# Small square baler comparison: pros/cons



## Hedge tree (Jul 18, 2008)

I suspect there would lots of experienced hay guys on this site...probably using all makes/models of equipment. Hopefully avoiding a comparison strictly based on 'color', here is the question:

New Holland BC 5070 (updated 575) and JD 348. Twine tie, hydraulic tension, set up just about equivalent. JD dealer is 20 miles closer. Price is within a few hundred $.

What are the pros/cons using your experience with these machines? I like the central lube feature of the JD but prefer the feed mechanism of the NH over the JD's auger in really heavy stuff. Other than that....I would appreciate your insight and suggestions. An old style Farmhand accumulator will be used....8 bales, flat on string side, pump will have to be driven off the flywheel of each.

Fire away


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

We just traded in a near new 328 and I baled about 2800 bales with it last 
year and it never missed a beat. The only problems I had was in blown down 
areas of Oats hay, the pickup springs would pick it up wrap it across the bands 
and then it wouldn't feed the cut stuff in correctly I suspect that would happen 
with any baler. A couple times I fed it too fast clogged it up between the feeder 
springs and bars that hang over the feeder springs and the bands. The 
auger never had any problems feeding loads of hay in. I had no 
real complaints about it at all, most of my problems was operator errors. We
had the hydraulic tongue positioner and the counter and that's about all the
options we had. I've never ran a NH baler.


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## BCFENCE (Jul 26, 2008)

We ran a 327 jd for 20 years very good baler. I upgraded this past winter and bought a 5070 new holland baler, not because their better , i belive both to be good quality machines, my decison was based on my dealer , my john deere dealer is 18 miles away and very undependable if a holiday was on wensday they would be closed until monday. My newholland dealer would be their any time or day for me if i need parts, thats what made the decison for me. THOMAS


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## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

I had looked at the JD baler (we've run 8 or so 575's, and have 2 new BC5070's here) - the JD 348 looks like a toy comapred to the NH, whether or not it's a good thing, I don't know. I do know the drivline looks a lot smaller on the JD, they say the tension rail falls off after about 100k bales, the pan starts to fall apart around 40K, and the auger.... I have a buddy that ran JD's - at the same time I was looking at the JD, he was looking at the NH, and eventually bought the CIH version - he said that he had to be very careful of the auger in straw - the combine would puke a pile of straw out every so often (especially at the ends), and that pile would clog the auger..... I don't know, I've never run a green one, haven't heard much said about them, other than what he's told me and what I've heard others say. The NH has been extremely good for us. The most complaining that we had was with the paint job a few machines back.

Rodney


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## chadl (Mar 23, 2009)

I would run an agco baler but just my two cents maybe two hard for dealership service. They make a nicer bale in my opinion and are fairly simple to work on. Agco meaning hesston, Cat and massey ferguson. all the same beast. I grew up on a jd 327 i believe but after running an inline i wouldnt have it any other way.


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## kfarm_EC_IL (Aug 5, 2008)

Inline... Our baler was down and a dealer let me use a Massey inline. My only concern is witht the 2 short one ended augers. I could see possible problems there. But others may have a better handle on that. Didn't like the shear pin replacement location. Operator problem.
Mark


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## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

The inline baler seems like it might be a good idea. I've thought quite a bit about them. I wouldn't be worried about the little augers - big balers use them, round balers use them - do they give any trouble there? I have heard of guys having trouble with hay piling up under the tractor - not sure why this would happen, big balers eat twice the hay, and they don't give trouble, do they? I've also heard that the bale doesn't look so nice in grass hay? I have handled some straw bales from an inline, and they looked okay to me.... Is the shear pin replacement really unhandy?

Rodney


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## 4020man (Jun 21, 2008)

I would personally go with the 348. I have had a lot of experience with a 336(currently looking at a 348) I have been really happy with it. The last NH baler I ran, I wasn't too happy with. Had feeder problems, and didn't tie bales right(it was a rental anyway). Also here, dealer support with Deere is a lot better than with NH.


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## greenerpastures (May 7, 2009)

Hello everyone, I am very happy to find a sight where I can learn more about haying. Now, to give my opinion.

My first baler was a NH570 that would eat hay alive but would have some knotter problems every now and then. This led to me standing out in a field with my cell phone ordering a new JD348. I owned the JD for 2-seasons and don't think it ever missed a bale.

That baler now is in somebody elses barn, not because I didn't like it but because a thief liked it too. I now own a NH5070, the NH is heavier, easier to service (I had the uni-luber but never could really trust if all the fittings were open) because the shielding is much better thought out, and will bale circles around a JD. The JD is a great baler but in our part of the country it costs about $2,000 more than the NH comparably equipped. If you want square bales and aren't worried so much about volume then the JD is fine. Having owned both I will have to say the NH is a more up to date and more user friendly design (why can't JD make a shield over the knotters with a latch to stay up?).


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

>"That baler now is in somebody elses barn, not because I didn't like it but because a thief liked it too."

Man I know that had to hurt. I had someone still all my chainsaws and gas leaf blower and I thought that was bad but nothing like an expensive baler. When some scumbag steals your stuff you never quite feel as secure as before, I know I don't.


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## chadl (Mar 23, 2009)

The inline baler shear bolts I guess you can say are unhandy. Thats why u dont go to fast LOL. The hay can drag under ther tractor but the simple remedy to that is to build a slide that fits underneath. As far as not making a nice grass bale I would have to disagree with that statement but each to his own. My inline has somewhere between 50-60000 bales on it since new and havent had any trouble with the augers. Anyway good luck to all.


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## kfarm_EC_IL (Aug 5, 2008)

Our grass bales out of the inline were nice and square. Had comments from buyers on how nice the bales looked.

Yes I needed to slow down, but that is a long story. One of those days you never forget. Remember I said I was borrowing it at the time. Mine wasn't in a running condition.(drive line)

Driving over the hay didn't bother me as much as the turning completly around to see the baler.

At that time, 2 years ago I could get a 348 for 14000, an inline for 16000 and a NH for 17???. I was surprized that the Deere was the cheapest.

Mark


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## chadl (Mar 23, 2009)

Deere the cheapest that is amazing. Actually when I bought my selfpropelled swather it nh and it was more than deere by 10000.


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## johndeere (Oct 31, 2009)

Hi,

On your old NH 570 you said you sometimes had knotter problems. I have a NH 570 and on the right knotter about every 20 -30 bales it will break the twine about a inch back of the knot. Anybody have any suggestions.
Thanks,


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## sread (Nov 9, 2009)

For the notter problems for the NH 570 try loosening the twine holder spring to reduce the tension on the twine


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## johndeere (Oct 31, 2009)

How much should I loosen it by?


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## BCFENCE (Jul 26, 2008)

I believe in your manual it should say how many pounds of pull it should have, I use a small scaleto check it, if you dont have a manual check on line at newholland.com.
THOMAS


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