# What size of square baler twine do you use?



## FarmerCline

I have been using NH plastic 9,000 130 knot strength twine up until now. Dealer was out and all they had on had besides sisal was Tytan 7200 plastic in a single spool 170 knot strength......said they would cut me a deal if it worked in my baler as no one else would buy it. It worked perfectly and I like the larger diameter twine for handling......doesn't cut into your hand as much and fills the great big twine box on my 5070 hayliner a little more. Was wondering what size of twine everyone else is using?

Hayden


----------



## 8350HiTech

That twine would sell here easily. Everyone locally runs 7200, either sisal or plastic. Most everyone was sisal before the hemp shortage this year so now I'm talking to a few more people running plastic. I stuck with 7200 sisal this year but I'm not sure about next. I'm running it by my customers to see if it matters to them.

There isn't much 9000 used locally, probably because this is a thrower and racks area so that extra twine thickness serves a good purpose.


----------



## cornshucker

Bridon Cordage 190 knot in 7200 ft. individual spools. We tried some 130 knot 9000 ft. Orangeline from Tractor Supply a couple of years ago but if you are baling 60 Lb. bales it will not hold up good. When we took delivery of our 1837 baler it had 190 knot AGCO twine in it. It also done fine. What are you having to pay for the Tytan. We already had the Bridon on hand, maybe for the fall cutting will price the AGCO. Don't want to go any lower than 170 knot and prefer the 190.


----------



## FarmerCline

cornshucker said:


> Bridon Cordage 190 knot in 7200 ft. individual spools. We tried some 130 knot 9000 ft. Orangeline from Tractor Supply a couple of years ago but if you are baling 60 Lb. bales it will not hold up good. When we took delivery of our 1837 baler it had 190 knot AGCO twine in it. It also done fine. What are you having to pay for the Tytan. We already had the Bridon on hand, maybe for the fall cutting will price the AGCO. Don't want to go any lower than 170 knot and prefer the 190.


 I'm not sure what I'm paying for the 170.....they told me to try it and if it worked they would cut me a deal. I like the fact that the 170 twine doesn't seem as stressed as the 130 did.


----------



## Hayman1

7200 sisal-NH twine. Although, I may run out this fall and have to use something else since NH is out. I also noticed some diameter qc problems in several balls of twine this year, first time ever using the NH product. I use a thrower and would never go back to 9000. I like wool and cotton clothing, ceramic mugs for coffee, just hate plastic including plastic baling twine.


----------



## SwingOak

I ran some of the 9000 Jaguar twine from Fleet Farm, and it worked pretty well. I bought a bale of the 9000 NH twine, and guess what? The inner wrappers on the twine balls was identical to the FF stuff. A salesman at a different NH dealer told me all the sisal twine comes from Brazil from the same factory regardless of brand. That's why they said they just match the FF price. Plastic twine is a different story.

I don't like plastic twine anyway because it's embedded in the ground all over my place from the previous owner. Horses would eat off the round bales, and tramp the twine down into the mud, and now it's cemented in there tight.


----------



## somedevildawg

220 agco


----------



## Dill

9k sisal, which is pretty much what everyone around here uses for sqaures. A few plastic twine people but overall sisal is the choice. The exact inverse for round bales.


----------



## shortrow

I use 9000 NH sisal, because that's what's easy to get. In the book for my bc5050 NH, I believe 7200 is what is recommended. 9000 does fine though.


----------



## Farmerbrown2

7200 sisal for hay not as hard on the hands. 7200 plastic on straw and anything that gets stacked out side for erosion control. Mice don't seem to eat plastic as fast in the straw either.


----------



## sethd11

8500/170 single for hay. 6000/210 single for straw.


----------



## RockmartGA

I've been using 9000 plastic for years. Used 9000 sisal before that. Not sure if my local dealer even carries 7200. If he does, I may get a couple rolls and try.


