# New Holland 276 broken needle



## nzfarmer (Apr 26, 2017)

Hi,

My new holland 276 conventional square baler has broken one of its needles and i cant figure out why this has happened. I have removed all the hay from the bale chamber hoping to find something in there that the needle could have hit but i couldnt find anything. I don't think there is a problem with the timing of the machine that could have caused the plunger to hit the needles because then they would both be broken??. I did notice there was some twine stuck in the billhook of the knotter that has a broken needle, not sure if that could have anything to do with it. Is there anything else someone could suggest I check as I would like to know why the needle broke before I put a new one in or repair the broken one if possible. Any help is much appreciated.


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## mike10 (May 29, 2011)

Be sure to take a close look in the needle slot of the plunger for any obstruction. Also check that the needle safety latch is working and adjusted properly. Check the hay dogs and the hay dog springs so they are working and not allowing hay to push back to a point where the needles are coming up through hay. Check the needle timing, you may have been lucky and broke only one needle.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Mike10

I'm asking not contradicting your statement!!

I'm more familiar with JD sq balers than NH but the principle is similar. I agree on checking for obstruction in slots in PH but how can faulty hay dog operation cause a needle to break? I also agree it's very important to check for correct operation of PH safety latch(stop). If baler is timed correctly the needles start into chamber through PH slots while PH is on compression stroke then as PH retracts needles come down out of knotters & bale case. If "PH is timed correctly" I see no way needles can push up through hay even with non operating hay dogs so could you please explain how this can come about???.

Thanks,Jim


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## mike10 (May 29, 2011)

I have seen hay pack in the needle slot of the plunger and break a needle., the only way I can see it packing in the slot is if hay is getting on the back side of the needle. I had a troublesome baler years ago baling straw. You could see the needles come up through the straw. The hay dogs were not the problem that cured it, but adding extensions onto the plunger face did. This forced the straw back farther so the needles came up through clean space. We were missing on #2 twine because the straw was pushing the twine to the side. Is it the cause? Who knows, but it is worth checking. The only other thing is if there is hay between the plunger and needles, the needles will be pushed forward and hit the bottom of the knotter. He did not say which side, but I am betting the right side.


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## qcfarms (Dec 14, 2014)

On my JD346 I had a needle hit the pin that connects the plunger head to the pitman. There was a set screw on the pin that came loose and allowed the pin to slide over into the needle slot on the cut side of the plunger. It did not break the needle but it did shear the flywheel bolt and the needle drive shear bolt.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

I agree PH extensions really help tying problems especially in spongy hay. I don't understand how hay can get between PH & needles during tying cycle if baler is timed correctly? Maybe NH baler times with needles further away from face of PH than a JD baler.


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## mike10 (May 29, 2011)

On the older balers, like this 276, the face of the plunger had triangular pieces welded at the top and bottom that extended about an 1 1/2" from the face of the plunger. While the needles are never in front of the plunger face material can still work around the top and the bottom of the plunger. A plunger with worn bearings increases the clearance on top of the plunger and hay dogs which are not working only makes the problem worse since hay is sticking back towards the feeder. There should probably never be enough hay in a single charge to break a needle, but I have seen it packed deep in the plunger needle slot. There may be another cause but eventually if enough hay packs in the slot there will be no room for the needle.

Looking at the broken needle should give some clue as to when in the tying cycle the needle broke. If the needle broke about 8" down then something interfered in the needle travel. If the needle also broke at the base of the needle then the needle was probably hit by the plunger and hay.

There are times you just cannot find a cause for a single needle breaking. All you can do is check as many possibilities as you can and hope for the best. We also may not be getting the full story as to how the needle failed.


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

I'm thinking that is the baler is in time, the needle brake is loose. Hit a bump and the needles go into the baled chamber and bam - a broken needle.


