Sorry for your troubles. My hay is every bit of 4’ tall. I can’t get four good days in a row to make hay. It’s been tuff weather wise so far this year. Good luck
Wow - I didn't know this could be a problem, since normally the Haybine is so well suited to cutting grass fields. But the other explanations of grass going over the top of the bar and being pulled from the top would make sense.
Since the grass is lodged it enters on top of the push bar and hits the reel first and gets pulled in, taking the push bar with it, before being cut. No way it was bent just by pushing grass forward. I would be cutting a couple inches higher, which will raise the push bar more than a couple inches
That’s not good. I have an operators manual for the 472/488. In section 5, page 5-1, there is a paragraph that speaks of divider bars and push rod extensions. It states, “The extensions also prevent uncut material from falling over the top of the push bar. If the reel catches this uncut material, the push bar an be pulled back into the reel and severely damage the machine.”
Get a 18’ section of 3/16” thick tube that’s the right diameter and have a metal shop bend it to fit slide it in and drill the bolt holes to match since it’ll have some tweckage due to the bending. That bar protects the reel from front and side damage and your haybine will collapse in on the ends of the reel if that bar doesn’t hold its shape. I’ve struggled with this bar twice before but not anymore…other issues of an older haybine but not this one lol. This year is rough for making hay also turning with the head on the ground in thick stands flex’s that bar quite a bit due to being the support for everything in front of the reel plus the reel
Very doubtful on the rust. There’s no rust anywhere on this mower. It’s like new and lives inside. I’m having a stringer push bar made out of square tubing.
Last year Drought, this year LOTS of rain staggered so that grass grows great, but no time between rain to harvest. I cut at 4" and was able to get a few acres cut with my old 1209, grass was waist high but the pusher bar was at the top of the grass still, so no chances of getting sucked in like yours did. Next time, you may want to go just a bit slower to give the tall stuff a chance to be knocked down and not sucked in over the top of the bar, which is most likely what happened, the grass when bunched is strong like ropes.
The problem is because I was going slow. Ground speed on a Haybine should be about the same as reel speed. If you’re going slow the reel can grab a charge of grass and just keep pulling on it because it takes longer for the sickle to get to the grass. I normally mow 4-5 mph but if it’s exceptionally thick I’ll slow down just because it leaves a cleaner cut. The biggest error most people make with haybines is running them too slow of a ground speed. In second and third cut I can mow as fast as 6 mph with mine. The new pushbar I’m having made will be a little taller.
Ooof, so sorry to see this unfold. I’m right with you on being baffled how even heavy grass could tweak that so badly. Your haybine is a beauty (I really respect your care for it), I really hope you can get it back in shape swiftly and without denting your wallet too badly. Were you able to get help knocking the rest of the field down?
I've been watching you for about a year now. Thank you for taking the time to post all this information. I just started making square bales last year for the first time using a 6-ft sickle from the early 1900's (McCormick International 200 w/wooden pitman arm), a 5-wheel rusty rake, and a NH 315 from the 60's. Believe it or not, I'm running all this with a Kioti 25hp subcompact tractor. I just bought a 9-ft NH 488 Haybine and I believe by looking at it that it is possibly the same one you have or very similar. I have one problem with it. On the side with the wobble box the handle you use to space the rollers is missing the round part in the Plate where it connects so cannot be connected. The rollers are directly against each other and cannot be spaced. I know you're not a Q&A, but curious if you think it would work with the rollers touching since the grass will push them apart? I'm making around 1000 bales per year if I get 3 cuts in. Excited to possibly speed up the drying time.
You’re supposed to be able to slide a business card in between the rollers. If they’re touching too hard and/or hitting frequently you can ruin them. For grass you don’t really need a conditioner except for first cut when it has a stem. On 2nd and third cuttings your rollers aren’t improving the dry time at all because there’s no stem to crack open.
@@TheScientistHayFarmer Thank you so much. I didn't realize it only helped the first cut. I'll probably hold off on using it this year, and get it repaired before next year. I did notice that the rollers seem to be apart even with the adjustor not connected. Not sure if they are manufactured to not be able to touch on the 488 model, but want to be safe and not lose the rollers. They are in great shape.
And that’s why we don’t ever have these antiquated machines in England, wouldn’t last five minutes there, junk that thing and get a modern disc or drum mower🙂
