Baling Hay! The Square baler still isn't working very good. So we finished by making Round bales 

I appreciate the effort that goes into these videos. Thank you

Do you foresee yourself replacing this square bailer with a newer string bailer down the line?

Love your videos. All of them are interesting to me. Good clear, calm friendly delivery, Evan and Rebecca!

How old is the wire that you are using? Is it too brittle causing breaks?

Oliver Wendell Douglas never had as many problems as you seem to have on every episode. Maybe Mr Haney could help you find some working equipment.

That square baler was probably awesome in the 50s lol. Round bales is were is at

The hay bale bucking days. Most of the time we got to buck it three times, once on the trailer, once on the conveyor and finally to stack in the loft. Oh the good old days. You definitely learn what a hards day work was. What I enjoyed was when the other farmers helped each other and the women put together a spread for lunch and dinner. We sure ate good and had good fellowship. Enjoy your videos and reminds me of when I was a kid. Thank you.

Pete from Just A Few Acres has the same brand round bailer you are using. Just watched him do his bales.

I wonder how many attempts it to the person who invented the wire knotting machine until they had figured out the mechanism and how it needs to work.

We used to put blue salt on the hay and it helped to draw any moisture and helped preserve it a bit better. We also put round bales on their end and salted them mostly in the core and it helped with the clover which is so hard to cure perfectly.

Evan, you and Rebekah are a wonderful team! Thank you for sharing! God bless your family!

Hey Evan just wanted to let you know that you should honestly look into a twine baler instead or a slightly newer square baler that is better working condition than the one you are currently using because finding parts to fix your current one is really hard to find them and for your round baler I would look into getting a baler that makes the pick up header use hydraulics instead of doing it by hand because you constantly have to climb in and out of the tractor to make adjustments to the pickup header which makes it more difficult when you get older in age

Evan, maybe it's time to donate the square baler to Farm Museum! Just kidding! You are turning Rebbeca into a Farm Girl! Tks for the video!

Do you watch other RU-vidrs? You might contact a guy named Pete at "Just a Few Acres Farm." He uses a Gehl round baler similar to yours. Maybe he would have some ideas about what's wrong with your baler.

Do you think it could be bad wire? Wrong gage, too brittle because it wasn't annealed properly not annealed properly? The wire has to be sufficiently malleable but still have the tensile strength so it can bend and twist but not snap. Based on what you said about wire breaking Evan - I'm thinking it's too brittle for the application. The wrong wire gage or bad wire bought on price not quality by the retailer.

I so wish you guys could find a good twine square baler for the money. That one messes up just enough to be aggravating. I always loved to keep square bales around to feed in the manger in the barn on bad weather days or for if you got home after 4 (already dark). Enjoyed the video and pretty hay! Murfreesboro TN

ITS ok to scream (or say choice words) when something is going wrong! i got to where i used two hooks to move bales , that way your not dropping one kind of a hazard, could also loose it off and run over it sure you are hearing that. we had a NH stack wagon to pick up the bales but would buck the bales into the barn ( to short to get the wagon in raised up). . could you have been getting some loose hay in the mechanism ?noticed a lot in the belts around the rollers. i added grease lines to the twine arm and cutting mechanism underneath our hesston 565a.

Maybe the reason why the original owner got rid of it was because of the issues that you are currently experiencing with it so in my opinion you ended up with someone else’s problem which they didn’t want to fix

Add small fishing tackle boxes (or harbor freight 'ammo' boxes) on the balers to store shear pins and minor parts. Your scrap wire bin could be on the back of the baler too.

Are you running the square baler at full 540pto speed?

I have a wire baler ,a old timer told me to leave the wire in the box a dump used oil on it to keep it lubed up an from rusting not sure if it makes a difference

It is really wonderful to see Rebccca helping with the work.

You need a hay hook sure makes it easier to pull the bales off the chute and stack them.

If you ever have hay like that clover that wasn't quite ready to bale or got wet try using salt. I've heard alot of people talk about using salt to draw the moisture out of the hay. It's always worked good for us.