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## nzfarmer (Apr 26, 2017)

I have had a look at the baler and cannot see anything in the plunger slots that the needle could have hit, the needle drive timing also appears ok. The needle that has broken was the left hand side one and is broken in one place about half way up. I will have a look at the safety latch in the next few days when I get some free time, also, how do I know if the safety latch is correctly adjusted?. I was not running the baler at the time the needle broke but he told me the baler was completely empty when he started, began feeding hay into it and noticed broken bales behind him. The other knotter was still tying correctly and the baler has worked flawlessly all season until this happened.


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## mike10 (May 29, 2011)

First make sure the needle latch is working and not stuck before adjusting anything. Whenever the needles enter the bale chamber the needle latch should pivot into the bale chamber and block the crank arm if the baler gets out of time. If the latch does not enter the bale chamber then it is stuck.

The needle latch should be the first area you check when you pull the baler out of the shed at the beginning of the baling season.

Strange things can happen to break a needle but if the needle latch is stuck only bad things can happen.

You may need to enlarge the pdf I am attaching to see the inset drawing over the photo of the side of the baler.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Mike10

Thanks for your explanation. I don't ever remember seeing hay get into slots in PH built for needles to travel BUT I'm sure you've repaired many more sq balers than I have.

Thanks again,Jim


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Checking operation of PH safety latch & pto slip clutch should be performed before the 1st sq bale of hay is made. Does needle frame have any side to side motion which could possibly allow needle to hit the bale case or knotter?


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## Farmerbrown2 (Sep 25, 2018)

I know this may sound crazy maybe a little stone or stick got in the way and fell back out it might have been a fluke. Dumb stuff happens when farming especially with balers . I know one time years ago I broke both needles on our NH 316 dad had dealer come out and they could find nothing wrong stuff happens.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

"The other knotter was still tying correctly and the baler has worked flawlessly all season until this happened."

On my NH 326 Hayliner, the knotter drive chain broke. When repairing it, I failed to retime the drive and broke one needle. Since retiming the knotter drive system and then replacing the needle, the baler is working properly.


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## nzfarmer (Apr 26, 2017)

farmerbrown said:


> I know this may sound crazy maybe a little stone or stick got in the way and fell back out it might have been a fluke. Dumb stuff happens when farming especially with balers . I know one time years ago I broke both needles on our NH 316 dad had dealer come out and they could find nothing wrong stuff happens.


Yea that could be possible


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## nzfarmer (Apr 26, 2017)

mike10 said:


> First make sure the needle latch is working and not stuck before adjusting anything. Whenever the needles enter the bale chamber the needle latch should pivot into the bale chamber and block the crank arm if the baler gets out of time. If the latch does not enter the bale chamber then it is stuck.
> 
> The needle latch should be the first area you check when you pull the baler out of the shed at the beginning of the baling season.
> 
> ...


Thanks, I'll have a look at it tomorrow


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## nzfarmer (Apr 26, 2017)

I just had a look at the baler again, turned the flywheel by hand and tripped the knotters several times and could see the safety latch enter the bale chamber. I did notice a grease nipple on the pivot under the baler I didn't know about so it could have been sticking as I never greased that one before.


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## nzfarmer (Apr 26, 2017)

Tx Jim said:


> Checking operation of PH safety latch & pto slip clutch should be performed before the 1st sq bale of hay is made. Does needle frame have any side to side motion which could possibly allow needle to hit the bale case or knotter?


There is no sideways movement from what I can see


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

We've broken just one before, never could find a reason. We always kept a spare hanging on the wall. It's possible if they break at the base to weld em back together.


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## nzfarmer (Apr 26, 2017)

mlappin said:


> We've broken just one before, never could find a reason. We always kept a spare hanging on the wall. It's possible if they break at the base to weld em back together.


I might repair the broken one and keep it as a spare, what's the best way to repair a broken needle?


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

nzfarmer said:


> I might repair the broken one and keep it as a spare, what's the best way to repair a broken needle?


I've seen several broken needles repaired by welding. After welding be sure to check for correct shape of the needle compared to a good needle.


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