Welcome! Please use the navigational links to explore our website.
PartsASAP LogoCompany Logo (800) 853-2651

Shop Now

   Allis Chalmers Case Farmall IH Ford 8N,9N,2N Ford
   Ferguson John Deere Massey Ferguson Minn. Moline Oliver

Attention Forum Users: On the 28th of December 2023 at 9:00am Central Time, we will be taking the forums down for maintenance while we prepare the new forums for your use. Please click here for more information.

Implement Alley Discussion Forum

What's wrong with an IH 45 baler?

Welcome Guest, Log in or Register
Author 
Bill

12-12-2003 18:06:55




Report to Moderator

I have mentioned before that my Wife's grandfather was a through and through IH man. He drove IH trucks and worked his one man dairy farm with IH equipment and a Farmall Super H. The baler he used was an IH 45. As far as I know, it was the only one he ever used. I have read here - doing some searches and have come to learn that this is not one of the most desirable IH balers. Well I bought a brochure from e-bay showcasing this baler and it looks in design and construction somewhat similar to the JD 14T/24T balers in they use auger and similar looking fingers. The 45 looks like a pretty simple machine.

Sooo my question is - what went wrong while trying to bale with these machines that made them so undersirable?

Thanks in advance,
Bill

[Log in to Reply]   [No Email]
Hugh MacKay

12-22-2003 03:00:50




Report to Moderator
 Re: What's wrong with an IH 45 baler? in reply to Bill, 12-12-2003 18:06:55  
Bill: Being one of the countless 60+ year olds across North America that rode the twine box of a 45 baler tieing all the missed bales by hand, may be I'm just a bit prejudges. I think it was a bit more than tough hay that made them miss tie. I agree they were quite old technology, however other balers of the era worked. The 45 probably required more power than any other baler on the market at the time. The plunger rock was very real. I have seen them parked on level running at 540 rpm, and rocking a Farmall Super M or 300 back and forth as much as 15". Had you unhooked the baler, 2 men couldn't have rocked the tractor more than 2-4 inches.

In 1957-58 my cousin and her husband opened a New Holland dealership, in an area that at that time was IH red. Within 2 years they had one of the largest bone yards of IH 45 balers I've ever seen in my life. There were 45 balers in there, that were less than 3 years old and some hadn't baled 10,000 bales of hay. There were balers in there who's owners had parked them and gone back to loose hay and hayloader until they could afford to trade the 45 off for a better baler. I know my dad considered that move on many ocasions. I would almost bet money, nothing on North American farms caused as many four letter words to be uttered as the 45 baler. I have seen my dad going down the field, convinced he had cured it only to look back, and see a string of missed bales. Dad's four letter words could be heard in the next county. In normal conversation you very very rarely would hear my dad swear.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Stan - Florida

12-21-2003 08:00:07




Report to Moderator
 Re: What's wrong with an IH 45 baler? in reply to Bill, 12-12-2003 18:06:55  
Having read all the comments below, I found one fact missing - they were sure a good-looking, sleek baler, weren't they?

Only worked around one once, in 1946 or so, therefore I'm no expert.

Stan



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
noly

12-14-2003 19:06:25




Report to Moderator
 Re: What's wrong with an IH 45 baler? in reply to Bill, 12-12-2003 18:06:55  
45 baler stands for work on it 45 minutes and bale for 15 minutes and repeat this procedure over and over. lol



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Heat Houser

12-13-2003 19:17:18




Report to Moderator
 Re: What's wrong with an IH 45 baler? in reply to Bill, 12-12-2003 18:06:55  
I always wondered why IH didn't use the Deering knotter after McCormick and Deering merged. I remember the Deering knotter from an old grain binder we had. The Deering knotter used the design found on JD and NH balers whereby an arm would strip the formed knot off of the bill hook. The IH knotter did not use the arm but relied on the bale being pushed by the plunger to pull the knot off of the bill hook. Many times the twine would pull in two instead of pulling off of the bill hook. I have fought both a 45 and a 46 and am glad I have a New Holland.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Roy in UK

12-13-2003 23:37:14




Report to Moderator
 Re: Re: What's wrong with an IH 45 baler? in reply to Heat Houser, 12-13-2003 19:17:18  
Actually IH sort of went back to the Deering type knotter. I trialed a 445 fitted with Rasspe knotters in the late 70's, the machine actually went into production as the 445D. (I can remember the press release in UK's Farmers Weekly, 'New IH Baler users Deering knotter') Soon after that though IH stopped making balers in Europe altogether.