Do you oil the wire on your square baler? I had an old John Deere baler that wouldn't tie at all with dry wire.

Does the round baler have a piece of metal that is hinged and triggers the tie-off? The way it behaves suggests that there is something like that which loosens up after some bales have been made so it can work properly thereafter.

It wouldn’t be farming without some challenges My dad could fix almost anything with bender-twine and duct tape. Binder twine because we always had extra from bales that wouldn’t tie property! Hay looks pretty good. If we don’t get some rain soon, second cutting around here might be a challenge too. Thanks for taking us along. Farm looks great!

That’s par , I could never remember the size of shear bolts

Boy oh boy ...that bailer called the shots there for a while! Good you figured it out Evan ! That hay is surrrre beautiful ! You and Rebekah are such a great team ! Love y'all ! God's greatest blessings to you ! 🤗

Well... this is ONE way to get the wife onboard with the idea of investing into a new baler. Of course, I guess it depends on what else is on the honey-do list and what your other equipment needs are... Maybe you can find a good used one or get better at repairing the this one. Either way it looks like a problem that needs solved. I find this fascinating... There was a time before the Industrial Revolution when BOTH parents... the whole family really... stayed home in order to harvest everything the family needed in order to survive off of their land. Everyone had a homestead... and there used to be conventions we adhered to... like, when you leave the homestead you are representing the family... even putting the family at some risk... so you ALWAYS traveled in "traveling clothes"... and you never traveled alone unless it was an absolute necessity. If you didn't know how to carry yourself... if you didn't know how to be courteous, you weren't allowed to leave the homestead. The whole idea was that the social contract demanded that you harm no others and you did NOT breech the peace... and so your dealings and conversations were designed NOT to be offensive - rather, to ALWAYS be courteous. So... for what it's worth... your upload today reminds me of those times. I think we'd all be better off if we kept our connection to the land.

Put some salt on them to draw the moisture out so they don’t catch on fire

Great stuff Evan and Rebecca!!! Thank you for sharing your journey!!! My suggestion, and it is probably worth what you have to pay for it, is to always tedder after cutting your grass !!! Please stay safe and God bless you all , in Jesus Name!!!! Eddy

Always have the chute flipped forward until you get to the field.

main thing is you got it baled great job

I had better luck raking two windrows next to each other instead of into one big windrow. I had a New Holland 846(?) baler and with two windrows just close enough to fit the pickup I didn’t have to zig zag while baling to make a full bale

Don't look like your hay bine cut very good

Good looking hay. The quality of feed will be great. Bailers are fussy and you did just fine.

Just keep tinkering with the square baler, you'll get it figured out. Could try using your go pro to video the tying part and watch it in slow motion to see what's going on.

I think you need to go back over in rake up you got a lot of waste have a bell on the field

In the 1960's we bailed with a International 45 baler. we did not have the money to have the knotters looked at, and the twine boxes were on each side of the bale chamber. So my dad had me sitting on one of them while he baled. If I saw a bale not tied, I would yell, and dad would stop and tie the bale that was not tied while it was still in the bale chamber to save twine. Many dusty days doing that.

I've been out this weekend, too, baling hay with my very old low pressure baler. 260 bales of wonderful green gras hay and no major hickups. The 1st cut is all done and stored, this is always a wonderful feeling! :-)

Page 86. owners manual numbers 13 and 14. After you topped off the onboard TDC hydraulic fluid tank did you repressurise to 140 to 150 PSI? Did you bleed both TDC cylinders? Based on your description of self correcting after bouncing around 1/2 the field and suddenly spitting out a mini bale, I'm thinking you had an air bubble that finally worked its way out of one or both cylinders. That would be my hunch about the erratic operation up to that point. The instruction for checking the onboard hydraulic tank is every 10 hours of operation for pressure and level - so check it every time before you head to the field.

I've noticed others with the round baler back up a few feet before releasing the bale so they get started before the load is on, saving the shear bolts.

