# New Holland 640 questions



## TheFastMan

I've been looking around for a round baler and came across a good deal on a New Holland 640. I just wanted some basic information on the as I can't really find much on the internet. The ad says it will do a 4x4, 4x5 or 4x6 bale. What I found says it is only a 4x5. Also, can I run this with about 50 PTO HP? I've heard that these are pretty reliable balers and make a good bale. Are they pretty easy to work on? Hydraulic tension? Soft of solid core? What is auto-wrap? Thanks for the help, I'm entirely new to round balers!


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## TheFastMan

Does anyone think I could at least run it with my tractor?


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## hay rake

fast man hear goes.i know nothing about a 640 but i believe it was the predecessor to the 740 so most things should be close. with the help of my farm guide and my 740 operators manual hear is what i guess. it will make a 60" bale and you can probably run it with you tractor,probably. the specs for a 740 start at 45 hp and go to 65 hp depending on pick up and such. a 640 weighs from 4000 lbs to 4300 lbs. and some times the weight requirement for a piece of equipment is more about the tractor to be massive enough to safely haul something as opposed to running it. also i believe it will be a solid core. with auto rap you have a small monitor that shows bale formation. you preset the size bale you want and when you get to that size an alarm will sound. at this point you stop forward movement and the bale will tie. if you do not stop the bale will still start to tie and you will have net or twine mixed with hay going onto the bale. a call to a new holland dealer should set you straight on all your questions. i hope this helps but please take most of it with a grain of salt gary


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## TheFastMan

Thanks a bunch, yes that helps. I'll call my dealer and see if they can tell me anything else.


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## mlappin

A 640 is strictly a 5' diameter bale but can be set to make em smaller. The add is wrong, can't make a 4x6 with em. I'm guessing when you mention autowrap it does not have the bale command which is a deal buster for me, but might work very well depending on how much hay you'll be rolling with it. I also believe an autowrap baler is strictly twine, again a deal breaker for me. I ran my NH644 with a Oliver 1600 diesel which I believe the pump was set for 67hp with the last rebuild. A tractor with 50hp should do fine on fairly flat ground, my 67hp tractor would run out of poop on a big enough hill unless you downshifted half a gear. Biggest thing is having enough tractor weight to keep the baler under control on any hills.


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## TheFastMan

According to tractor data.com, my tractor (JD 2020 gas) weighs in at about 5700lbs, and around 7500lbs with ballast. I think the rear tires are loaded, but I'm not sure. It has a 48 loader on it and pretty heavy 4-post ROPS with canopy. So, it does have quite a bit of weight to it. I won't be doing a lot of hay, under 100 bales I'm sure. Just getting tired of waiting on people when hay is ready to bale and time and labor is short for putting up squares. I have one more question, what are you paying for net wrap? How far does a roll usually go? I know price probably depends on area. Just want a broad idea.


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## Nitram

jprichett on this site sells wrap which I have read is of good quality and fair on the price. You might PM him for quotes


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## Gearclash

So far as I know "auto-wrap" on New Holland means no Bale Command, which means no net wrap. Might want to look into that.


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## TheFastMan

I know the 640 is twine only. I just found a net wrap Krone and I was wondering how much more net wrap was compared to twine and how far a roll went. I'd like net wrap, but I'm not sure if I can afford a baler with it or the wrap itself.


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## hay rake

don't worry about the price of the net. the time and diesel fuel you save with net will make you forget the price of twine. the fuel it takes to wrap with twine will pay for the net. also with my baler it takes about 45 seconds per bale longer to wrap twine. also the bales look, handle and keep better. when we first bought a baler with net we were going to bale some less than desirable hay. i told my father that we would bale with twine because of the lower cost. after baling five bales i reached up hit the net button. that was eight years ago and i have never pushed the twine button again. if you buy a baler that will do both then you have a choice. as the other post's tell you no net is a deal breaker for them also. it sound's like such a small thing but once you use net your twine system will rust solid from lack of use. you may also notice a lot of manufacturer's are offering baler's with no twine because it is an added cost that most people don't want. gary


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## Gearclash

On a 5 x 6 round net costs about 50- 55 cents per turn. I usually use 2.25 turns on hay. The only real cost issue is the up front premium for the netwrap option on the baler.


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## mlappin

hay rake said:


> if you buy a baler that will do both then you have a choice. as the other post's tell you no net is a deal breaker for them also. it sound's like such a small thing but once you use net your twine system will rust solid from lack of use. you may also notice a lot of manufacturer's are offering baler's with no twine because it is an added cost that most people don't want. gary


The last baler I bought came with twine, before the first use I completely removed it as I won't ever use it and it's just another place for chaff to build up.


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