# NH 634 Problem



## sevenbees (Jul 27, 2010)

Hi all, my first post. I have a 1997 NH 634 round baler. I bought it from a friend a year ago who only put about 100 bales a year through it since it was new. Other than a little oxidation it looks like it came off the dealers lot. When I bought it from him he said that he had a problem with it clogging up with dry hay when it started the bale so he started real slow and low rpms. I have had nothing but problems with the clogging since I have used it. I have tried going slow like he said, I have tried baling the hay at night and early morning when there is moisture in it, I have added square stock to the pick up roller but nothing seems to work consistantly. I will try it and it will work for a couple of bales then it will clog again. It took me 20 hours to put up 80 4x4 bales this year! Once it gets past the initial starting of the roll it will bale like a champ. What the heck is going on. I talked with the dealer service rep and he told me that it is a common problem with round balers. I can't believe that because no one would use them if they clogged like this! I am ready to switch to a different baler but hate to do it since this one is damn near new and I probably won't find another deal like it again. Anybody had the same problem and found the solution? Thanks.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Tell your dealer service rep he is full of sh*t. I had a 644 and now have a 740A and starting bales has never been a problem. Only one time did I have any problems, it was the first time I made a new field and had a hilltop that the hay was very short on, like 8" tall, it was also in the middle of a drought so that stuff on the hilltop was like powder while the rest of the field was around 16%. Baled it in the morning with dew on it and no problems.

Watch your belts very closely when starting a bale, if they look like they slow down or stop when starting a bale, their is a roller that can be moved to increase the tension on em when empty.

Does this have the standard pickup or the stuffer in it? Either way another thing you can try is to adjust the stops on the wind guard to limit the travel on it. This will effectively hold the material tighter to the pickup or stuffer helping it to keep moving. I've had to do this before when baling corn stalks.


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## sevenbees (Jul 27, 2010)

mlappin:
thanks for the reply. I am curious, I have never heard of or seen a stuffer pickup. what is it and where might I find a site on that internet that would show me what they look like? i wondered about the tension on the belts but am not sure what is correct being new to the round baler use. i did check the tension the way the owners manual suggested and they checked out ok, but i will watch them. a gentleman from another site suggested that i check to make sure that the baler was hooked up level, that it could effect feeding. i don't understand how that could effect anything other than dragging your pickup tines, what is your thoughts on that?


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Not a very good picture but here is a picture from the parts book. In the top part of the picture you can see the fingers sticking up between the slats. On the wide super sweeps and xtra sweeps the stuffer takes the hay off the pickup and carrys it up to the bottom feed roller and kinda _stuffs_ it in. If your pickup is the same width as the bale you make, then you won't have the stuffer.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Nvm, picture won't come up like that. I seem to recall on my 644 you could raise or lower the axle position to help with feeding. Thinking you wanted to place the spindle in the top hole to effectively lower the baler and that would change how it fed. Recommended position on mine was in the lower hole which raised the baler.


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## Barry Bowen (Nov 16, 2009)

I have a 654 and when starting the roll, it is best to only feed in the center of the pick up. The only times I have ever clogged the pick up was when I was too far to one side or the other. How big are the windrows you are trying to feed into the baler?


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## sevenbees (Jul 27, 2010)

Barry:
thanks for the reply. i have noticed that the clogs start from the side an work over. the only problem is that my windrows are 4' wide so i can't move any. iam going to try to set the swather rear chutes closer togather if i can.


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## sevenbees (Jul 27, 2010)

thanks again for some good advice. i will take a look at the axles and see if they move.


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## Haymike56 (May 3, 2010)

I am running a 640 and the only time I have a problem with clogging is when the hay is too damp. It always starts at the sides where the short augers are. They just seem to hold damp material and then the clog just gets bigger. What is the moisture of the hay that you are trying to bale?


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## MTelkman (Jul 28, 2010)

I have a 634 without augers that sounds to be of similar age. Mine will plug if the windrows are too wide and if it is primarily slick grass. The hay gets stuck the worst at the outside edges of the pickup and I have to pull it all out by hand after removing the wind guard. I have found that the 634 seems a bit more tempermental than the larger NH balers but it shouldn't slow you down to 20 hours for 80 bales! That would be maddening! I just baled 40 acres of alfalfa grass into 640 bales in about 16-18 hours of baling. I put up about 1500 bales a year with the 634. If the hay is slick dry grass it has the worst time starting a roll and will throw grass out of the top of the baler and make a mess. My 634 is awful in slick dry grass hay. Alfalfa seems like it will always form a bale. The key for my 634 to make good bales is the raking job beforehand. The raked windrow cannot be too wide or it will plug. It can't be stressed enough, good raking is the key to good baling. Another thing I noted on my 634 is the heavy windguard tines will get bent up over time and every year or so I have to bend them back down where they run just above the pickup guards. I really stuff my baler with heavy hay crops though so it may be only me. When the tines get bent up the baler will plug more often and the tines will get stuck above the top feeder roll on occasion. I have to go pretty slow with the 634 because that is the only way it will make a 500+ pound bale. If I try and go too fast I get plugs and loose 400 pound bales.


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