2nd attempt at 1st cutting

Just a couple of questions ; First , With dry , dry hay how can I get a tight bale the same length without the weight ? Is that a clear question ? I got about 45 - 50 lb bales at roughly 36" but they were sort of loose , and unlike the last time a lot of them banana'd on me . Was this due to being too dry ? I know the 14T has two postions for the feeder forks so are they supposed to be in the upper hole for dry hay and the lower hole for less than dry hay since it was the left side of the bal e that was short and it's now set in the lower hole ?

Both sides where on the loose side . Is getting a tighter bale as simple as tighening the twine tensioner under the twine box lid ? I've removed the ramps on the bottom ( they were rotted anyway ) but I didn't remove the resistors on the sides .

By the way , I could look in the manual but you folks are a lot more fun ! AND you've filled me with a lot of good knowledge to pick and choose from that will work in my " here " .

I got a little over a ton an acre I think ( about 50 bales an acre ) up 5 bales an acre from what I cut two weeks ago . It's enough for the horses for this winter . I'm still looking for someone who will take that first attempt of mine for cattle feed . My wife is still feeding it to the horses even though it's dusty ( I can't see any dark mold on it ) , she just wet's it when she feeds it . The horses are getting fat and they aren't colicing or coughing so I don't know !?!??

Thanks again to everyone ! Take Care ...Randy

In my experience, I have found that loose or mis-shapen bales are a result of small windrows. When I provide plenty of hay to the baler, I get good, tight, properly shaped bales. If I provide small windrows, the bales are loose and mis-shapen. I virtually always rake two swaths into one windrow. Yesterday, I raked three swaths into each windrow, and I have actually raked four swaths into a windrow when I have cut really scrawny hay.

So, I would insure that the windrows are big and fluffy before I started trying to adjust the tensioners on the baler.

Good luck,

Tom in TN

PS ; Do you really smile when you push someone down the stairs ?

Mark

I got out the book and did the best I could. Then went out in the yard and cut just enough grass to make a roll. Worked pretty good. So we'll see.

Never sat a 14. My 24 (now sold) was pretty straight forward with the auger and the big fork on top. Not much I can tell you about it except that it used to go thru shear pins like crazy till a friend of mine said to check the brake shoes on the tie mechanism....seems the ram was hitting the stops when you tried to tie. Put in new shoes and it baled like a champ.

One thought. Keep your knives sharp. Makes up for a lot of sins. Not sure a piece of sheet metal would do that much overall to interfere with a good bale..... thinking..... . if your feed fork (if you have one) doesn't push the new hay all the way to the far side of the chute that could cause lopsidedness or if it pushes it too far could do the same, just affect the other side of the bale.....How far is too far? Dunno. Trial and error. How to adjust? Dunno that either. Sorry,

Mark

Our first cutting we had some really small windrows and the bales came out loose and a bit bent.

Mark