----------



## covenanthay

6500-240


----------



## NDVA HAYMAN

Bridon 7200/170 and 190 plastic


----------



## Vol

Bridon XSR 9600/210....been using this because I can buy it within a couple of bucks of the 170. Only way I have had a failure is by a string getting cut.....orange color stands out real nice going up the Kuhns elevator chute.

Regards, Mike


----------



## haybaler101

PolyExel 4000/440. Oops, different kind of square baler!


----------



## mlappin

Never had any luck with anything but the 7200 sisal from NH with our thrower wagons.


----------



## SVFHAY

Ty rite 210 &240 in blue. Left sisal back in 94(?) because of inconsistent thickness when using thrower wagons. A few guys prefer yellow plastic because it makes hay seem greener in contrast. A local hay dealer always used yellow trucks using this rationale. Used orange for many years but being color blind it didn't really stand out to me like the blue does. First year of blue I was shocked at how many "tails" I could suddenly see all over a harvested field.

Buddy uses 7200 sisal and paid $50 a package this year.ouch.


----------



## sethd11

Svfhay, ever since I switched to blue I noticed the blue "tails" everywhere also. Also I love how the blue really complements the hay color. Never seen yellow so I can't compare.


----------



## Orchard6

9000 sisal from tsc. Never had any problems with it.


----------



## NDVA HAYMAN

Hayden, my 190 just costs me $30 per roll. Bought the last 27 rolls they had. Part of it was blue and the other part orange. It was all blue last year. Mike


----------



## SwingOak

SVFHAY said:


> First year of blue I was shocked at how many "tails" I could suddenly see all over a harvested field.


And not biodegradable either, which is why my dad told his hay guy he could only use sisal on his field, or he would have to go back and pick up all the tails.


----------



## FarmerCline

NDVA HAYMAN said:


> Hayden, my 190 just costs me $30 per roll. Bought the last 27 rolls they had. Part of it was blue and the other part orange. It was all blue last year. Mike


 Mike, do you buy your twine local or have to order it. Around here either sisal or 9000/130 is all anyone regularly has. I bought the other few rolls of 7200/170 from the one place and I asked if they were going to order more and they said no all they would stock is 9000/130.


----------



## DSLinc1017

9000 sisal, hate the blue tails too!


----------



## Rodney R

Is there any difference in thickness between the 9600/170 and the 7200/170 in plastic? We've used hundreds of rolls of 9600/170. We did the switch back in the '90's from sisal, cause of the thick/thin issue. We bought some hay years ago from a neighbor that used 9000 plastic, and that stuff seemed really cheesy compared to the 9600/170 that we had.

Rodney


----------



## Shetland Sheepdog

Rodney R said:


> Is there any difference in thickness between the 9600/170 and the 7200/170 in plastic? We've used hundreds of rolls of 9600/170. We did the switch back in the '90's from sisal, cause of the thick/thin issue. We bought some hay years ago from a neighbor that used 9000 plastic, and that stuff seemed really cheesy compared to the 9600/170 that we had.
> 
> Rodney


Never had 9600, but would guess, based on knot strength, it was the same, just different sized spool!
JMHO, Dave


----------



## SVFHAY

Most likely there is a difference in thickness You almost have to compare to be sure if different manufacturer Bridon had/has an xsr line in their210 knot strength line, different compound of plastic supposedly xtra shock resistant? Perhaps your 9600 spool is as strong as the 7200 but thiner. If outside circumference, height and inner hole are all the same and there is 2400 ' less there is a difference somewhere. Check the weight of spool.


----------



## DSLinc1017

Time to revive an old thread.
We used to bale with a NH 565, with a thrower using 9000 sisal, always had broken bales. Upgraded to a 570 with a thrower. Still had broken bales. After many afternoons (years of afternoons). of contemplating the inner workings of a knotter, I discovered and came to the conclusion that it was in fact sisal that was too thin. Needless to say I have about 8 bales worth sitting in my barn that have been denied use. 
I won't use plastic as the tails left in the fields are something I won't leave to future generations. 
The question is: Does 7200 have a higher knot strength? This is what I'm gathering from this thread.....

