# Vermeer 554 xl baler problem



## Mclopton (Jun 21, 2016)

I'm having issues with my 554 xl. The bale is feeding to the front of baler, packing in the front or hay is jamming in the starter roller. In the process the belts will crawl and then I gotta dig the bale out. Ive tried different speeds, adjusted belt tracking, adjusted wind guard. I've got new OEM belts on it that are notched. I bought this new a few years back, it only has about 5000 bales on it. Never had a minute of trouble til now. I've dug countless bales out of it the past 2 days. I've tried baling early morning so hay isn't too dry, makes no difference. I got about 100 acres on the ground needing baled so any advice would be appreciated.
Matt


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Matt

Welcome to HT. Have you read your balers operators manual? I read where pickup teeth can be adjusted on some Vermeer rd balers but I don't know if that applies to your model. What type hay are you attempting to bale?


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## Mclopton (Jun 21, 2016)

Yes, I've got all the manuals and adjusted everything I can think of. I'm baling coastal now but I've had the same problem with baling our hay grazer.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

I guess your bale starting problem is one reason I see mostly green balers in the fields around where I live.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Mclopton said:


> I'm having issues with my 554 xl. The bale is feeding to the front of baler, packing in the front or hay is jamming in the starter roller. In the process the belts will crawl and then I gotta dig the bale out. Ive tried different speeds, adjusted belt tracking, adjusted wind guard. I've got new OEM belts on it that are notched. I bought this new a few years back, it only has about 5000 bales on it. Never had a minute of trouble til now. I've dug countless bales out of it the past 2 days. I've tried baling early morning so hay isn't too dry, makes no difference. I got about 100 acres on the ground needing baled so any advice would be appreciated.
> Matt


My guess would be the pickup teeth are shot.The tension in the rubber is gone.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Tx Jim said:


> I guess your bale starting problem is one reason I see mostly green balers in the fields around where I live.


Such helpfull information you give at times.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Please forgive me! 

So what's your reasoning for very few Vermeer rd balers seen baling in fields around me. There are Vermeer dealers located within a short drive from me in several directions. Closest Vermeer dealer that I purchase repair parts for my M7030 is only 8 miles from my house. This Vermeer dealer is also a Kubota dealership with 4 locations. I'm confident you won't agree with me but having to replace pickup teeth because the tension in rubber is gone is IMHO poor engineering. I'll bet my green rd baler still has a large majority of original pickup teeth and it's 12 yrs old and has baled over 22,000 bales.

Jim


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

Hey Tx green Jim, a Deere baler with an upper drive roll chain that jumps off the idler every time you hit a ditch is a shitty design. IMO.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Bonfire said:


> Hey Tx green Jim, a Deere baler with an upper drive roll chain that jumps off the idler every time you hit a ditch is a shitty design. IMO.


I wouldn't know as I've owned 5 different JD rd balers since '87 that have baled a combined 150,000+ rd bales & never had that chain jump off the idler from crossing a ditch. Maybe you should consider slowing down a little when you cross ditches or possibly monitoring chains more closely for wear!!! 

You call me "Green" but in addition to JD I also presently own Ford,Vermeer,Kubota,Krone & H&S equipment. I buy equipment that I think is the best for ME !


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Tx Jim said:


> I buy equipment that I think is the best for ME !


As do the rest of us.

Our area has slowly switched to Vermeer balers over the last 10 years. The Deere baler owners around here know better than to challenge a Vermeer baler.

I will take my rubber mounted pick up teeth over the thick stiff pick up teeth that plow on rolling ground.

I have never worked for Deere or Vermeer. My opinion is not clouded by employee loyalty.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Tx Jim said:


> 'm confident you won't agree with me but having to replace pickup teeth because the tension in rubber is gone is IMHO poor engineering. I'll bet my green rd baler still has a large majority of original pickup teeth and it's 12 yrs old and has baled over 22,000 bales.
> Jim


It's the way a Vermeer baler is engineered that the teeth are pushing the hay I against the bottom roller to start it rolling and it works great as long as the teeth are good.The teeth need to be replaced when they get weak so basically a wear item.Vermeer has since gone to a heavier tooth so they don't have to do it as often.Totaly different engineering and design then other balers that the pickup teeth only pick up the hay so yes they do wear out,it's a wear item.

Vermeer has improved the teeth since the XL and made them heavier.JD also went to a sq tooth that is heavier then the rd tooth they had.All companies are constantly improving.And they all have had issues.jD included.

thanks for the reminder I have to stock up on JD replacement teeth we sell thousands of them every yr,even tho they aren't supposed to break.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

swmnhay said:


> Vermeer has improved the teeth since the XL and made them heavier.JD also went to a sq tooth that is heavier then the rd tooth they had.All companies are constantly improving.And they all have had issues.jD included.
> 
> thanks for the reminder I have to stock up on JD replacement teeth we sell thousands of them every yr,even tho they aren't supposed to break.