Good video. We went from an old New Holland 68 with string tie to a newer John Deere baler and switched to 9600/210 twine and have pretty much zero broken bales. It’s amazing how stopping and rethreading the baler took so much time. We have since assed a 4x4 round baler and are getting our sea legs with it.

You need to take that hay baler to the scrap yard and buy a new one.

I still use a New Holland super hayliner 69 wire tie. I piddled with it until I have very few problems. You’ll get it working fine! Use a little WD-40 in places and it will work great. I’ll give you pointers!

When square bales missed one side tie, we'd take the scrap twine/wire and quickly tie the bale like a suitcase around the untied side: Slip the free twine under the tied side where there was slack, push it to the end of the bale and tie it, keep tension on the bale to get the twine around the free side to the opposite end of the bale, put the lose twine end through a slack point of the still tied side, slide it to the end of the bale, than lean your body to compress the bale square, and tie the lose end. After a few of these we could do it on the wagon before the next bale came out of the chute. If both sides didn't tie you'd have to shut it all down, or if more than one broken bale came out in a row shut it down and adjust the knotters.

Just a FYI that might help you. And granted, I know nothing about a Gehl baler. Yours looks to be a newer more sophisticated model than my 648. However, I noticed you turn off the PTO ( or the baler has a a declutch mechanism) when dumping a finished bale. I have a New Holland 648 auto wrap. Once the bale is the size you have set the auto wrap to start. A buzzer in the cab sounds . This notifies you to stop the tractor. The twine arms move automatically to distribute the twine across the bale. The buzzer sounds again one the twine is cut. You at that point. Raise the gate. The bale falls to the ground. A push bar. Holds the bale far enough from the baler. To allow the gate to close. Without hitting the bale. At that point you can resume baling. Where I have the number of wraps set. The time from first buzzer to the finished buzzer is about 15-16 seconds.

First. Finally.

You’re not alone, I’m having the worst luck with my NH 269 baler on the right side , still don’t have it right after so many parts and adjustments 🙄

YUP thats farming

The sickle or knife’s on your haybine need to be sharpened, it’s not cutting properly.. You are leaving way to much hay in the field. You would have twice as many bailes. Love watching your videos tho.

Dear very nice video. I was wondering whether with the round baler you had any problem with the idler sprocket or not. I mean, even based to your experience how often do you change an idler sprocket/ chain tensioner? What is their main failure mode? 🤔

You've gotta fix that hay binder. Also, if you didn't know the more you manipulate the hay the more nutrients your loosing.

I’m sorry your old sq baler isn’t working well. I remember same with my cousin Twine sq baler.. he often fixed every year.. most time ok..

Maybe ask the BALERMAN about you square baler he has you tube channel and is familiar with those old square balers.

Does Gehl have a computer upgrade for the roll baler? Something isn't communicating very well. I'm sure you will figure it out!

As hard a pill it may be to swallow, it may be time to upgrade at least the square baler. If your plan is to bale hay as part of your income stream, it won't be very profitable to have to fight with the baler every hay season. Just my 2 cents. Good looking hay though!

I couldn't help but notice the angle in your slide for the square bail offload. Not good! Aside from the old cutters, your ramp is rusted and pushes them into a sharp angle and adds resistance causing binding. Buy a piece of 1/8 inch polypropylene and install it in one long piece on the bottom so the bails slide a lot easier.

With the amount of protein you lost dumping every bale, there are plenty dry. Can't overthink hay making

Another fine video Evan, one thing looking at the second field brought to mind that the next time you cut it, remember to slow down since it isn't cutting well on the clover at the speed you were using. js

I'm thinking you don't have a checklist for settings, etc. before you bale hay.

You left the pickup head up to generate comments, right? That wood deck thing behind the baler is usually called a "wagon" around here those that call it a trailer are often from the city. The difference is it has steering wheels. Trailers on farms bear downward weight on the tractor towing them. But hey, it's tour farm, your channel, call it what you will. Enjoy your well made content and seeing your struggles as you improve your farm and operations.😅

Hello Evan Rebecca glad you were not hurt falling off wagon. I put the shoot up when going to the field. I like the wire tie makes good sense to have. The can recycle the wire.Your hay looked to dry but that's my opinion. Have a great day.

