# BR780 New Holland



## lavacarancher (Jul 15, 2013)

Morning, Folks.

I'm new here and this is my first post.

After I destroyed my BR780 the first time I figured out that hay was getting wrapped around the sledge roller and packing between it and the baler body causing the roller to "lock" and break things. I took it to the dealer and told them what I suspected was wrong but basically was told I didn't know what the heII I was doing. Well, long story short the baler has broken no less than 7 times with only about 100 bales run through it.

After reading here the exact same thing about the BR780 it has been confirmed that the symptoms are the same and the results are the same. I too have discovered that larger wind rows seem to help the problem. but I have not tried to slow forward motion of the tractor down on smaller windrows. I'm not sure that's going to help but I'm sure going to try it.

Has NH factory acknowledged to problem and have they recommended a fix?

They didn't tell me when I bought the baler that I couldn't bale just like my old chain baler or even like the 660. I also suspect that the type of hay has something to do with it also. I bale Bahia, Coastal and Gordo Bluestem. It's the Bahia (yea, I know about Bahia) that creates the problem.

I'm going to decrease the space between the stripper roller and the sledge roll to see if that helps (as was recommended here).

OK, that's it. Thanks for letting me vent and if anyone has any other suggestions please let me know. Repair of this baler is getting expensive.

One last thing. The dealer loaned me an old 660 to finish my fields and it worked perfectly, never looked back, never choked on the larger windrows, made good looking, square shouldered and evenly distributed bales.

Earl


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

Yup those old 660 balers were great, long as a guy greased the heck out of them. I have baled beside br 780's before and I think they make most every other baler look good by comparison. They make a nice bale but they frag if they are pushed at all.


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## jrwhit04 (Jun 28, 2010)

Sorry to hear about your troubles, we have a BR780 and have had nothing with problems with it since we got it. I am a mechanical engineer by trade, and it's taken everything I can do to keep this thing in the field for the last couple years. So far this year, we have gone through 3 bearings for the rollers on the top of the door (yes we grease regulary) and 1 bearing in the pickup let loose and let one of the pipes that the teeth are mounted to get jammed up in the pickup and now I have a "thump" happening when baling that is large enough that I can feel it on the tractor.

Wish I had an answer for you, but I just wanted to let you know that I feel your pain, the BR780 will turn out a pretty bale when working properly, and it sure will gobble up some hay quickly too, but it has MORE than it's share of issues in my experience.

What I would like to know is how the new BR 7000 series balers compare to the old 700 series. Even after all this trouble I hesitate to change to a Deere baler just because I understand how the BR works, and we have decent dealer support but I sure would feel stupid if we bought a new baler and had the same issues.


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## mike10 (May 29, 2011)

It is unfortunate that you both are having the problems you have experienced. I have found there is a certain point where you just need to go through the baler. It is not just a matter of bales through the baler but also years. I have replace bearings that had what I would consider a low bale count where the bearing side shields have rusted through. This is not a condition of use but age and the conditions the baler is operated in or stored in. When you replace the upper tailgate bearings, tailgate nose roll bearings or the backwrap roll bearings on early BR balers you need to check the roll shafts for wear and wobble. Just putting new bearings on will not correct the problem and will fail in a short amount of time.

It is unclear what problems the original poster was having and I am not familiar with the crops he is baling. Was there seven different failures or the same failure seven times?


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Have you had any manufacturing updates put on?

I send my BR780A baler to the dealer every 2-3 years and have them go over it and install any new mfg updates.

Also, how you start a bale may be causing the problem. I roll into a windrow running about 400-450 RPM and go about 30-50 feet then start easing the RPM's up to about 520-540.

Is it possible that you are not getting the bale started evenly? If your windrows are a single line, you might be overfilling one side and causing the rollers to pickup too much hay on one side. You need to fill the chamber equally when starting.

A good start on a bale in mandatory. There are suggested patterns for starting a bale in the 780 manual.

