# Hydraulic Bale Tension



## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

Those of you that have and used hydraulic bale tension on your square balers - is it something you recommend? Or do you get along fine with the hand cranks and springs?

Is your bale density really consistent from bale to bale - especially as the day grows long and baling goes in into the evening and relative humidity and temps change?

Do you set your density (pressure) setting and use that same setting throughout the day and keep it the same for each time out?

Any info is much appreciated.

Thanks!
Bill


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

First baler with hyd tension this year. Like it better than spring tension. We did find we have to set it at the beginning of everyday. Not as nice as the airbaler system on the NH 315. The air system we set at the beginning of the season and never touched again. We will probably be switching it at some point. There are several threads on here about the air system.


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## tjrose81 (Oct 19, 2015)

Have it on 575 new holland always used hand cranks before. Much nicer. Especially because we do some different types of hay and straw. it makes it nice to adjust.


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## covenanthay (Oct 2, 2009)

We have it on a NH 5070 and really like it. We do adjust it during the day if the hay dries more during the day to maintain the consistent bale weight we want,


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

Hydraulic tension is a quantum leap in ease of adjustment over hand cranks but you still have to monitor bale weight/density and adjust as necessary as conditions of moisture content in hay changes.

Hay may dry out or become moist as conditions change principally depending on changes in temperature. We all know of these changes but have you thought of how these changes affect your hay.

Hay is hygroscopic (attracts and absorbs water from the atmosphere) and absorbed water changes the physical properties of the hay. The hay becomes tougher but more pliable, thus resisting shattering, becomes more difficult to cut, and easier to bend or fold.

Being easier to fold means the baler can compress more hay into the same space making the resultant bale denser and heavier.

Absolute humidity (i.e. amount of water in a given volume of air) can and does change over time. Relative humidity is the humidity of greater import to haymakers and is expression as a percentage of water in the air compared to (relative to) the maximum amount of water that the air can hold at that temperature.

A relative humidity of 100% is dew point and if the air temperature falls below that point water condenses out of the air as dew, fog or cloud or when at or below zero degrees as ice in its various forms.

So if the moisture content of the hay is sufficiently less than the relative humidity then the hay absorbs water from the air, becomes softer and the baler has to be adjusted to keep bale weight/density consistent.


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