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It is how hay feeds into the round baling chamber part. Slightly different on different color machines, so hard to just say. To be honest, I have never closely looked at a closed throat(?) so hard to say. But, my 605F has the hay pickup feeding the hay directly onto a big metal drum at the bottom, and the belts run up directly behind the metal drum. There is a little flappy roller above this, to swat the hay back down off the belts. The bale just forms in this triangle, and a pretty big chunk of hay can go in. My understanding of closed throat designs is that the hay must all pass through 2 rollers pretty close to each other, which press the hay into a thin matt. My understanding is these rollers will badly wrap hay if the hay is too wet, and will not do as well forming a bale if it is too dry, and will plug up if you send in a thick lump of material. They will give lots of problems on baling things like cornstalks or soybean straw. Many of the closed throat designs also have a big belt at the bottom to rotate the bale, it seems these are hassles as well. I think others could describe it better, but you've been waiting, so I'll try. :) I got my 605F, which is _just_ like the one the other fellow described (hydraulic pressure, 2 wide outer belts, the pickup stops when it's full, etc.), for about double your quoted price. I saw a model 'B' (or was it 'A'?) in the classifieds last year for $200. My baler has trouble with the hyd tie, I believe the pressure control needs different shimming, a sharp knife, & better adjustment, which I will deal with by spring. The belts are smooth & have 2-3 extra splices, but in ok shape. This is my first round baler as well, and I see the issues much better now. They have a hard time starting a bale. It'll bale just about anything with a 1/2 bale in it, but starting one is a real challenge. You need material all the way across, and it needs to be the right moisture & all to want to roll around on it's own, to form that long rolling cigar. Alfalfa in a 4.5' swath behind the mowerconditioner is a _breeze_ to bale, starts right up, bales like a dream, the wife & kids can bale it. Sideraked alfalfa in a high narrow windrow takes a bit of care. Grasses and other material depend a lot on the swath & moisture conditions. Everyone has said the compression rolls are much worse, I'm not in a position to argue but seems they know what they are talking about. You really want wide belts, _at least_ on the outside. I can see how miserable it would be to start a bale with skinnies all the way across. When you start a bale, it is only natural to get more hay on one side or the other, and the side with less hay is going to have loose belts that want to wander & angle around. Wide belts help prevent this, narrow belts slide around & want to get behind the forming bale, rip & tear. Likewise, when baling the bale, you need to pack the left & right side full of hay. It will squash itself to the middle just fine on it's own. You need to make sure the outsides are packed full, or your bale will be wine-barrel shaped, with soft outsides that spoil faster. The more pressure you put on the bale, the tighter it packs, and the more it sheds rain, and the better it keeps. Spring balers are just limited on what they can do for pressure. Hyd pressure is better, even, constant. Again I've never used a spring baler, but I can see that the hyd keeps a strong, constant pressure, while the spring would vary it's pressure & not be as much. By the way, these are all solid core balers. Then there are the balers with many drums around them, they are called soft-core balers. I think they just throw the hay inside & tumble it until it's full. The center never gets rolled very hard, so like a spring tention baler, the bales will settle & get weather damage more quickly. If you have indoor storage this is not as important... Take my info as it's offered, I really don't know much about round balers, I was in your shoes until this fall, looking for something to make life easier. I also wish to bale cornstalks, so had to be concerned about a machine that can handle them. (With the miserable, wet, snowy fall, I'm still waiting to test it on those...) If I'm terribly wrong on my info, someone correct me, and my appologies. I don't want to lead you wrong. I would want wide belts on the outside, hyd pressure, and an open throat. Less than that, and you are buying a bit of a headache. 'Here' a dealer will ask $3-4000, but you can find them on auction sales for $1-2500 if you shop. Well, actually 100 miles from me you can get them for that. That's how far I dragged mine home. :) I'm happy with it so far, but have only made 40 bales. --->Paul
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