# chain vs belt baler



## BCollins (Oct 8, 2009)

Have chance to purchase 1985 NH 852 chain baler. What is the down side on chain balers? Have minimal knowledge on belt baler, but none on chain.

What would this baler be worth if in good mechanical shape?


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## okhillbilly (Jun 18, 2009)

I never had a chain baler myself. But an old farmer friend of mine said to never buy one. I trust him and so I stayed away from them. He said something about replacing the chain will cost you more than the baler will ever be worth. I'm sure there are other more experianced people on here that actually had one.


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## rssmike (Sep 13, 2009)

Have a M & W 4x5 round baler vintage about 1986 which have used for maybe 15000 bales. Never had any trouble with the chains, bearings or bars, but pickup needed to be changed out completely after three years.... always made a good bale


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Before I bought my 644 I had a NH chain baler (can't remember the model), in dry hay, they tend to knock _a lot_ of leaves off. They do work extremely well if your gonna roll corn or bean stover. Never had problems rolling cornstalks when I had the chain and slat baler, takes a lot of practice to get a belt baler to make bales all day in stover without having to fight it at least once.


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## sedurbin (May 30, 2009)

I had an 846 before I got the NH644. The Chain Baler would bale-up fence posts, should you ever need to. It made the ugliest bales and caused a lot of shatter, like mlappin said. It was okay when I was just baling for myself but once I started doing custom work and selling hay, it just wouldn't work out with those ugly bales.

As far as rebuilding them, there are a lot of them setting around, so used parts should readily available.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

846?? I think that's what I had. Did it have the floor chains as well instead of a bottom roller?

Mine made a odd size bale as well, like a 54x56 or 56x54. Didn't stack well on the truck at all. Seemed like no matter what we tried, a 500lb bale was tops.


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## sedurbin (May 30, 2009)

Yep that was probably an 846 'cause mine had the bottom chain too. If I sat still for a while after the bale was full size and before putting the string on it, I could get it to tighten a bit then run some more hay in and set again, repeat that for about 3 or 4 times and you could get a 550 pound bale, Maybe? Only good thing was, it didn't care what you ran it over, it would make a bale out it.


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## sedurbin (May 30, 2009)

> What would this baler be worth if in good mechanical shape?


In East Central Missouri, I see working chain balers going for $500~3500 Depending on age and condition of baler.


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## river rat (Jan 16, 2009)

BCollins said:


> Have chance to purchase 1985 NH 852 chain baler. What is the down side on chain balers? Have minimal knowledge on belt baler, but none on chain.
> 
> What would this baler be worth if in good mechanical shape?


I owned 2 855s back in the late 90s till 02. They made a 5.5X5 bale which made for a very wide load, it also had air bags for density control. The 855 made a nice enough looking bale but not as dense as a good belt baler. I custom bale bean straw and corn stalks and that is the only time I really miss the chains because they will bale both crops after sunset when the crops get tough. A little moisture will stop a belt baler dead but the chain balers will keep going. One in good shape should be worth around 3000. Mine had the monitor too.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

I agree on baling literally anything with a chain baler. I finished up a field of cornstalks in the rain once. Hauled those bales right next to the lane so I could feed em right away. Stalks were literally soaked clear thru but never had a problem rolling them up. Had to get er done as it was only supposed to keep getting wetter. Came back later after the ground had froze to pick the rest up.


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## sedurbin (May 30, 2009)

mlappin, How does your 644 do with Corn Stalks? I've never tried them since I got it, I know mine don't like really dry fescue or chopped straw, but then neither do I ;-) other than that I like the baler, a lot.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

From what I found on cornstalks is make a medium to even a smaller size windrow than what it will handle in hay. I've found if the windrow is too large and you have to drive slower is the teeth can't really get a hold of the stover that well, and will keep pushing it ahead of the pickup then it will grab a slug and jam the baler. Make a medium or small size row and drive faster to let the forward speed of the pickup kinda jam the material back against the stripper bands. Once I figured that out I've made a few hundred bales without jamming or blowing a single shear bolt.


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