Thanks for reminder how much I dislike someone implying I stated something similar to my EX-WIFE that I DIDN'T STATE. I never stated JD rd baler teeth don't break. I stated my JD baler still had some of it's ORIGINAL teeth. Some rd balers operators think teeth are designed to PLOW not pick up hay. If you sell 1000's of JD pickup teeth then you must have "a lot of JD rd balers baling hay" in your trade area. :lol:


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Don't matter what brand you own, each one has it's quirks.

I've only seen a few green round balers in the area and one Vermeer. A few odd ball Cases and others, think somebody has a M&W in the area.

Have never seen a JD square baler in person even the guy I know that has a green round baler owns a NH square baler.

I have 15,000 bales on my NH, need to weld key stock between the round bars on the bottom roller, they are getting more egg shaped than round and first starting a bale is questionable in dry material.

I think I still have a few original teeth on my round baler as well, easy to tell when changing one as it's a 1/4" shorter than the new one.

Not just a Vermeer thing, NH has the rubber mounted teeth on their bar rakes, can look just fine, you need to grab it and make sure its not coming un-bonded from the metal bracket that bolts to the bar.


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

Well, there's quite a few Vermeer round balers in these parts, lots of Deere's, and a lot of NH's. A few Hesstons, CaseIH's, and other brands.

I know that the older Vermeers seem to have more problems starting a bale in dry, slippery crop. Several years ago, I had a co-worker trying to bale some dry bluestem hay, and his old Vermeer baler wouldn't start a bale in it to save his life. He'd eject about 4-5 wads before he could ever get it to start a bale. He asked me to come bale it for him, and I rolled it up no problem with my old Ford 552 (Gehl ~1400) baler. His was an old "I" series Vermeer I think...

I like the looks of the Vermeers, they're built like a battleship (at least the newer ones, the older ones I'm not so crazy about) BUT they DO have a reputation of having a hard time in certain crop conditions, at least around here.

Later! OL J R


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## Widairy (Jan 1, 2016)

I have ran and owned both brands. They are definitely different. I had a 535 Deere. It was a good baler, bought it used and was never impressed with how tight of a bale it would make even with bale settling maxed out. The Vermeer I have is a 664 Rancher, their economy baler. I basically traded to the Vermeer to get net wrap. The Vermeer runs slower, but takes the hay through about as fast. I really like having the bale ride on the drum/roller in the bottom of the chamber instead of on the belts as the Deere is designed. Around here you see a handful of Deere a handful of Vermeer and a handful of New Holland. I've seen good bales and ugly bales out of all. And the Vermeer I have seems built much heavier than the Deere.


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## barnrope (Mar 22, 2010)

My 554XL didn't have a start roller scraper and was causing similar issues. I put a piece of angle iron in about 1/4" from the start roller and those problems disappeared.

......And yes I love green, but love the yellow better when it comes to balers... We have over 16,000 through our 2014 model.


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## E220 (Feb 10, 2016)

TL;DR Replace the pickup teeth.

Sorry I missed this flame war! We have had our issues but I try to provide the best service possible!

On a 554XL I recommend replacing teeth every 3000-4000 bales. The XL depends on the pickup teeth to start the core turning. I'm sorry if you see this as a design flaw, but I fix them, not make them.

Check your cam bearings on the left side of the pickup inside the little plate. Adjust the cam so when the tooth is flush with the stripper band it is centered between the two stripper band bolts. Do the belts ever stop turning? If the big springs are too tight, the belts don't give enough to allow the core to pop up into the chamber. We want the big springs adjusted so the belts just turn when the baler is empty. Also make sure there is no roller bearing out. Loosen the belts, take a bar and wiggle all the rollers.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Actually I don't view it as a flame war. I'm just glad my JD rd baler will still start a rd bale with some of it's original pickup teeth after baling 22,000+ bales instead of having to R&R all pickup teeth at 3000-4000 bales.


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## E220 (Feb 10, 2016)

Tx Jim said:


> Actually I don't view it as a flame war. I'm just glad my JD rd baler will still start a rd bale with some of it's original pickup teeth after baling 22,000+ bales instead of having to R&R all pickup teeth at 3000-4000 bales.


Crop and operator make a huge difference. I have one customer with 8000 on his baler with mostly original teeth. Then there is this other one who needs them every 2000 bales. He bales mainly sticks, rocks, dirt, cornstalks, and silage.

Also, I need to make myself clear: the newer balers do not depend on the teeth to start the bale, so they will last a lot longer.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

E220 said:


> Crop and operator make a huge difference. I have one customer with 8000 on his baler with mostly original teeth. Then there is this other one who needs them every 2000 bales. He bales mainly sticks, rocks, dirt, cornstalks, and silage.
> 
> Also, I need to make myself clear: the newer balers do not depend on the teeth to start the bale, so they will last a lot longer.


I agree on type of crop baled has an affect parts longevity plus there are tractor drivers & then there are tractor operators that take pride in their endeavors.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Tx Jim said:


> I agree on type of crop baled has an affect parts longevity plus there are tractor drivers & then there are tractor operators that take pride in their endeavors.


My Dad's terminology was very similar, "anyone can become a tractor driver, there is a learning curve to become a good tractor operator."


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