# IH 47 baler knotter problems



## lewbest (Dec 9, 2009)

Hey guys

I finally got my 47 going kinda. This is one of a pair (46 & 47) I traded for a while back. One had a broken needle; other a bent needle. I used the good needles on this one. These are the first twine balers I've messed with; most folks around here use wire balers. I do like the idea of twine (40 bux a bundle compared to 70 per roll for wire) from a cost standpoint tho so decided to give them a try. They'd been sitting for about 5 years the guy said.

I picked up some old hay I'd cut & raked back in the fall when my wire baler quit (JD 214WS) & here's what happened. First pic is at the back, second pic is the left knotter, third is right knotter. I don't know how big these thumbnails will open (I've never attached pix here that & recall) but there are multiple strings leading to the rear (maybe it's not cutting the twine?) & the twine seems to be holding in the knotter as I'd expect. This is old twine (which I've seen recommendations against) but it isn't breaking before it gets to the needles. I'd prefer not to buy twine until I have an idea whether the baler's going to work but will if this is a "probable cause" of my problems.

Any help appreciated!

Lew


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## Cannon (Aug 18, 2009)

One of the problems I see is that your demo is not giving a real life. Your first picture is that your not applying any tension to the bale and your string is loose. I understand that you don't have a lot of hay to bale but loose string will make any knotter miss. your second picture is that your bill hook has a lot of string wrapped around it. This can be miss-alignment from needles, loose tension on string and many more problems. Your third picture is a twine finger miss or loose string etc. Many things will cause these problems.


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## Northeast Hay (Apr 8, 2010)

Just a guess. Since you changed needles the baler is now out of time and needs to be timed. On the internet look up case ih and you can find parts or books for anything they made


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## lewbest (Dec 9, 2009)

Thanks guys

Cannon, the "stuff" I was trying to bale is old hay that laid on the ground all winter. It's really brittle. Maybe I'd be better off mowing a couple of rounds & seeing how it bales? I'll cut everything away from that one knotter & start over pulling the twine through it. I'd suspect loose string has lots to do with it? The twine does NOT (as far as I can tell) break between the tensioner in the twine box & needles?

Northeast I have the OM on it & went thru the timing procedure & everything is set now to the specs in the OM. I did NOT mess with anything on the knotters themselves tho (except for lubing them) as I figured not knowing what I was doing I might do more harm than good?

Lew


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## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

Lew, you may not be giving the baler a chance to "warm up". My old IH-37 would always miss knots on the first 3-5 bales no matter what I did. After that it was reasonably reliable. The biggest issue I had with it was the twine knifes, they need to be sharp and set exactly as shown in the manual. Otherwise you will make sausages. It also did not like plastic twine, but you're using sisal so that's not the problem. Mine ran best with the PTO at about 490-500 rpm, so try slowing it down a little. Good luck!


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## lewbest (Dec 9, 2009)

Thanks Mike

I think I'll see if anyone has any twine locally; twine square balers VERY SCARCE around here. I'll check the twine knives also. I sure don't want any plastic twine; that stuff NEVER rots away! I may mow a coupla rounds & see if something fresh bales better; I'd like to get this old stuff baled up so I can move it easily for mulch in the garden; not mulching the hay field. It is awfully brittle though. It was cut & raked in the fall; my old square baler (JD 214 WS wire tie) quit on me & the rains started; no way to spread the hay back out so it just sat there in windrows over the winter.

Lew


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## lewbest (Dec 9, 2009)

Little update; I ran it a little more; both knotters tied after cleaing the old twine away. only one side cut though so next step is to sharpen the knives. I called all the farm stores & equipment dealers; out of 5 called only 2 carry square baler twine; both only have plastic. Good old TSC ordered me some natural twine; should be here in about a week









Lew


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## lewbest (Dec 9, 2009)

Newest update--I went back out today to sharpen the knives & mine are different than the ones in the manual. The manual shows the 47 to have knives like the 46 has as shown below. my next post will show the 47 knotters


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## lewbest (Dec 9, 2009)

IT WORKS!!!!! Finally got back onto it today; cut a little hay thursday to try baling saturday then had that flat on the rear tractor tire. fixed it (or should say put sealer in it) & then it rained a little. Baler still wouldn't tie right; I'd replaced the twine knife blades & put in new twine; kept cutting the mess off the knotters & suddenly it started tieing good & didn't miss after that. Soooooo tomorrow I'll cut the rest & hope it keeps going.

Many thanks everyone for all the good info!

Lew


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## lewbest (Dec 9, 2009)

Well after the previous post I got sidetracked; finally finished cutting & baling today (well I still lack a few windrows that I'll get tomorrow). Seemed like the longer I ran it the less often it failed to tie so I'm satisfied with it. Probably baled 60-70 bales today; very few misses. Thanks for all the good advice; I'd call this old baler a keeper









Lew


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## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

Congrats! If you have trouble getting sisal twine let me know. We're at HOT Coliseum fairly often for horse shows and it's no trouble to bring you some.


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## lewbest (Dec 9, 2009)

Thanks Mike

So far TSC has a good supply; if you get down here & have a little time let me know. My direct email is lew at lewslittlefarm dot com. Maybe we could get together for a cup or some iced tea or something.

Lew


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