Second question: Is there an alternative to sisal that is biodegradable? This question comes from a custom job that I'm doing for an organic vegetable farm. We are baling their rye and have been told they can't use sisal as it's treated with a chemical, that they can't have on the farm. They too don't want plastic tails. 
Thanks Y'all


----------



## Hayman1

I used to use 7200 sisal in my 570 with a thrower. About 4-5 years ago the quality of the NH sisal tanked and I have been using 190 plastic ever since. When I use up what I have I will switch to 210.

the 7200 sisal was the same size bundle as the 9600, and yes it was thicker twine. However, the diameter was not consistent and some places it looked the same as 16000 round bale twine.

now I hate the blue tails, just don't know other options


----------



## Shetland Sheepdog

Well, I've been using the Bridon 7200 single roll plastic for a few years now, and yes, the blue tails do show up in the field! I figure I'm not going to worry about biodegradable as they aren't any less degradable than the stones I've got, and take up a lot less room in the soil! Yeah, I know, not politically correct! Before that I used the Bridon 7200 double rolls, and never noticed the orange tails, but I'm sure they were all there!


----------



## Vol

Appreciate you being forthright about it Dave. I would much rather be acquainted with honesty than the lying lips of political correctness that nods and winks at each other and pat themselves on the back for saying "all the right things".

I use the orange and it doesn't seem to show up much for some reason. Yeah, they say polypropylene will last between 40-50 years before it breaks completely down. I bet the stones will last until the second coming.

Regards, Mike


----------



## Shetland Sheepdog

The biggest problem I've had with stones, is the dang things seem to go to seed afore I get 'em harvested!  :angry:


----------



## Shetland Sheepdog

Another interesting thing is that I've never had a customer complain about plastic twine, or even ask about sisal!


----------



## Farmerbrown2

Cordex enviro cord is what came up when I googled biodegradable baler twine come in 9000 foot starts to degrade after 3 months in the sun. If it was me I would renegotiate and ask the organic farmer to supply the twine.


----------



## DSLinc1017

Thank you all for the strait forward answers! Love the stone explanation, and yes I am convinced they do bread, particularly in the winter. Another part that I should have explained is many of the fields I do are homeowner large lawns so to speak. I would be out picking up the tails...

FarmerB, Part of my agreement with the organic farmer is they will be purchasing the twine. Thanks for the research! I Wil pass the info along. I'm only putting up about 1500 smalls now the rest are rounds.

Hayman1, thanks, Ill pick up some 7200 and try it out. 
Thank you all very much, 
~Michael


----------



## DSLinc1017

Shetland Sheepdog said:


> Another interesting thing is that I've never had a customer complain about plastic twine, or even ask about sisal!


Funny thing, Was asked a few years back..... A horse customer asked...... I could stop there......
"Can you Not use any twine or net on your round bales..... "


----------



## Shetland Sheepdog

Tell the customer "Sure, but once they leave the baler, you own them, and deal with them!"


----------



## Hayman1

DSLinc1017 said:


> Thank you all for the strait forward answers! Love the stone explanation, and yes I am convinced they do bread, particularly in the winter. Another part that I should have explained is many of the fields I do are homeowner large lawns so to speak. I would be out picking up the tails...
> 
> FarmerB, Part of my agreement with the organic farmer is they will be purchasing the twine. Thanks for the research! I Wil pass the info along. I'm only putting up about 1500 smalls now the rest are rounds.
> 
> Hayman1, thanks, Ill pick up some 7200 and try it out.
> Thank you all very much,
> ~Michael


Michael- if you are lucky, they

fixed their sisal quality control problems. I waited for two years with deteriorating results. I understood that it was related to mob activities at the main production plant in Brazil which subsequently burned to the ground. Given who is in charge there now, I doubt there is any improvement


----------



## r82230

Farmerbrown2 said:


> Cordex enviro cord is what came up when I googled biodegradable baler twine come in 9000 foot starts to degrade after 3 months in the sun. If it was me I would renegotiate and ask the organic farmer to supply the twine.


