# Round Baler ???



## Mferguson3525 (Oct 20, 2011)

I am looking to buy a used round baler and have found a couple that I am interested in. I would like your opinions please. I am looking at 4x4 balers.
The first is a Heston 5530 and the other is a new holland 634. I am open to other brands as well but these have caught my eye. Looking to spend less than $5000.00. I sell mostly to horse people







LOL. I would only be doing couple hundred a year and do mostly square bales but would like the option and it is harder to find help nowdays.I dont need anything fancy just something that will get the job done. Thanks for any info....


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

We used the Case/IH version of the 5530 for a few years. I didn't like it but I don't have a lot of round baling experience. Heres why:
-First day of season was spent plugging and unplugging it until it polished up. It was stored inside religiously and looked smooth but it never worked right the first few hours.
-Getting a bale started in some types of hay was a pain, you had to grab a bite and watch to see it get turning. Once turning reliably you could jam a lot of hay into it but don't stall the pickup on a dip in the field or it would plug it.
-Once it was gobbling hay, being a 4x4, it was full in no time so you were stopping, tieing and ejecting what felt like most of the time. Being a single twine tie it took forever to tie. Now I never looked into adding a second or third twine tube which would help.
-Cleaning up the field - 4x4's make for a lot of bales to spear and haul home. We had a double spear and it was still a long process. We would pull double wagons and put 18 bales on each wagon. Our loader could load the wagon from one side.
-Head to head I could bale a field faster on to the ground with my small baler but the rounds would be picked up faster with one loading and the other hauling wagons. With 2 people on the square baler we would be a bit slower baling but the racks were full when we left the field.


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## Nitram (Apr 2, 2011)

I have nothing but high praise for my 605 super j. Double twine tie paid 2000$ and have that again into it but that includes buying a monitor for it. It is a workhorse. Starts easily and plugs seldom,normally my fault. Depending on dealership in your area Vermeer would be MY first choice. Whichever you buy at our budget be prepared to work on it. Martin


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## fredro (May 12, 2012)

look at a krone kr series nice little baler not alot to break wide open chamber get it in it will roll it looking close at one on my third vermeer m series really good machine 3200 rolls just adjusted chain never plugged it krone in the 20 t0 25 thousand range neighbor got one we roll together he drops evertime i do


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

You can also look at other NH models and as long as they have the Bale Command you can set the bale for whatever size you want. You might not be able to get the NH 644 and somewhat newer models for less than 5K though.

I run a LOT more hay though and have made a few hundred in an afternoon but a round baler for 5K or less I'd run the other way.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

My first round baler was a New Idea 4x4. It is a Heston renamed. I liked the little baler and sold it to a friend with horses that bales 10 acres. It is just what he needs, not fancy, manual tie, no bells and whistles.
I roll a lot more hay than I did then and went with a more commercial baler.

In good hay it seemed like I spent more time tying than I did baling.


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## sooner (Sep 3, 2011)

Thought I was looking in the mirror when I read your question. I am in the same boat. I do a small amount of hay and sell to horse people. I also have difficulty in finding help when I need it the most. Hay down with no help and rain in the forcast is a very bad situation. I used to get someone to round bale for me when I got caught in this situation. The problem with this is that when you are small, you are at the end of the line for someone that does custom work and has there own hay. I purchased a JD 430 round baler for $5,000. After a lot of tweaking and learning the quirks of the machine I was quite happy. Nothing like have a field of hay down and dry and being by myself and knowing that you will have the field baled and ready to go home in a short period of time with one person.
Make sure you get an adjustable baler. One that does several sizes, 4, 5, 6. Some horse people like the smaller rounds and some like the larger rounds. I do 4 x 5 when I use the hay myself for outside feeding and do the second cut in 4 x 4 for inside feeding and unwrap the bale to feed in stalls. Also this lets me know what hay is first and second cuts. Get different colours of twine to mark different fields, types or year of hay. still have a little bit our trouble setting baler for fine second cut. Seems to chew up the hay a little. Hope this helps.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

My 5530 is working well now. I replaced the cchain and tensioners after throwing it. A new bearing and another worn out metal part inside of it. I just need to replace a couple new tines for next year. They are a couple bucks apiece. I think the advantage of my 25+ year old baler is the fact that it makes small bales. I am guessing most 4*5 balers have much more use than mine had. 3*4 bales do add up quick. If you are selling by the bale your advantage would be selling less than half the hay for more than half the price. Everyone wants cheaper. Not everyone is bright enough to figure out the difference in hay in a 3*4 4*4 4*5 etc.


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## wileyjd (Sep 2, 2010)

We also do alot of small bales but use the rounds for ends or if a quick rain hits us most of the people willing to feed rd will take a little less quality one thing i would look for would be net wrap over twine we are running a BR740 Nh and the time for twine is slow compared to new wrap


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Not everyone is bright enough.......you said a mouthful there.....no wonder our math scores continue to decline in public schools, nobody bothers to do the math, too much trouble!


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

somedevildawg said:


> Not everyone is bright enough.......you said a mouthful there.....no wonder our math scores continue to decline in public schools, nobody bothers to do the math, too much trouble!


I make lg rd bales and most often you have to get a calculator out to explain to the horsey people why a bigger bale costs more.Daaaaaaaa


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

It's crazy I tell ya, started out making hay for myself, 1000# bales. Started selling hay....tried to get 70$ for it, good luck.....started making 700# bales.....sell for 50$ You tell me the diff. except I have to get more bales out of the field


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I'm still trying to make a consistent 1,000lb 4x5 bale. I'm up to 900-950 now. The BR7060 seems like it has enough cranks in the pressure valve to get me to 1/2 ton rolls. Selling avergae quality 'shroom hay for $105/ton now.
Shipping is the 800lb gorilla in the room for me. I'm paying about $5/roll to ship just 10 miles down the road. So I need to make heavy/compact bales. Maybe it's time to buy a G/N trailer....decisions-decisions......
Maybe I shoulda bought a big square baler, but it'd be a bull in a china shop in some of these little bitty fields I still bale.....lol

Sometimes I think I should ask on of you pros to come up, look at my situation and show me what to do!!!!!!!!!


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

I would do that, I love spending other people's money! Should run for congress If I like it that much, If I run out just come up with a new tax and call it a fee.....Don't get no better than that! 
Transportation can be a problem......one of those often overlooked expenses when figuring out how much you need to charge for your hay!


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## TheFastMan_2 (May 25, 2012)

I don't do a lot of acreage and I bought a Krone Kr125 this spring. I've only had the one season on it, but it's been a good baler. After some adjustments and figuring out the trick to the manual tie, it was baling anything I fed into it. It has even baled corn stalks before by the previous owner. It has net wrap and single twine tie, but it can only handle smaller rolls of net wrap becuase of the space the roll has to fit into. I'll be adding a hydraulic tie kit as soon as I can. If you are doing that many bales the manual tie will get real old real quick. Mine is '91 model I picked up for $4500 from the AGCO dealer. Only downside to this baler is the nearest dealer is 2 hours away and don't stock many parts (they do the big Krone stuff) for this baler. Not too many Krones in Michigan I guess.


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