Bale Bandit Pickup, Is this a fix?

There are a number of members on HT that have indicated problems breaking a twine on small squares on Bandit pickups.

 

My 100 series has a homemade pickup that in 6 years I cannot recall it breaking a twine.

 

Looking down on my pickup the width at the throat is only 16 inches which would seem to be too narrow for an 18 inch wide bale. If you look where the green and black broom handle is you will see it is only momentary the reduction to 16 inches and only on the 2x1 inch rectangular hollow section used, not the full height of the wings. 

 

A couple of more views of the pickup on my machine:

 

 

 

The teeth on my pickup do not have the 200 series bridge welded across the top, tand although he teeth are rounded on the tips, the potential to break a twine would be greater because a tooth would be more likely to penetrate under a twine if the twine were across the path of the tooth.

 

Now let me be clear, I have never seen a 200 series but from descriptions and photographs, I think the throat (The point where the bale contacts the pickup chain) is too wide. I do not have the measurements but from photographs the throat is clearly wider than a bale.

 

With the wide pickup on the Bandit, I believe the bale has too much opportunity to be to one side and have both twines on the same side of the centre of the pickup.

When both twines are on the same side of the centre chain, when the chain penetrates the bale a little and lifts the bale the tooth in lifting the bale slips under the twine and as the bale is pulled up and into line with the pickup chute the bale is forced sideways and breaks the twine.

 

From descriptions, I think the bale enters like this:

 

 

If I am wrong in this assessment then possibly not much point in reading further.

 

My suggested solution is to add new directing rails or shields on both sides and on the inside of the existing pickup wings to narrow the throat opening , so the bale whether perfectly aligned and square-on to the pickup or sliding along one wing always has the leading edge  centred on the pickup chain therefore the pickup chain only contacts the bale between the two twines no matter how angled the bale is between the wings.

With new directing rail/s on the sides the bale would enter more like this:

 

 

I cannot give measurements necessary because I do not have access to a Bandit Produced pickup.

 

The added wings should be approximately 16 to 18 inches apart at their ends and those added wings terminate level with the centre of the lower pickup chain idler wheel. The added wings also must be symmetricaly placed to the centre line of the pickup and chain.  i.e. each is 8 to 9 inches from the centre of the chain on the lower idler wheel. 

If planning to make modifications, try a layout with a bale in all possible positions so as to determine measurements, angles and proportions, to ensure that the added rails still permit the bale to travel smoothly to the throat and chain.

It may be necessary to put a kink in the added rails , at the point where the Bandit's existing wings have skids under  or  at least on one rail, see the  pics above of my pickup and the wing on the right. Note the wing on the left is shorter than the other. This wing is opened only enough to run just inside the tractor's left rear wheel.

 

So the other wing can be set wider as it is away from thee tractor's rear wheel.

 

Soe may prefer to add a sheet metal additional wings rather than just rail/s.

 

Any comments and improvements would be welcomed by some frustrated Bandit owners.

 

And as they say in the classics  "any questions"?

 

Bale Bandit Pickup, Is this a fix?