Help 8420

Baled a couple small fields with
my new to me Case 8420 I bought
a week or so ago. First time
round baler owner. I'm having a
terrible time starting a bale.
I've tried several gear and
throttle conditions and the best
that I've found and still have
to fight it plugging up is low
low and low throttle till the
bale starts. After the bale
starts forming, it doesn't plug
up at all. I'm used to raking
for my square baler and have a 3
foot wide by 2 foot high
windrow. Not sure if that's to
thick for this small pickup or
what. I've changed the pickup
height and changed the windgards
to open up as far as they'll go.
I have a hard time getting the
bales ejected to. I back up and
leave the belts running while
opening the door and the belts
stay turning but the bale stops
turning and it roughs up the
outside of my bale. I've tried
stopping the PTO and leaving it
running and the bale won't come
out unless I jump the clutch
forward. It has bale ramps as
well. Thinking about taking them
off. Lost two baked today
heading to the hollow. Lol. Any
help is appreciated. I do know
that one time it plugged up was
because of a little plug of
green was in a pile that didn't
dry but the rest of the time it
was all dry hay. The hay gets
jammed between the top of the
pickup and the bar that goes
across above the pickup. It
looks like some kind of scraper.
Thank you

Try making the windrow's as wide as the pickup and then about 1500 Or a little less rpm on the tractor and don’t try to shove it to hard sometimes have to work the clutch and stop and let it suck the hay in and go again but don’t stop just feather it so it keeps feeding . As far As the bale sticking maybe an oversize bale

Welcome to the world of "closed throat" balers. Many who have had them for years and have never run an "open throat" machine think they are fine, just fine, and I must say that they do work after a fashion. Not knowing the difference, I bought an open throat New Idea soft core baler back in '82 and never knew there was anything else until my brother bought an 8420 a few years ago upon the recommendation of a "friend". It is actually a Hesston, they make a nice bale and are okay for a limited acreage, there were a lot of them sold and still in use. Having used my bro's a time or two I got a feel for the quirks and to be quite honest you couldn't give me one but, to each his own.
Assuming the baler is in gear and the PTO up to speed; to start a bale it is best to center the windrow in the pickup and literally inch ahead, feeding it slowly until you see the bale beginning to form in the chamber. Once the hay in the chamber is spinning you are good to go and can charge on. If you have a syncro transmission start in a lower gear for the first 50'-100', if not ride the clutch a bit; after a while you will get a "feel" for it. Starting up too fast will result in spending a lot of time clearing plugs out of the pickup, it's the nature of the beast. They also rebel if the hay is the slightest bit "tough".
First time I used my Bro's I fabricated a set of ramps. Without them it dumps the bale under the lid and you need to back up before discharging the bale because you then have to pull ahead after dumping so that the lid will clear the bale when you lower it, and if you are still on the windrow you will be feeding hay into an open chamber; makes a mess.
I never had a problem dumping a bale but might I suggest always having the PTO up to speed (540rpm), start to finish; slip the tractor into neutral when you stop to tie, don't idle down. Then be sure you are lifting the lid all the way up when dumping a bale, unless you are on a fairly steep downhill it should roll right out.

Thank you guys for the help and input. I just went out and baked the last windrow. It didn't plug up but I had to inch by inch my way into the windrow but once the bale was spinning I could go with no more problems. I finished that row on 3/4 size bale and it still wouldn't eject. I checked my oil level in my hydraulics and it was showing a little low. Hoping that's why. Going to get a gallon and try it in a couple weeks. Thanks

Glad to hear that you won! You will find as you gain some experience that just how slow you have to start is largely dependent upon the physical composition of the hay (long, short, heavy, light) as well as the moisture content and size of the windrow. While still a PITA, once you get a feel for it, it's not as painful. I actually helped little bro one afternoon when all the stars must have been aligned and I could simply start up without any issues.
Jim

We run 3 of those hesston built balers here on our "limited acreage".Been running that style for over 20 years. They work well once you learn their personalities. To start a bale you need to inch into the windrow at about 1/2 rpm. Once you see the hay starting to spin throttle up and go. If you start moving with ANY ground speed before seeing it spin it will plug. It only takes a foot or two in good hay to start your bale so its not like a big thing, just the way these balers work. We bale 15-1600 bales each year here so I have made a few. Al

Sounds as though you have mastered their quirks, or personalities as you put it. As I said before, they do work and they do make a nice bale but, knowing many folks who have graduated to an open throat baler, they have all said that they wish they had done it sooner. Biggest advantage they have today is that they are an inexpensive way to get started.
My hat is off to you if you roll up that much hay with one of those little guys.

I have an 8420 and a Hesston 5530 ( the earlier version). Also maintain three 530 Hesstons for others. The bar above the starter roller is there to help start short hay. Remove it and save it for when you do have short, second cutting type hay. I think you will find that the rolls will start much better. Also start at 1,200-1,400 rpm engine speed until you see the roll spinning, then slowly increase to pto speed. With this baler you are not supposed to eject the bale with the pto running. Most of the time you do need to raise the tailgate all, or nearly all of the way up for the bale to eject. Does your baler have operational gathering wheels? I rake with a New Holland 56 rake and for a 'normal' crop of spring hay (mostly fescue), I rake two windrows together. They end up being a little less than 4' wide. The baler chamber is 39" wide, so no weaving is required while baling. Good gathering wheels help, especially on the corners.
Garry

Thank you all for the help. Been busy this week with work and not been able to get on here. I didn't know you could remove that bar above the pickup. Are you talking about the bar between the pickup and below the square roller? It's only about 6 inches or less between that scraper type bar and the pickup.

GaryinNC I want to thank you. I
dropped my small field a couple
days ago and didn't even rake
it. Rain was moving in and
didn't have time. Mowed it with
the haybine so it was about 5
foot wide and low. I thought
that might help the clogging
issue but nope. First couple
feet, plugged tight. Unclogged
and plugged two more times. Even
barely creeping and waiting for
it and it clogged. I drove back
home and yanked that bar above
the roller out and it would eat
hay faster than I could shove
down it's throat. Totally
different baler. Thank you sir,
much appreciated.