# Hesston/MF Small Inline Baler Questions



## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

Priced three balers today, a MF 1835, NH BC5050 and a JD 328 and have a few questions about the inline MF baler.

1. Sometimes the offset traditional balers may rely on windrow size/ground speed and feeding the windrow into the pickup on the bale chamber side to achieve a uniform bale and minimize banana shaped bales. Is this attention required of the inline baler? I ask this because while I have no problem working the offset traditional baler with respect to the windrow, another family member may not. For example, it might be nice to have my teen daughter on the spur of the moment drive the tractor/baler while me and the boys load the wagon. If I can set a slower tractor ground speed, forget the windrow size and just say center the tractor on the windrow, forget about the baler and go - I've just bought myself another helper in the field. I use my daughter as an example, but the reality is - she is smarter than the rest of the bunch combined..... 

2. I'm selling all of my square bales. Reading and watching some videos, I get the impression the inline balers make solid, square/brick shaped bales out of the box - no tinkering required. Is this so and why? I know from personal experience that a banana bale feeds the same as a perfectly shaped bale, but sight sells and being able to present a perfectly shaped bale makes the sale easier. What problems generally plague an inline baler? I'm baling orchard grass and timothy, maybe some clover mixed in with the orchard grass.

3. I've read the cut side of the bale is on the string side/bottom? What does the other three sides of the bale look like? Could someone post a pic?

4. Being pulled directly behind the baler, how do you monitor the pickup vs an offset/traditional baler? Mirrors?

5. Transport ground speed. How fast and far can you pull one of these inline balers

6. All three of the balers I looked at were the low end offering - which would suit my needs. The JD was the highest and the 1835 the lowest in price. Given what I've read so far, I'm inclined to think the 1835 might be a slightly higher production baler with it's higher plunger strokes per minute and offer a more consistent bale shape than the JD and NH. Thoughts?

Thanks for your help!!!!!
Bill


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

I think they are all good balers and if the inline is cheapest (and is supported by a dealer you want to work with), I'd not hesitate to buy it. I do wonder what age side-pull balers you're familiar with, as some of the banana issues you are concerned with are pretty much non-issues on current balers.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

1. you would still need to increase your speed on a windrow that went from normal type to thin....

2.solid bales out of the box....only problem is it does not like very green hay....it will bale high moisture hay 25-30+% just fine.

3.The other 3 sides look like a brick..

4.Mirrors...but I have a swivel seat in my baling tractor that I offset a little to make glancing back more convienant.

5. 45 mph is no problem...I have not tried faster.

6. the inline would work very well for you in Virginia....you would be well pleased.

Regards, Mike


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

1. Inlines don't slide the crop sideways into the chamber....a leading cause of banana bales
2. Too much wet crop at a time and breaking stuffer shear bolt
3. An inline puts the strings around the bale exactly opposite of the others....turn the bale 1/4 turn and that's the way the strings are on.....not a worry either way....there are two "cut" sides
4. Mirrors or a rotating Air Ride seat...
5. 45mph
6. Don't think any one of those is a higher capacity than the other, all are good machines, buy from whomever has the best price and service....hth


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

8350HiTech said:


> I think they are all good balers and if the inline is cheapest (and is supported by a dealer you want to work with), I'd not hesitate to buy it. I do wonder what age side-pull balers you're familiar with, as some of the banana issues you are concerned with are pretty much non-issues on current balers.


Thanks for the reply.

Just recently getting back into hay with my teenage boys. Years ago I baled with guys that had JD24t (great baler) a New Holland 273 and a Ford 530 or 532 - can't remember. I had a 14t at one time, and presently have what I think is a decent NH68. So to answer your question, older balers.

Window shopping right now. Content with working with my boys on the 68 as they get both the haying experience and wrenching experience too. At some point, I will grow weary of spending more time on my back fixing the baler than baling and will spring for something new or newer. So I've started reading and learning about what's being offered today. If and when I pull the trigger on a newer baler, I want to know what and why I'm getting when I pry open my wallet for it.

Thanks again,
Bill


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## Dill (Nov 5, 2010)

I tell people running the inline is no different then running a round baler. Which makes it easier, you just always look in the same place.


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## PackMan2170 (Oct 6, 2014)

What somedevildawg said. Except I just have to crane my neck around to watch the feeder.

I have a Freeman 14x18" offset and a Case 8550 inline (same as a Hesston 4650). The Freeman, thought slightly faster, stays parked 90% of the time. I LOVE the convinience of a inline. No having to get someone out of bed at midnight to move the bales on the turnrow out of the way, no having to make left turns all the time, just straddle the windrow and go to town!

And it is not slow, either. We double rake all our alfalfa (and its like 1.5-2 ton alfalfa) and usually bale in 2nd or 3rd gear with an 8 speed transmission.

And inlines make a nicer shaped bale in my experience. A whole bunch of 16x18" bricks.


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

PackMan2170 said:


> What somedevildawg
> 
> And it is not slow, either. We double rake all our alfalfa (and its like 1.5-2 ton alfalfa) and usually bale in 2nd or 3rd gear with an 8 speed transmission.....