Hope this helps.

Ralph


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Easiest way to start a bale is to make sure your row that you are baling is the same width or slightly wider than the bale chamber, this eliminates all that annoying weaving. I don't idle down at all but do start at a slower ground speed until I see the pressure gauge start to move then I speed up and jam it in fast as it'll take it, but I'm also running a BR740A.


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## haybaler101 (Nov 30, 2008)

I have had two 780's. 9000 bales on first and 13,000 on this one. Had one bearing out of roller. Rebuild pickups every 5000 bales. Finally broke my 1st belt. Drive like hell, never slow rpms below 1000, and haven't seen a green or yellow baler yet that will stay with them!


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## lavacarancher (Jul 15, 2013)

Thanks for all the replies.

I'll expand on the problems a little starting with the type of grass(es) I bale for hay. First, Bahia is a very fine bladed grass in the Bermuda family. It was touted as being a very fast recovery grass AND it could be planted from seed rather than sprigging. It was a popular addition to the hay fields in S. Texas before folks got to see the down side - very hard to cut, very fine bladed leaves especially when dry and it will choke out any other grass that it comes in contact with. Good grass for forage (cattle love it) but IMO it does not belong in a hay field.

Next is Coastal Bermuda. Most people are familiar with Coastal in the Southern US. I don't have a lot of trouble baling Coastal that I've discovered - yet.

Next is Gordo Bluestem or Big Bluestem. Bluestem is a native grass to Texas and the Gordo is a hybrid. It has broad leaves (compared to the Bermudas), kinda' stemy, comes off late in the growing season, will produce close to 3-4 tons/acre and has reasonably good protein. Cuts well and bales well but takes at least three days to dry. Would probably work better if it was cut with a conditioner.

Ok, lets talk about the baler. This baler was built in December of 2006 and was sold in July of 2007. The machine was taken back from the owner by the FSA in the early Spring of 2008 and I bought it at the beginning of haying season, 2009. Baler looked brand new and still had yellow paint on the pick up roller. It is kept in a shed and is lubricated frequently. I've had one bearing in one of the last roller stages go out but ALL other failures have been related to the sledge roller (and stripper). It's an easy machine to grease because almost all of the bearings are lubricated from remote zerk fittings.

I appreciate the comments on starting the roll. I don't do any of those things. I start at the beginning of the windrow, pull the hammer back to PTO speed and give her heII. When I get the baler back from the dealer I will try to mend my ways and be a little more gentle on starting the roll. I am pulling the baller with an IH 1486 so I don't think HP figures in. The dealer has never mentioned anything about upgrades or improvements from the factory.

Someone mentioned changing to a green machine and I have thought about it also - even went to the JD dealer and talked about his balers. I liked what I saw but as mentioned, they all have problems - including JD and I just don't want to try and learn a new set of tricks. Besides, those green machines go for about $40K.

The BR780 is heII when it's well. Just don't like all the break downs and I sure don't like the feeling of being out there all alone with NO help from the factory. This problem is OBVIOUSLY a design problem with a little operator error (maybe).

Thanks again,

Earl


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## Chessiedog (Jul 24, 2009)

I have seen dealer welding small rods to one of the rollers to make it more aggressive . But what baler it was or roller I don't remember . I think the problem was having a hard time getting a bale to start . I have a 9 or 10 year br770 with 12000 bales through it ,it been great .Hate to hear your having so much trouble .


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## Harrisfarms (Jul 17, 2013)

I am on my third br baler just retired my 05 750 it had 23000 bales on it never any big issues. Now we have my br 7070s. I love them perfect bale every time. They make a very tight consistent bale. I put 4900 bales on my 2011 last year and had a pickup bar break and the net actuator went out. And almost that many between the both so far this year and havent been out of the tractor other than changing net wrap. I have buddys that had jd change because they couldn't make as nice or heavy bale. I hope its gets fixed. All equipment wears out better to replace than fight it sometimes.


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