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
moonlite

12-13-2003 16:48:01




Report to Moderator
 Re: What's wrong with an IH 45 baler? in reply to Bill, 12-12-2003 18:06:55  
The 45 was a good balerbut they were first made in the 1940's and technology has long passed them up. Remember JD did not have a twine baler when they were introduced. i think NH made the first twine baler.The 46, 37 and 47 were good balers 27 was a poor baler. I own a good 37 and is almost as good as a NH.Rather have it than a JD.



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
paul

12-13-2003 08:20:51




Report to Moderator
 Re: What's wrong with an IH 45 baler? in reply to Bill, 12-12-2003 18:06:55  
I'm very color blind, I have 3 different colors of tractors, my combine is yet a different brand, and my planter & moco are yet another.

JD & NH figured out how to build a good simple dependable baler that tied good knots on a well shaped bale. All the other baler makers were just a little behind the curve. Almost as good. Almost.

The IH is just less dependable than a similar NH or JD. A little in the hitch frame, a little in the plunger area, a little in the knotters.

40 years & a million bales later, that is magnified. Add to it that JD & NH baler parts are so easy to find.....

--->Paul

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
jim

12-13-2003 06:26:21




Report to Moderator
 Re: What's wrong with an IH 45 baler? in reply to Bill, 12-12-2003 18:06:55  
The main complaint we had with our '45 was the excessive plunger "rock" on the tongue which caused weld failure at the point where the tongue attached to the frame. Knotters always worked well, but the right one would start to miss if the hay was getting tough (Dad claimed the baler knew when to quit better than he did!)
In all fairness, in this area, many 45's were used with N Fords and TEA Fergies without live power which caused problems. Eventually traded ours for a NH 268.
.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
RJ-AZ

12-12-2003 18:43:13




Report to Moderator
 Re: What's wrong with an IH 45 baler? in reply to Bill, 12-12-2003 18:06:55  
They are not a real production baler. More suited to smaller farms. I have worked on a few of them and like their simple design. I didn't think the plunger and bale chamber were as stout as a NH or Freeman baler. My dad and I would put 18 to 24 thousand bales through a NH every season doing our hay and straw as well as some custom work. And every time our neighbors IH45 was down we would run down the road and finish out the field for him as well.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
JB

12-13-2003 17:21:48




Report to Moderator
 Re: Re: What's wrong with an IH 45 baler? in reply to RJ-AZ, 12-12-2003 18:43:13  
The IH balers had a more complex knotter than JD and NH. The IH knotter tied a double bow knot. The JD and NH tied a simple knot without bowes.
If the IH knotter was not functioning at 100% it would miss tie. The JD and NH knotters would tie even though they weren't 100%. On the IH knotter the twine knife had to be kept razor sharp all the time or it would pull the knot apart. If the operator knew how to maintain the knotter, the 45 was a good baler. One of the short falls was the speed of the pickup. If you had a 40 HP or more tractor the pickup did not turn fast enough to supply the rest of the baler with hay. Even though you had lots of HP you could only bale in 2nd gear. These problems were all corrected on the 46.

My 2 cents.
JB

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
[Options]  [Printer Friendly]  [Posting Help]  [Return to Forum]   [Log in to Reply]

Hop to:


TRACTOR PARTS TRACTOR MANUALS
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. [ About Us ]

Home  |  Forums


Copyright © 1997-2023 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy

TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters

Website Accessibility Policy