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Misshaped bales

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Bill

08-31-2001 08:11:42




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I am baleing with a NH66 its workin and knotting ok but the bales are like blobs .When I got it the spring on the back of the bale chamber were loosened all the way.I thighten them some that seemed to help some but i ran out of cut hay to bale.Am i on the right track?They seemed to be getting better formed.
Also how dry should the hay be?I think it was still to moist can that affect the out come of the bale?
One more thing is the hay suppose to be hot once stacked in the barn? thanks Bill

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Bill

09-01-2001 19:25:58




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 Re: Misshaped bales in reply to Bill, 08-31-2001 08:11:42  
Hi, Buy yourself a moisture detector. Anything over 20% is going to mold or start a fire. I used mine a lot when I first started 3 years ago. It was a big help, now I know pretty must by looks and feel whats good and bad. Bill



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Colin Mill

09-02-2001 02:14:06




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 Re: Re: Misshaped bales in reply to Bill, 09-01-2001 19:25:58  
Hi Bill,
Sounds interesting - where did you get your moisture detector from? Was it expensive?
(I'm a cheapskate but the cooking hay smells I've been filling the house with have not made me too popular!)
Colin



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Jerry D in NC

09-02-2001 08:00:16




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 Re: Re: Re: Misshaped bales in reply to Colin Mill, 09-02-2001 02:14:06  
What we did for testing our Alfalfa was to buy a small gram scale (mine is an Ohaus) and you can weigh 100 grams of forage on a paper plate. Zero the scale with the plate before starting. Then we cook it in a microwave (purchased at a yard sale for $25) for 20 minutes. Weight it. After that we cook it for 30 seconds at a time and weigh it each time. It usually will start to smolder and that is when we weigh it for the last time and that weight subtracted from 100 grams starting weight is the moisture content. Works great for less than $100 and is right accurate.

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Colin Mill

09-01-2001 09:14:19




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 Re: Misshaped bales in reply to Bill, 08-31-2001 08:11:42  
The link I have put here is one of several sites with info about hay moisture content and fires. Since Im a complete novice at this sort of thing
& had no idea how to judge the moisture content of my hay. I measured it for a sample of hay to get an idea by weighing about 2 pounds of hay and cooking it in the oven at about 250F until it stopped getting lighter. The percentage weight lost is the moisture content. Even with 18% moisture I'm impressed just how hot it gets inside a small stack of bales. Worth doing a test for peace of mind I think.

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Dan

08-31-2001 22:00:20




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 Re: Misshaped bales in reply to Bill, 08-31-2001 08:11:42  
Some of the other things that can cause miss shapen bales in addition to moisture content of the hay are lost or weak springs on hay dogs (or missing hay dogs), missing restrictor plates in bale chamber, not enough tension on the screws on the chamber, and uneven feeding of hay. If hay is too dry it can also make poor bales. I think it is harder to make a nice bale from grass hay than it is with alfalfa or clover. The other post that mentioned twisting the hay was correct. I was told to twist it 3 to 5 times and if it is right the strands of grass will be broken. I have also seen barns destroyed and hay piles burned from hay put up too wet. spontaneous combustion

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paul

08-31-2001 11:49:30




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 Re: Misshaped bales in reply to Bill, 08-31-2001 08:11:42  
The 2 cranks on the back are how you adjust the bale density. It should be covered in your manual, and a baler in one piece that you should go buy the manual for. But yes you are on the right track.

Another reason bales are sloppy is that the hay is too wet to bale yet. If it is hot a day later, you baled it way too wet. Do NOT feed this hay to horses (cattle tend to handle the mold better), and be very careful, as it is possible for the hay to start a fire & burn your whole barn down.

--->Paul

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BK

08-31-2001 09:11:37




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 Re: Misshaped bales in reply to Bill, 08-31-2001 08:11:42  
I am not completely sure how the NH balers work so I can not help you there. As far as the hay being dry enough, you can test the hay by taking a wad of it in your hands and twisting it like pedaling a bicycle. If the hay breaks aparts fairly easily it is probably dry. If the hay binds together it needs to dry longer. And the hay should not be hot in the barn. A little warm on marginaly dry hay is not bad, but if it is really hot you could risk the hay spoiling or worse yet igniting and burning the entire barn down. I have seen on more than one occasion green hay catching fire in the barn.

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