Bale shape with older NH balers

As some of you have noted, we recently came into a whole bunch of self-propelled balers ........... five of them to be exact.

 

As haying season was just upon us ... we scrambled like mad beavers to get at least one of them running!

 

Something came up about bale shape and the timing of the cross feed:

 

(This only pertains to the old style ....... pre 580 etc. ............ the ones with a tine bar and the aluminum feed fingers)

 

The classic or "book" adjustment for bale shape is to move the fingers along the tine bar and generally in opposite directions to each other.

 

Ie. if you move the leading set towards the chamber, you move the middle set away from them.  If you move the leading set away from the chamber, you move the middle set TOWARDS them.

 

That all still stands.

 

If you care to change to a different shape and or length of feeder finger that will change things as well......... for better or worse.

 

As always, when you make those changes, you need to make certain you are not causing a hit on the plunger or things will get a lot worse fast!

 

But a new to us concept came by way of an 'ole NH baler salt from our area:

 

This it the concept of trumping the timing of the cross feed bar.

 

The theory goes like this:  If you advance the cross feed timing .......... you allow the hay charge to bounce back from the far baler chamber wall ......... a moment of spring back if you will ........

 

Now again, if you make such a change you definitely need to make sure you are not setting up a cross feed strike on the plunger.

 

On the first NH 1283 we set up we have been baling for about 3600 bales thus far with the cross feed set about 1 1/2" forward of the most advanced timing mark and in inconsistent feeding conditions have been getting great bale shapes.

 

Just food for thought!

 

Three 44s

Bale shape with older NH balers