If I get a chance to take a picture of 'biodegradable' round bale twine I used 12+ years ago, I'll post it.

Larry


----------



## somedevildawg

If ya don’t leave them tails the birds won’t have any nesting material worth a crap.....


----------



## Hayman1

somedevildawg said:


> If ya don't leave them tails the birds won't have any nesting material worth a crap.....


Dug some out of the nesting material in the windshield wiper cavity on my cab tractor


----------



## Shetland Sheepdog

Incidently,the Bridon 7200 plastic, I'm using, is. 190 knot strength


----------



## IH 1586

somedevildawg said:


> If ya don't leave them tails the birds won't have any nesting material worth a crap.....


I was thinking of posting the same thing. Compared to all the idiots throwing plastic bottles all long the road, tails are nothing and they have a purpose after the fact.

Using 9600 tyrite brand and its a brilliant blue as well.


----------



## Modirt

When discussing baler twine specs, I'm not sure which number listed on the package is the industry standard. There are two numbers listed on the box. One that folks seem to be using is either the 7200 or 9600, which is not a spec, but rather the length of feet of twine in the package.....in this case two spools.

The other is the knot strength, which I suspect is what ought to be used. The need for knot strength varies by baler.......large or small round balers using twine appear to be using the lightest weight. Most small square balers that were designed for the standard sisal use the 170# stuff, and large square balers, making heavy bales ought to be using the really heavy stuff.

The confusion may lie with the fact that the bale or spool size is probably a standard.......so 7,200 feet of 190# twine fits the same area as 9,600' of 170# twine. I have some sisal bales, and they don't really say knot strength or length. It is larger in diameter than my 170# twine.









But as for size of twine, it seems to matter. Few years back I was trying to troubleshoot an old Massey #9 baler.......would tie a few bales, then miss a bunch. Problem was in the knotters, obviously. Talked to a Massey shop guy and his first recommendation was to switch from the light weight twine that was in it to the heavier 170# twine. That improved things on the spot. Did not solve it, but improved on it. Baler had a number of other issues that was going to be expensive to resolve, so we eventually gave up on it and moved up to a newer NH baler.


----------



## Hayman1

Modirt said:


> When discussing baler twine specs, I'm not sure which number listed on the package is the industry standard. There are two numbers listed on the box. One that folks seem to be using is either the 7200 or 9600, which is not a spec, but rather the length of feet of twine in the package.....in this case two spools.
> 
> The other is the knot strength, which I suspect is what ought to be used. The need for knot strength varies by baler.......large or small round balers using twine appear to be using the lightest weight. Most small square balers that were designed for the standard sisal use the 170# stuff, and large square balers, making heavy bales ought to be using the really heavy stuff.
> 
> The confusion may lie with the fact that the bale or spool size is probably a standard.......so 7,200 feet of 190# twine fits the same area as 9,600' of 170# twine. I have some sisal bales, and they don't really say knot strength or length. It is larger in diameter than my 170# twine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> baler twine.jpg
> 
> But as for size of twine, it seems to matter. Few years back I was trying to troubleshoot an old Massey #9 baler.......would tie a few bales, then miss a bunch. Problem was in the knotters, obviously. Talked to a Massey shop guy and his first recommendation was to switch from the light weight twine that was in it to the heavier 170# twine. That improved things on the spot. Did not solve it, but improved on it. Baler had a number of other issues that was going to be expensive to resolve, so we eventually gave up on it and moved up to a newer NH baler.


you are right. People got in the habbit of using the feet as a standard back when Sisal was king and everything was sold in doubles of basically the same size for square bale twine, round bale twine is another whole kettle of fish. So back then, 9600 sisal was the basic standard for sisal, 7200 was a much thicker twine and heavier duty. With today's plastic, you have to buy on knot strength and figure out what size rolls fit in your twine box. I use Bridon 7200' 190 knot strength singles


----------



## reede

Bright Pink 210


----------



## IH 1586

reede said:


> Bright Pink 210


What company is that from?


----------



## reede

Cordex. 6500 foot spools of 210 strength.


----------



## VA Haymaker

reede said:


> Cordex. 6500 foot spools of 210 strength.


We've been using with our JD 348 baler and pan kicker 9600/210 from recommendations here on HT over the past few years and its no exaggeration, zero broken bales due to twine quality. Broken bales due to my knot tying quality between balls of twine... Another story...

I never thought I'd use plastic twine, but then sisal was so bad. I don't think I'll ever go back to sisal and the customers don't care. They like a bale of hay that doesn't fall apart too.

Bill


----------



## paoutdoorsman

Hayman1 said:


> Dug some out of the nesting material in the windshield wiper cavity on my cab tractor


Birds love that cavity don't they? If I forget to stuff a feed sack in there when the tractors will be parked for any length of time, they'll make the tractor a complete mess.


----------



## Modirt

In the category of 170 or 190, what other colors are available besides orange and blue?

Local NH dealer sells the Bridon......claims it is identical to NH branded twine they used to sell....same everything except the name on the box.

Local AGCO dealer sells a similar blue plastic twine from a different source......that one also had the AGCO name on the package......now replaced by name of whoever makes it.

TSC sells an 170# orange twine.

Anybody else? John Deere?

Reason for asking is I like to color code my bales so I can tell which bales came from where. Orange is one lot. Blue another. Orange/Blue yet another. If I could find one more color....like a green......I could have 6 different color combinations.

As long as they are both 9,600' and 170#, they seem to work in the knotters the same....and start and end at the same time and get used at the same rate. Would not want mix a different knot strength, however.


----------



## DSLinc1017

Modirt said:


> In the category of 170 or 190, what other colors are available besides orange and blue?
> 
> Local NH dealer sells the Bridon......claims it is identical to NH branded twine they used to sell....same everything except the name on the box.
> 
> Local AGCO dealer sells a similar blue plastic twine from a different source......that one also had the AGCO name on the package......now replaced by name of whoever makes it.
> 
> TSC sells an 170# orange twine.
> 
> Anybody else? John Deere?
> 
> Reason for asking is I like to color code my bales so I can tell which bales came from where. Orange is one lot. Blue another. Orange/Blue yet another. If I could find one more color....like a green......I could have 6 different color combinations.
> 
> As long as they are both 9,600' and 170#, they seem to work in the knotters the same....and start and end at the same time and get used at the same rate. Would not want mix a different knot strength, however.


We do the same color coding, round bales 1st gets orange, second blue on one side orange on the other, 3rd if we are lucky gets solid blue.
For the smalls natural sisal first green sisal for second.

I looked at some of our sisal bales, just length no knot #. All are 9000.


----------



## Trillium Farm

These times as they are, I'm sure a manufacturer will come up with a rainbow string, just to be politically correct!


----------



## 8350HiTech

Modirt said:


> In the category of 170 or 190, what other colors are available besides orange and blue?
> 
> Local NH dealer sells the Bridon......claims it is identical to NH branded twine they used to sell....same everything except the name on the box.
> 
> Local AGCO dealer sells a similar blue plastic twine from a different source......that one also had the AGCO name on the package......now replaced by name of whoever makes it.
> 
> TSC sells an 170# orange twine.
> 
> Anybody else? John Deere?
> 
> Reason for asking is I like to color code my bales so I can tell which bales came from where. Orange is one lot. Blue another. Orange/Blue yet another. If I could find one more color....like a green......I could have 6 different color combinations.
> 
> As long as they are both 9,600' and 170#, they seem to work in the knotters the same....and start and end at the same time and get used at the same rate. Would not want mix a different knot strength, however.


Contact a bridon rep if you can't find any in a store local to you.


----------



## reede

Cy has at least blue and red/orange. Don't know what other colors.

This stuff I got is hot pink, and really makes the green of the hay stand out and look good. 6500ft of 210. Didn't know there were balls of 9600/210, I would love that. Some folks with older balers might not have the space. I do see that Cordex has an extra large spool line, might have to check into that.

The fine twine co. shows white, yellow, pink, blue, orange, and purple on their website.


----------



## r82230

r82230 said:


> If I get a chance to take a picture of 'biodegradable' round bale twine I used 12+ years ago, I'll post it.
> 
> Larry


----------



## DSLinc1017

Trillium Farm said:


> These times as they are, I'm sure a manufacturer will come up with a rainbow string, just to be politically correct!


ROFL.


----------



## SwingOak

I'm still picking out plastic twine from the field I just replanted. It's everywhere, that stuff just does NOT go away. This field was a pasture 10 years ago, and the twine I'm pulling out of the dirt is still in excellent shape. Bits of tails everywhere from the one season I used plastic twine. Kinda not a fan of plastic twine right now.


----------



## Modirt

Moved some old big round bales that had been inside in storage for what is estimated to be at least 20 years........bales were rotted and falling apart......but first generation plastic net wrap was still hanging in there. Still digging wads of it up now and then. Benefits to it, I suppose, but drawbacks as well. Always seems to be a tradeoff somehow.

BTW, checked and my local AGCO dealer only stocks Cordex twin in light blue. But another AGCO dealer 100 miles away stocks AGCO branded twine, and they have a green in 9,600' bundles in 170# strength. So that gets me to three colors. Orange, blue and green.....plus sisal option if I want it.

BTW, thinking back nearly 50 years ago, there was always two grades of sisal twine. The good stuff, but also some cheap "Mexican" twine........light in weight and subject to breakage. The latter might have been used with the small round bales from the AC rotobalers. But you always had to be careful. Back then, baler twine held up pretty well except when used for wheat straw. Use twine on wheat straw and likely as not, you would be digging that stuff out one flake at a time due to mice chewing through the strings. For that reason, preferred baler for wheat straw was always wire tied. Wire is an environmental hazard too, but will rust out and break down over time.


----------



## broadriverhay

What a coincidence Reede , pink 210 for me too.LOL


----------



## Trillium Farm

Oh you girls and your pink twine!


----------



## Hayman1

Had a funny thing happen yesterday, never before in years of baling. with about less than 5% of a spool of 190 left somehow it became tangled with the line to the next spool and made a rats nest. The two spools tied together and there is no twine strength that isn't going to break in those circumstances. I had just assumed that it was the end of spool changeover but boy what a mess when you keep baling waiting for a whole bale top pop out of the mess.


----------



## reede

broadriverhay said:


> What a coincidence Reede , pink 210 for me too.LOL


Where'd you get it???


----------



## reede

Trillium Farm said:


> Oh you girls and your pink twine!


Real men bale pink!


----------



## HAYcorey

Dang! Me too. 210 pink ????


----------



## Pro-soil

Fine twine co is what I got my first time with it. Some 440 at 4000 and some 170 at 9600 feet.


----------



## Trillium Farm

reede said:


> Real men bale pink!


So you guys ARE in the pink!


----------



## reede

Pro-soil said:


> Fine twine co is what I got my first time with it. Some 440 at 4000 and some 170 at 9600 feet.


Hey, what size are those bundles of 440/4000? Just wondered what the height and diameter of the spools are.


----------



## Hayman1

Just curious. Any Va guys have a source for bridon 6500-210 in single spools? I sent an inquiry to bridon but haven't heard back and they do not have a dealer search function on their website


----------



## Pro-soil

12 inches tall 11 inches wide


----------

