# Vermeer 554 XL



## Fireman355 (Aug 15, 2013)

Picked up a Vermeer 554 XL today, found it on Craig's list. It only shows 2866 bales have been rolled with it. any pointers on how to make it work better.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Nice looking rig.....PM swmnhay on Vermeer rounders...he is very knowledgable on them.

Regards, Mike


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

I changed out pickup teeth around 3000 bales.The rubber gets weak and they loose their strength.It makes a huge difference in starting the bale.

Does it have the spiral starter roller?Much better then the sq.

Does it have netwrap?baby powder on the ruber rollers if it does.


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## Fireman355 (Aug 15, 2013)

It does have the spiral. I also have a problem with the monitor showing 5 bars on one side and 3 on the other.


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## Fireman355 (Aug 15, 2013)

Forgot to attach this picture.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

The bars on the monitor can be adjusted(at least I know they can be on my JD) but the sensors are very sensitive especially when tightening the screws that hold them.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Are the bars uneven when baling or empty?

The bars only matter once the inch numbers begin showing up on the screen.


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## Fireman355 (Aug 15, 2013)

I have not got to bale with it yet, It will be in the field tomorrow after lunch. I been in the shop playing with the switches on the belt tensioner's and I think I have two problems, one, the outside belts may be to loose and need replacing, two the switches need replacing. I plan on putting it in the field to see if it will bale, if not I will have a lot of squares to pick up. One tensioner pushes in more than the other, I first saw it I was thinking I could adjust this thing out, however I now think it may be time to replace the belts. I guess we will find out after lunch,,,,,,,,,,,,,


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## Fireman355 (Aug 15, 2013)

Hi Tim,

just saw your post, and the bars are uneven sitting in the shop empty. I posted two pictures above of the monitor. I will put some hay in it after lunch tomorrow to see if it will bale, looks like I will be baling the old fashion way before these fancy monitors came on scene.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Tim/South said:


> Are the bars uneven when baling or empty?
> 
> The bars only matter once the inch numbers begin showing up on the screen.


Please explain this "the bars only matter once the inch numbers begin showing up on the screen".. Without operator compensating for side with low bars how would one make a level bale?? I always adjusted sensor on JD rd balers with no hay in chamber. Are Vermeer belts not tight when gate is closed with no hay in chamber?


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## snowball (Feb 7, 2015)

Fireman355 said:


> I have not got to bale with it yet, It will be in the field tomorrow after lunch. I been in the shop playing with the switches on the belt tensioner's and I think I have two problems, one, the outside belts may be to loose and need replacing, two the switches need replacing. I plan on putting it in the field to see if it will bale, if not I will have a lot of squares to pick up. One tensioner pushes in more than the other, I first saw it I was thinking I could adjust this thing out, however I now think it may be time to replace the belts. I guess we will find out after lunch,,,,,,,,,,,,,


the 2 out side belts will look like they are looser.. I have always had my height bars even on my balers when it it is empty....Tx Jim is right how would you know when the bale is level ? maybe Tim/south knows something that I'am unaware of it's been 8 yrs since I had a XL baler so I might be talking out of school here


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## rajela (Feb 15, 2014)

I think what Tim was saying was once it picks up enough hay to start showing on the monitor the bars may even out and function properly. I have never had a Vermeer baler so i am just guessing that this is what Tim was implying.


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## snowball (Feb 7, 2015)

rajela said:


> I think what Tim was saying was once it picks up enough hay to start showing on the monitor the bars may even out and function properly. I have never had a Vermeer baler so i am just guessing that this is what Tim was implying.


I'am sure not looking for a fight... But why would the bars be at different heights when empty ? unless something was out of adjustment there is 0 hay in the chamber so there should be 0 tension on either out side belt.... the theory is the same on a vemeer & JD and I know for a fact on a JD if they are off when empty they will be off when you got hay in the baler.. and unless your a dam good operator you will have a uneven bale... All this ....Just my opinion though


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## Fireman355 (Aug 15, 2013)

Well gentlemen, took the 554 to the field today, set the take up, engaged PTO, started off, made it 20 feet. the wide belt on the left side got twisted and lock down everything. So, with hay in the field that was ready, I took it to a dealer about 30 miles from here , they seem to think a bearing is bad, allowing the belt to roll against the side of the baler, catching on something and twisting. I said fix it, make it right,

As for the hay, my trusty little 565 went to work on it, 475 squares in the barn, I am wore out..

I start cutting now on the larger fields so I will be ready when I get her back This weekend......


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Tx Jim said:


> Please explain this "the bars only matter once the inch numbers begin showing up on the screen".. Without operator compensating for side with low bars how would one make a level bale?? I always adjusted sensor on JD rd balers with no hay in chamber. Are Vermeer belts not tight when gate is closed with no hay in chamber?


No, the belts are tight when the chamber is empty. Unlike the Deere round baler, the Vermeer roll is supported by a roller, not the belts. Once the bale reaches 30 inches the pressure on the belts increases on my baler and the bars even out. I suppose I could adjust the sensor to read evenly when starting a roll. I never viewed that as important when they leveled out once the bale grew and more pressure was put on the belts.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Tim/South said:


> No, the belts are tight when the chamber is empty. Unlike the Deere round baler, the Vermeer roll is supported by a roller, not the belts. Once the bale reaches 30 inches the pressure on the belts increases on my baler and the bars even out. I suppose I could adjust the sensor to read evenly when starting a roll. I never viewed that as important when they leveled out once the bale grew and more pressure was put on the belts.


