very happy and they can sometimes be found very reasonable. I have a 336 and although I know the time will come, I've not had an ounce of trouble with it. Great baler.
Look to who you have for dealers as well. Good parts support will make you very happy. Although I have spent a considerable amount of money over the years, my local JD Dealership has absolutely excellent service. They are great to work with. The local Agco has a very good reputation as well. Dealership will eventually come into play. Good luck - Bob
 
I'll second the 336 JD. I'm on my second one, first one my dad bought new in the early 70's. It saw something in the neighborhood of 200,000 bales through it. Broke a knotter frame and at the 2300 price tag for a new knotter installed at JD I found a good used field ready machine for 2500. Kept my old one for parts, last year I put the one good knotter off the parts machine on the new one. We run around 1500 bales a year now. Looking to upgrade this year to a NH 5050 as I've just signed a 5 year contract to custom bale 100 acres of alfalfa and I don't think my 336 is up to it but for 1000 bales a year they are a good machine.
 
Have a 270 NH. Bale between 1200- 1500 a year with it . Been a good baler. The rest gets baled with a variable chamber gehl round baler. Both very good machines.
 
You laugh, but I still put about 2000 bales a year through a 24 T. They don't have a huge capacity, but they use the exact same knotters as a new one and are very easy to maintain and repair if you "get" mechanical stuff. One year I pulled mine with an old Farmall M when I was in a pinch. I hopped between first and second in heavy brome hay and she grunted right along. All the play in that old rear ended made me feel every stroke, but the old 24 T rocks the 886 I usually use it on, too. I had to rebuild the wipers and wiper control arm last year, but she should be good for at least another 40 years now. Keep all of the slop filled with good grease and you are good to go.
 
We used to bale over 20,000 bales a year with a JD 24-T hooked to an Oliver 77 and sometimes an AC D19 back in the late 60's and early 70's.Made for some very long hot Summer days.
 
Just curious as to why the 5050 - I'm assuming that is a BC5050 square baler? I still like the older New Holland flow action design and would like to try a new New Holland BC5050 just for kicks - need to win the lottery first....

It just seems everyone is going with the 570/575 or BC5060/5070 New Holland balers now with many preferring the inline MF/Hesston square balers. Seems like the BC5050 and even my trusty JD 348 are kind of frowned upon as not high enough capacity balers these days.

Thanks!
Bill
 
Going with NH strictly for dealer support. Ended up missing the 5050, they sold it. Found a nice 5060 with 3000 bales through it I'm looking at now. The last time I had Deere worked on one for me I still spent a day tuning what they had supposedly fixed and we've got very limited AGCO choices when it comes to mechanics.
 

While dealer support for parts is important, is hard to find a good square baler mechanic these days.
Our NH dealer had a mechanic that was really good on balers ,square and round but he left them and went to work at the JD dealer. Guys that know him still have him work on their NH balers, they just get a bill from the JD dealer.
 
I really like the BC5060, not quite as wide as the BC5070, but same 93 strokes per minute. One thing that really impressed me was all the flip up access panels on those BC series balers, easy servicing IMHO, heavy duty too!

Good luck,
Bill
 
If you can find a NH compact 65 in good shape I think you would be happy with it. The bales are 2 inches thinner than a std bale, stack on wagon well, but most of all you will be impressed with how much easier they are to handle than a standard bale. I have had 2 273 NH, A 310 nh, a Massey, AND A jd 24t. would NOT TRADE THE OLD 65 FOR ANY OF THEM.
 

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