Bales per min revisited

Equipment
AC D-19
JD1209 mower
Kuhn 4 basket tedder
JD 894 roller bar rake
Ford baler

The results
In windrow 1 it took roughly 27-32 plunger strokes to make a bale in 3rd gear. I up the ground speed (4th) and could make a bale in 22-25 but had some feeding issues. In 5th it would do 16-19 but had feed problems. In windrow 2 it took roughly 21-25 plunger strokes to make a bale in 3rd gear. Again I up the ground speed (4th) and could make a bale in 16-19 but in heaver windrows had issues. In 5th it would not feed and plug up. In windrow 3 it took roughly 16-19 plunger strokes to make a bale in 3rd gear. In 4th it would do 14-16 but that's if it would feed and not plug up. Didn't bother to try 5th. In windrow 4 I did one in 12 plunger strokes, more like 14-16, but was starting to have other issues in 3rd. So I dropped to 2nd (incredibly slow) and was making a bale in 18-20 strokes. However did have some issues and had to watch it real close. Forget 4 and 5 at this size.

Conclusions
Third gear, 66 plunger strokes, and a windrow of three rake widths (~36-42" wide x ~15-20" tall) produced the desired rate (~16 plunger strokes per bale). On the lighter end of the scale I could get the same results in 4th. Compounding the ground speed issue was the tractor. Gear pattern has you at 3-5th or 4-6th. To get from 3rd to 4th you have to depress the clutch and thus the baler stops. So I wasn't able to check the results with switching between 3-4th, depending on windrow, which would most likely be optimal for me. Now I was able to make fairly consistence windrow, but where it wasn't, (36x15 vs 42x20) higher grounds speed (3rd to 5th) didn't fix it. Why? So I did a little more experimenting. It became apparent that the issue wasn't the feeder/plunger, it was picking it up off the ground. ***The pickup tines rotate at a set speed, they need to be matched (close) to the ground speed***. My case - ~3-4th gear 1800RPM is a good operating range. Ground speed to slow and the crop is pulled back and up with less actually picked up. This gives it a shattering (or pulling apart) effect. Smaller windrows compound this effect, larger windrows lessen the effect. But its still there and, as windrow size changes, it will appear as intermittent baler problems. The lesser amount of crop (in my case) tends to bunch up in front of the auger, thus isn't feeding it to the plunger, until enough is present for the auger to move it across the chamber. Resulting in wads being feed to the plunger causing erotic behavior. Ground speed to fast and the crop is pushed forward (from under the pickup as the tines come around) and up, with to much picked up. This causes wads of hay to accumulate (bunch up) in front of (on) the baler pickup. Larger windrows compound this effect, smaller windrow lessen the effect. But, again, its still there. As windrow size changes, you will appear to have intermittent problems. My case, when fed to the auger it may or may not be able to move it and become clogged itself. If it does pass it, the results tend to be various sized bales, slip clutches kicking in, tractor surging, etc... When set right (ground speed/baler tines) it should be flowing. Literally looks like the hay is water flowing up off the ground and into the pickup and across the chamber. Not pushing or pulling the hay. A nice flow that is maintainable over varing windrow size.

And yes I did manage to get to the spec of 7 ton an hour (4 bale a minute).

Good information, you learned one thing, that being how important good raking is for baling. I am a bit curious on the history, and by history I mean owner-user history. How long have you had the baler. I must admit I know little about the Ford baler, they were not very common in my neck of the woods. Does this baler have plunger adjustments allowing you to keep plunger knife close to shear, thus allowing it to work like sissors. We had a NH S-69 at home and it was dad's morning ritual to sharpen plunger knife and adjust so it sheared, rather than pounded the hay in. I would like if you haven't already done so, sharpen and adjust knife according to manual, then try one of your tests again.

Most balers I have been around will easily exceed the manufacturers ratings. It takes good raking and good maintainence. I like your description on the hay flowing looking a bit like water flowing up hill, as that is exactly what a good working balers being fed properly should look like. There probably was one exception on than clause," exceed manufacturers rating", that being the IH 45, the kid on behind just couldn't tye the misses of the knoters fast enough.

You have many more good days baling. From a 62 year old farmer, I like seeing a novice taking these steps. You will master the art of baling.

It has been said here many times that the rake man has one of the most important skill sets. Glad to hear that the Ford baler was holding up better than you had first suggested. Hope you took some pictures.... We need them for the website.