Need to pour used motor oil all over that wire in the spools. Get that stuff all soaked up. Make sure you grease every knotter fitting and use chain lube on all the moving parts chains ect. of the knotters. There is timing on the twister shafts/hooks where they need to be when the knotter trips and begins twisting and gripping. That timing gets out it sucks and you will fight it. Once you get the hang of wire knotters, they are actually superior over twine because they have higher tensile strength, don't stretch, and rats and mice wont chew through them in the barn. There is actually more of a chance of animals eating twine then any metal wire. Wire isn't cheap but broken bales are.

You need some portable blower for dust😅😊

Cool video Is the amount of hay good ? Because here in germany we drive 1 windrown and that wagon would be full 😅

old guy tip... it's hard to see what the issue is sometimes with knotters and wire twisters it happens sooo fast... but... if you film the knotting action with a cell phone then you can s l o w it way down and see what's happening way better. are you sure the shear bolt isn't 5\16th most are?

Writing the bolt size is fine. But thread count doesn't matter. It could even be a metric bolt the same or similar size. You might want to write down the grade number of the bolts whether it's grade 5 or some other grade number.

What moisture meter do you use. I need to get one but there are so many choices. I want a good one. Buying things twice is silly. Thanks for all the videos.

There’s probably something wrong within the baler that’s causing it not to automatically tie or to let you know which side of the baler chamber needs more hay on it

Although it had its problems the square baler made a nice bale. Always a good feeling to have hay in the barn. Thanks for the video. All the best 🇬🇧.

Sometimes changing the type of wire you use can help your tying. Good luck pard

hope you had a cool beer after that you deserved one

Did you check the hay dogs on that square baler to make sure there working and not broken or the springs aren’t broken cuz on my baler if there broken or frozen it won’t tie but mine is a string baler so not sure if you’re baler even has them but it should

You are better off really pumping the hay into a baler, I’ve never used wire, but that’s the go with twine

I have a vermeer and autotie gives me some problems just like yours did I think it is the nature of the beast just another day in the hayfield, great video bud .

What a hoot you two are 😀

This brings back a lot of fond memories used to do 2000ish straw bales and 500 -600 orchard grass bales just like this good way to grow up never regret it wish I could do it again

It's definitely more fun watching this in the A/C, then to be the one stacking it ha ha. Keep up the hard work you two!

Just a thought how old is your wire or is it rusty not letting it bend the way it should when it ties. We ran New Holland balers but always twine not wire.

Good-looking hay, but not loving that square baler.

Is it possible that there's too much chaf in the round baler and messing up the sensors?

I have never seen a wire baler, only ever messed with twine in both the natural fiber and synthetic type.

Well, at least you got some hay now. Hope you get some rain so you can get a good second cutting. It's dry up this way, we got a half inch today. But that. will be gone tomorrow. Great video keep up the good work

Clover may not dry without bedding ??¿???

How did you make out with quantity compared to last year?

How old is the wire? It looks rusty. Could it be a little to brittle? Just a thought i had.

The shear bolts are not a standard bolt it takes a special shear bolt from Gehl

Sprinkle stock salt on the green bales they will cure out an be fine

I said a prayer for you an do u ever go back an pick up what got left over

I didn't hear you mention the dangers of storing damp hay in the barn.( Self igniting and burning down).

Cute boots 😁

you might look on line or so where see you get better bailer that has so many issue

Could you replace the wire with plastic twine?

The greener the hay the more salt we put on them and we never had a problem.

Could the wire be too old and breaking down on you?

I WONDER WHY THE BALER COULD NOT BE CONVERTED TO TWINE

👍

Evan when it comes to cutting and baling your hay, you need to step back and take another look. You slowed down your RPMs and then sped up when you were mowing it. As you now see you didn't cut half of it. You are doing a great job on everything else. Hang in there and better luck on your second cutting. Practice makes perfect.