Thanks for explaining about the Vermeer roller. Actually the RH sensor on my JD is off a couple of bars but I just compensate when finishing the bale so the bale is level. My compensation is similar to how I'd compensate if my pickup speedometer was off a few miles per hour.


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## cheeze (Aug 1, 2015)

When I start making a bale it doesn't form a round bale and clogs up. I have to manually remove the clog which can take hours, and gallons of sweat. Anyone have this same problem? I'm looking for a solution. It's an 2004 with about 400 bales on it.

I'm looking for a way to start the bale forming without clogging the baler.

Thank you for your help.

Cheeze-


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Cheeze-

What type hay & at what moisture % are you trying to bale? Does pickup attachment have a large majority of it's teeth?


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

cheeze said:


> When I start making a bale it doesn't form a round bale and clogs up. I have to manually remove the clog which can take hours, and gallons of sweat. Anyone have this same problem? I'm looking for a solution. It's an 2004 with about 400 bales on it.
> 
> I'm looking for a way to start the bale forming without clogging the baler.
> 
> ...


Good chance the pickup teeth need replaceing.


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## Fireman355 (Aug 15, 2013)

That sounds similar to the problem I was having with the 554 XL, however mind would flip the belts. it got new pickup teeth on it, still flip a belt. So to fix the problem there is a new Deere 459 Round baler in the barn now. The Vermeer is for sale if someone who knows how to operate it wants it.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

I am not 100% sure about a 554XL. I have never run that particular baler.

With only 400 rolls the pick up teeth should not be worn out. Could be.

The first thing I would check is the scraper on the starter roller. The gap should be only wide enough to slide a credit card through. Good chance that is out of adjustment. Too wide of a gap allows the hay to wrap around the roller.

Next I would look to see if the pick up was adjusted far enough back. The pick up teeth should just clear the guards. A Vermeer puts the hay directly into the roll. The hay does not travel any distance. If the hay is not going far enough back, it will plug before reaching the bale.

One hint on unplugging a baler. Raise and lower the tail gate. When you look back at the baler, the pick up will reverse a little as the gate raises. it will stay put while it lowers, then reverse a little each time it goes up.

Comes in handy after you have gone a 100 feet down a windrow the the PTO off and turn it on with out thinking.


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## barnrope (Mar 22, 2010)

My 554XL didn't have a scraper on the starter roller. I promptly ordered one and installed it after I had all kinds of headaches with wrapping.


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## bremma (Sep 2, 2014)

Cheez, did you get the baler going, if not, can you explain a little more about what is happening? Do you have the manual to check the adjustments? Going from memory, a few things to check for:


There are shear bolts that drive the start roller/sprial roller (small, like 1/4" by 2") in a sprocket on the "passenger" side of the baler. The sprial roller my appear to turn without a load on it, but when you start taking on hay it will not turn if bolts are sherard.
Is the pickup turning the whole time you are trying to start your bale
Check your tooth to start roller (sprial roller) clearance, it should be 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 from tip of tooth to tip of spiral with the tooth rotated to its closet position (assuming you are baling dry grass hay). Also, you take this measurment when your pickup is lowered to the baling position. 
The teeth should "fall" between the 2 bolts on the hay strippers, if not, adjust cam track setting. As a previous post mentioned, the teeth help start the bale.
If the rubber mounted teeth are worn (ie they flex too easily in the rubber), then it is hard to start a bale. A new rubber mounted tooth is pretty firm. (hint, if you go through the trouble of replacing them, i would do all at once cause it takes a while unbolt and rebolt the strippers to replace them and that was with 2 people)
The belts should be slightly slack, though turning, without any hay in the chamber (the small springs at the bottom of the big tension springs should have 4 1/2" of bolt showing). If you are to tight when trying to start a bale that could cause a problem.
Check and make sure there is not a bunch of hay/chaff in the springs. To do this, open the tail gate all of the way which will stretch the springs enough to allow you to blow out any hay/chaff that is preventing the springs from fully closing.

Without knowing anymore about exactly what is happening, that is what i would suggest.


is windrow as wide as pickup and of decent size, is grass/hay a decent length, is it dry?
are belts turning the whole time?
does bale try to form and then clog, or does it never even try to form?
have you tried lowering rpms? have you tried lowering rpms and increasing ground speed?


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## hayman1086 (Sep 16, 2012)

i would agree with replacing all the pickup teeth at once and only use vermeer teeth, aftermarket ones are junk. good teeth are the most important thing on these balers to start a bale. Fireman, how much do u want for ur 554?


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## CRE10 (Sep 28, 2013)

I bet you sheared a bolt in the starter roller. I had a 555xl and it would shear it, but the pickup and belts would still turn, just not the starter roller. It would plug it.

My drivebars were not always equal with an empty bale, but would even out once it got to a certain bale size.

Honestly my 555xl was a huge piece of crap from day 1 when it was brand new. It would plug if you spit on hay, the rubber rollers for netwrap were constantly getting caught with net even though I would put corn starch on them before baling each day.

I think I lost a few years of life from pulling out plugged hay in that baler and having all kinds of mechanical and electrical issues with it. I was happy to get rid of it. Someone in Wisconsin bought it. Poor guy, but we did disclose all the issues it had.


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## Farmin' Mizzry (Aug 19, 2015)

Does anyone have an opinion on what type of belt lacings to be used on the 554xl. Mine likes to eat lacings. Maybe a seamless belt, (if they exist), I know we use them where I work on belts that previously used the same style of lacing as my baler.


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