Estate I grew up on used to do 20k hay and the same in straw, running a JD and IH baler. I was only young back then but do remember the IH spending more time being repaired than actually baling. Perhaps it could be forgiven given the number of bales it had actually made in its lifetime though.
IH440 baler- any opinions?
- Thread starter Red Fred
- Start date
John 1594
Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
when i was unfortunate enough to own an IH, it was customary to use either the 990 or the 1494 with the door removed, as you spent more time off the seat sorting the bloody knotters out than you actually did baling with the thing
far too fussy with regards to settings and twine quality, and it absolutely wouldnt tie poly twine, could get it tying right in one field of hay, go onto some straw and spend another half a day pissing about altering it again
quite odd considering the MF what replaced it was 10 years older, and ties perfectly on it
also remember the small knifes on the 47 being expensive, something like 6 quid for a bit of sharperned steel 1/2 x 7/16 across
far too fussy with regards to settings and twine quality, and it absolutely wouldnt tie poly twine, could get it tying right in one field of hay, go onto some straw and spend another half a day pissing about altering it again
quite odd considering the MF what replaced it was 10 years older, and ties perfectly on it
also remember the small knifes on the 47 being expensive, something like 6 quid for a bit of sharperned steel 1/2 x 7/16 across
FonterraFarmer
Member
- Location
- Waikato, New Zealand
Never thought about setting the knotters properly then??? I've been using my IH baler for the best part of 20 years, and guess what , the knotters have never ever given any problems, with straw or hay. 
smcapstick
Member
- Location
- Kirkby Lonsdale
I have a 435 and it hasn't dropped a bale. Was at a farm six miles away from a few years old - never gave any bother. Better, albeit narrower, pick up reel than a 440 - better times, closer together. Newer knotters, too.
- Location
- 200 miles N,NW of New York
John 1594
Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
Never thought about setting the knotters properly then??? I've been using my IH baler for the best part of 20 years, and guess what , the knotters have never ever given any problems, with straw or hay.
ive never had a machine beat me, ive got the patience of a saint, i run a fleet of browns for christs sake!!!!
knotters set by the book, still wouldnt tie poly twine, not just me either, know of two or three otherS that had the same issue, one bloke smashed his up with a teleporter in frustration after his hay got rained on, the other two sold thiers and replaced them with a NH and an MF
basically it was a pile of crap and i sold it, best thing i ever done
John 1594
Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
i had a 47 in the yard 6 months ago, paid 200 for it as it had the usual problems (ie it didnt work) put it on facebook and in 4 hours a bloke was on his way to collect it having paid me 600 quid
he deleted me off facebook in june and i havent heard from him since, so figuring he couldnt get it to work either............
borderterribles
Member
- Location
- South Shropshire
The only time my 445 chucks a busted bale is when I run it out of string!!!
FonterraFarmer
Member
- Location
- Waikato, New Zealand
There be nothing worse than getting a piece of machinery that has been munted by a previous owner or abuser!
Exfarmer
Member
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds
I can certainly say that I have baled more bales in my early years than John.
We baled up to 50,000 bales a year with balers from the B46 through to the 440
We never considered any other baler worth looking at.
Our worse nightmare was when our local IH dealer gave up and we invested in a NH , can't remember the number, absolute nightmare.
Had to purchase another 440 from a dealer a long way away. But then of course IH gave up on balers
At this time MF bought out the 120 series with a completely new knotter, which we went for and it was a very good baler
We baled up to 50,000 bales a year with balers from the B46 through to the 440
We never considered any other baler worth looking at.
Our worse nightmare was when our local IH dealer gave up and we invested in a NH , can't remember the number, absolute nightmare.
Had to purchase another 440 from a dealer a long way away. But then of course IH gave up on balers
At this time MF bought out the 120 series with a completely new knotter, which we went for and it was a very good baler
did you tell him it didn't work ?
Red Fred
Member
- Location
- Hants/Dorset border
Our worse nightmare was when our local IH dealer gave up and we invested in a NH , can't remember the number, absolute nightmare.
/QUOTE]
Thanks for all the comments. We used to use NH Hayliners, which were OK, but then they brought out the yellow 945 and it never worked right when new. It might have been a duff one but the 2 farmers who bordered us in those days both bought them the same year from their own dealers, and it became a bit of a joke that each new baler came with a Morris Ital van following it round and a repair man riding on the back in the overalls of your choice. They ended up doing a rather ugly alteration to the angle of the knotters, I believe, and it worked better, it was just one of those machines we never really took to. It could chuck out bananas too
multi power
Member
- Location
- pembrokeshire
funny enough my jonses is a bit like that too
multi power
Member
- Location
- pembrokeshire
is a b47 ment to use poly ? i dont think so, any i seen alys used sisal, bet you 1594 wont go too well on petrol instead of desiel
borderterribles
Member
- Location
- South Shropshire
I've had three Jones balers, two blue Stars, both long and short drawbar models and a red Star. None were the fastest, but all three 110% reliable! What a pity they don't make them anymore.
I have used over the years b45 b46 b47 although we are Massey collectors and own a Massey 20 and restored 701 which we use every year we also run a international 440 and I prefer this to the Massey s it only does about 1500 bales a year but for us it has been ultra reliable, and I prefer using it to the Massey 20, I have always found the international's easy to maintain and work on, but to be honest we always strip out the baler at the season end and blow out all around the knotters and remove chains and soak in lubricant, yes we are bloody anoraks, I need to get out more !!!
FonterraFarmer
Member
- Location
- Waikato, New Zealand
Worth a try, can't go any worse
.
John 1594
Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
Worth a try, can't go any worse
its using a bloody lot more fuel since we put the air conditioning on i know that much
still, you cant put a price on comfort, a powershift box and a nice cab
if i wasnt worried about any of the above
id buy a valtra.
John 1594
Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire