# Hesston 4600 Baler Upgrade Advantages



## sweetgrass (Jun 20, 2010)

I have a Hesston 4600 small square baler (1980 vintage) that I have been using for the past 10 years for baling grass hay. It seems to work ok but tends to produce oversize bales when the windrows get big (maybe 2-3 ft high and 3-4 ft wide). I try to make a 70 lb bale, 14 x 18 x 42 in long to fit into my bale wagon. I try to slow down or speed up to keep the intake full of hay to try to keep the bales a uniform wt and length. . It will take a lot of hay at the higher speeds, but I run the risk of plugging the intake or getting huge flakes and bales too long for the bale wagon. I have about 35 acres of irrigated grass hay and make 2 cuttings per year. Production varies from 75-100 ton per year. I'm thinking of upgrading to a Hesston 4550 or 4570 or a 4590 or possibly to a newer Heston 1838 or 1840.

The 4600 plunger has 92 strokes per min. The newer models have plungers with 100 strokes per min. I am wondering if the newer models will bale faster than the 4600 and allow better control of the bale length without reducing the speed so drastically. It probably wouldn't hurt to come into the 21 century with my equipment.

Am I thinking straight? Will I gain anything by upgrading?

I bale with a JD 6415 100 hp tractor.

Thanks for any input.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

sweetgrass said:


> Am I thinking straight? Will I gain anything by upgrading?
> 
> I bale with a JD 6415 100 hp tractor.
> 
> Thanks for any input.


You will gain less than 10% in speed.....you will have to slow down and speed up with most any baler when your windrow varies. Consistency in making bales comes mainly from having consistent windrows that allow you to find the sweet spot speed wise to produce a consistent bale length and flake.

The 4570 or 90 are excellent. I don't think you make enough hay to justify a new baler....but what the heck, if you can afford it and want one then buy it. Or maybe find a good used 1839. They have upturning auger kits now for these balers and I would recommend one if you have been having some issues plugging.

Regards, Mike


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## sweetgrass (Jun 20, 2010)

Thank you, Mike for the input. If I am patient and wait until the hay is dry before baling and adjust my speed to the density of the windrow I can avoid plugging. To reduce drying time, we do use a three wheel rake to gather and turn the windrow. My baling sweet spot is with the moisture content. If I can stay between 12-15% moisture and the knotters are working, life is good.

I got to thinking about the 92 vs 100 strokes per min and realized that the tractor rpm must be at the full pto rpm to get the 92 strokes per min. I rarely run the equipment at the max pto rpm. I probably could increase my speed by just making sure I am close to the max rpm. I am really not in that big a hurry unless I see storm clouds gathering in the distance. I also wonder if the faster rpms and speed could impact the knotter process as well as getting those jumbo bales with large flakes.

We pride ourselves in selling good quality grass hay to horse people. Our customers come back year after year and there is a waiting list to buy our hay. Damp hay that results in mold won't do.


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## sweetgrass (Jun 20, 2010)

We do have some used 1839 balers but not sure they would improve much if I have to deal with plugging problems. Then again are the plugging problems caused by hay too damp and unreasonable speeds? I don't know, but you seem to have had good luck with yours; but you sound levelheaded and patient.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

If you get your hay dried down below 16% as you mentioned, you should not have any plugging issues with a 1839 or a 4590. Invariably, high moisture hay leads to plugging issues, but if one adds the upturning auger kit, that will reduce those issues noticeably. Most of the time with inlines, if you are making big flakes you are going too fast. I run my 1839 at about 1900 rpms. It makes a very nice consistent bale with my rakes at that rpm. It reminds me of a sewing machine at that rpm, you can hear the steady drone of the baler and you can feel the smoothness on the tractor. It can put you to sleep in long runs. 

Regards, Mike


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

sweetgrass said:


> Thank you, Mike for the input. If I am patient and wait until the hay is dry before baling and adjust my speed to the density of the windrow I can avoid plugging. To reduce drying time, we do use a three wheel rake to gather and turn the windrow. My baling sweet spot is with the moisture content. If I can stay between 12-15% moisture and the knotters are working, life is good.
> 
> I got to thinking about the 92 vs 100 strokes per min and realized that the tractor rpm must be at the full pto rpm to get the 92 strokes per min. I rarely run the equipment at the max pto rpm. I probably could increase my speed by just making sure I am close to the max rpm. I am really not in that big a hurry unless I see storm clouds gathering in the distance. I also wonder if the faster rpms and speed could impact the knotter process as well as getting those jumbo bales with large flakes.
> 
> We pride ourselves in selling good quality grass hay to horse people. Our customers come back year after year and there is a waiting list to buy our hay. Damp hay that results in mold won't do.


I would run your baler flat out at full 540 pto to get your max strokes per minute and smaller flakes per bale. You also gain the momentum of the flywheel. Ultimately the bale length is going to be a function of the final flake of hay, so I'm thinking you are going to have to slow down or make smaller windrows - or both.

Not a Hesston inline, but I've got an old New Holland 68 square baler. The plunger runs on wood maple slides and has a whopping capacity of 65 strokes per minute. We babied that baler due to it's age and had all kinds of bale shape problems. A good friend who knew those type balers told us to run it at 540 PTO and we tried it. First time, it shook our little tractor and sounded like it was going to fly apart. Running it full out made a baler out of it - bricks every time. I know that's not your problem, but if I can run a 60 year old baler at 540, you should be able to easily do the same with your Hesston and it would help with your bale length and capacity.

Good luck!


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