Some of the videos on line show a few operators FLYING around their fields at a high rate of speed - wow! Can't imagine baling that fast.


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## PackMan2170 (Oct 6, 2014)

And making 70-75lbs bales, not 60#ers


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

PackMan2170 said:


> And making 70-75lbs bales, not 60#ers


Don't want to make the bales too heavy or it will be like this one teen girl who came to get some squares from me and she could barley lift them. Just heavy enough so they don't look sloppy but light enough the small woman can lift them.


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## PackMan2170 (Oct 6, 2014)

hog987 said:


> Don't want to make the bales too heavy or it will be like this one teen girl who came to get some squares from me and she could barley lift them. Just heavy enough so they don't look sloppy but light enough the small woman can lift them.


Yeah, it kinda depends on what I'm doing. Most of my customers have no problem with a 70-75# bale. However, when I used to bale hay for my (ex)girlfriend (who weighed 100lbs soaking wet), I'd make her 55-60#ers.

When i bale 'em that light, I can often bump it up to 4th gear....


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

leeave96 said:


> Some of the videos on line show a few operators FLYING around their fields at a high rate of speed - wow! Can't imagine baling that fast.


Happens frequently in 3rd and 4th double windrowed alfalfa.

Regards, Mike


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

PackMan2170 said:


> Yeah, it kinda depends on what I'm doing. Most of my customers have no problem with a 70-75# bale. However, when I used to bale hay for my (ex)girlfriend (who weighed 100lbs soaking wet), I'd make her 55-60#ers.
> 
> When i bale 'em that light, I can often bump it up to 4th gear....


Not to side track my own post, but this is the catch-22. The horse folks who I want to sell into tell me they want lighter, easy to handle squares, 40ish lbs. My hay crew (my Wife and kids) is not exactly ready for 60 lb bales all day and I'm not sure my aging back can handle to much of that either. But if you cut down on the weight, I guess to get a hard packed bale, the length is going to suffer too.

This inline baler really looks like packs a lot of hay into a bale. Makes me wonder how long a 40 lb bale would be it I ran it through an inline - hard packed, bricked shaped and strings tight. Anyone making a bale like this? What kind of length are you making?

Thanks!
Bill


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## PackMan2170 (Oct 6, 2014)

A. If I had a customer wanting anything under 60#s, I'd have to decide between laughing, telling them to cowboy up, or telling them to get their hay elsewhere.

B. Tell me how do you charge? By the bale or by the ton? And what about your timeline? Are you stacking and then selling all year or going straight to the customer? If you start charging by the bale for the hay, or for the hauling/stacking, or BOTH, your customers will want heavier bales. Your hay crew is another matter, which we can deal with if you can tell me this.

C. I am making like 36-38" bales, and a 65# bale is still decent. So that tells me that a 40# bale would be like 22-24" long..... Sounds like a nightmare to stack....


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

PackMan2170 said:


> A. If I had a customer wanting anything under 60#s, I'd have to decide between laughing, telling them to cowboy up, or telling them to get their hay elsewhere.
> 
> B. Tell me how do you charge? By the bale or by the ton? And what about your timeline? Are you stacking and then selling all year or going straight to the customer? If you start charging by the bale for the hay, or for the hauling/stacking, or BOTH, your customers will want heavier bales. Your hay crew is another matter, which we can deal with if you can tell me this.
> 
> C. I am making like 36-38" bales, and a 65# bale is still decent. So that tells me that a 40# bale would be like 22-24" long..... Sounds like a nightmare to stack....


A) don't ever cross the Mississippi or you'll be telling pretty much everyone that they're doing it wrong.

B.) customers buying bales rather than tons can be convinced of anything. Except paying more per bale.

C) you can make them less dense and still have them around 30-32". Happens all of the time. They remain quite stackable in that proportion.


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## PackMan2170 (Oct 6, 2014)

8350HiTech said:


> A) don't ever cross the Mississippi or you'll be telling pretty much everyone that they're doing it wrong.
> 
> B.) customers buying bales rather than tons can be convinced of anything. Except paying more per bale.
> 
> C) you can make them less dense and still have them around 30-32". Happens all of the time. They remain quite stackable in that proportion.


A. Wow - like I said, even our 100# women out here in cowboy country will throw 60# bales, as long as they aren't having to do a bobtail load by themselves

B. Yep. Its amazing how They don't seem to get the concept that there is MORE HAY in a 75# bale than a 55# bale. Both priced at $10/bale

C. That doesn't suprise me. At 38", a 55# bale is still OK (not great), but I like to keep fairly tight twines.... But keep in mind too that I am doing 16x18"s. I was just making my best guess. I have never intentionally baled a 40# bale....


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## PackMan2170 (Oct 6, 2014)

leeave96, tell me how you are pricing your hay and what your hauling/stacking schedule is and we'll get this deal straightened out

But as far as an inline baler vs offset goes, I MUCH prefer the inline, both for driving convienience and making bricks. And I have baled more hay than I care to mention with both


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

PackMan2170 said:


> leeave96, tell me how you are pricing your hay and what your hauling/stacking schedule is and we'll get this deal straightened out
> 
> But as far as an inline baler vs offset goes, I MUCH prefer the inline, both for driving convienience and making bricks. And I have baled more hay than I care to mention with both


Right now our hay is low quality stuff coming off some pretty neglected fields. The goal is to move the hay and thatch off these fields and start over. We may transform ourselves into a decent hay operation one of these days, but for now we will make hay off of 12ish acres (more fields may open up later) vs giving them a bush hogging every year and in doing so, give my teenage boys the haying/wrenching experience and perhaps some college book money too.

We are selling to goat folks right now (had no idea goats were so popular), selling out of our barn and by the bale to folks with a pick-up truck and a utility trailer and a need for 50 to 150ish bales at a time. Once we get our fields whipped into shape, we will grow and sell to the horse folks.

We have spent a fair amount of time chatting with local horse owners (our customer base) and they have expressed much interest in smaller, lighter bales - something on the order of 30-32 inches and 35-40 lbs. They want bales that are easy to handle. OK with me to make the smaller bales if that's what the buyer wants. Easier on everyone's back too. We want to make quality hay, but in the end, it's the day job that puts the potatoes on the plate - we'll always be a small operation and cater to hobby farm customers.

Appearance is important too. This is where the inline balers intrigue me. They appear to crank our a really nice looking bale without much if any fuss in the part of the operator. Doesn't sound to me like banana bales are part of the conversation when using an inline baler and if it's as simple as putting an inexperienced operator in the tractor seat with instructions to center the tractor over the windrow and don't look back, all the better.

Thanks again,
Bill


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Leeave, u need to invest in an accumulator and grapple......at the same time, you and your back will thank me later.....don't think I ain't still gonna be work, but you'll put more hay in the barn and more hay in your customers trailer and more money in the fam's pocketbook.....gotta spend it to make it, but in this case you gotta spend it on that or a orthopedic surgeon......my opin anyway, damn a bunch of hand stacking. Hth


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## PackMan2170 (Oct 6, 2014)

Banana bales are a non-issue with a Hesston inline. Just straddle the windrow and go. A trained monkey could drive one, just as long as YOU are in the field to troubleshoot it

And with a bale that light, your girl won't even be able to plug it up before bouncing out of the seat by driving too fast

As for the other, If you are spending your money (or labor) to stack it, I would definitely upcharge for a lighter bale. Lighter bales = more bales = more time, more trips, more twine, more barn space, more baler matainence, and the list goes on. But that is just my $.02. If you don't care about that, then yeah, make your customers all happy.

I am just having trouble fathoming 40# bales.... even the feed store in town here sells 55#ers....


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## cornshucker (Aug 22, 2011)

2014 our first year with the inline. Would not want to go back to the sidepulls of any brand. Does everything it is supposed to do and does it well. Very consistent bales that stack great. Best adjustment you can ever make to a NH stackwagon is put an inline baler in front of it.


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## bjr (Jan 24, 2013)

I've got a New To Me Hesston 4550 coming from outta state, (might not see it until Newyear's tho). My old NH 269 was just to cumbersome to get in and around the small fields especially with all the irrigation riser pipes in the way. I sell maybe 70# bales of mostly alfalfa. I sell it as "animal feed". They can feed it to whatever critter they want. I just won't call it "Horse Hay". So far I've not had any problems selling it. Now I need a small 3 pt rake of somekind any suggestions as to make and model? bjr


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

Maybe start a new thread about your rake search. And read as many of the archived threads as you can.


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## Cliff SEIA (Dec 18, 2008)

We moved from a NH to a Heston 4590 9 years ago and would never go back. We've done some custom baling and sold several thousand bales (up to 11,000/year) to horse owners and the first comment we hear is how nice the bales are. The pickup on the Hesston is a little less forgiving to clumps of wet hay but since we went to a rotary rake that has become a non issue.


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## YODA (Oct 24, 2013)

I am running a Hesston 4550 behind a compact tractor (Bobcat CT 235). It the first year I am running it with no issues except what twine to run. It needs Briden 9600 to be perfect.

Over the summer I have had to tweak the length to get 36" bales and am running the bale tension fairly light to get 50-60 lb bales. While not an expert by any means I have had zero issues with windrows going from light to heavy (I slow down on the heavy) - baler does not seam too care. Sometimes it throws a short length though.

Another thing I had to learn is to install the bolt from the bottom up on the hitch to not drag hay as I run over the windrow, otherwise no issues there either as some had predicted.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

YODA said:


> Another thing I had to learn is to install the bolt from the bottom up on the hitch to not drag hay as I run over the windrow, otherwise no issues there either as some had predicted.


Yep, that is how the bolt works. 

Regards, Mike


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## YODA (Oct 24, 2013)

You made me laugh this morning. What is strange is the owners manual says nothing about the bolt arrangement, or whether to have the flat or crowned side of the pivot ball against the top of my draw bar. I run the curved/round side against the draw bar and have the lock washer/bolts against the flat side. This gives the hitch a little bit of movement as the ground changes. I have been tempted to place a couple of washers between the bar and pivot ball to give it even more freedom to rotate.

How do you folks hitch up?


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