Best fixed chamber round baler?

[jimfarm.243]

Looking at a new fixed chamber round baler, what’s the best out there? Got quotes for McHale, Kuhn, vicon and new Holland.

 

[james ds]

Looking at a new fixed chamber round baler, what’s the best out there? Got quotes for McHale, Kuhn, vicon and new Holland.

Out of them there's only one , Mchale .

 

[Nithsdale]

Had a Claas, got a McHale... I'd take the Claas but with McHale reliability. McHale is just OK.

Watched the Kuhn at Scotgrass and I liked it a lot, but I've no experience of it.

 

[jimfarm.243]

Out of them there's only one , Mchale .

Any others I should be looking at?

 

[james ds]

Had a Claas, got a McHale... I'd take the Claas but with McHale reliability. McHale is just OK.

Watched the Kuhn at Scotgrass and I liked it a lot, but I've no experience of it.

You won't see a class or a Kuhn with 100,000 bales of silage made , plenty of mchales gone over the 100 k bale count.

 

[james ds]

Any others I should be looking at?

If you want to spend another 4 k on a MF/ fendt / lely / welger , they are a good baler , what ever back up is like I don't know.

 

[Nithsdale]

You won't see a class or a Kuhn with 100,000 bales of silage made , plenty of mchales gone over the 100 k bale count.

Hence I said McHale reliability.

The Claas makes better bales in all crops - it's not even a contest. It is a superior baler on steep land, too. I could guarantee sitting bales on steep slopes with the Claas and they'd not roll away... maybe 1/1000 would roll. McHale the bale physically turns before it leaves the chamber - you need to keep your wits about you and even then, I get at least 1 in every field... I've been baling for 20 years and the McHale is just sh*t in that regards.

Edit;
Also - the camless pickup reel is pants. Although I think nearly all balers are onto camless now? The McHale leaves more crop than the Claas did... and if you drop the pickup reel lower to counter it, it catches the ground jamming it on rough/uneven parts. It's much sorer on itself.

 

[jimfarm.243]

If you want to spend another 4 k on a MF/ fendt / lely / welger , they are a good baler , what ever back up is like I don't know.

Local agent for them is useless, can’t get a call back for a quote! So not keen!

 

[ray09]

Massey/fendt. They were formerly lely. They won't be beat for intake and reliability. There is no point in anyone saying that "such a baler makes the best bale".
Any baler will make a good solid uniform bale, but it all depends on crop, operater and grass quality.

 

[Boohoo]

If you want to spend another 4 k on a MF/ fendt / lely / welger , they are a good baler , what ever back up is like I don't know.

They aren't a good baler and the back up is awful.

If it was my money I'd buy McHale or Kuhn.

 

[james ds]

Any others I should be looking at?

If you want to spend another 4 k on a MF/ fendt / lely / welger , they are a good baler , what ever back up is like I don't know

Hence I said McHale reliability.

The Claas makes better bales in all crops - it's not even a contest. It is a superior baler on steep land, too. I could guarantee sitting bales on steep slopes with the Claas and they'd not roll away... maybe 1/1000 would roll. McHale the bale physically turns before it leaves the chamber - you need to keep your wits about you and even then, I get at least 1 in every field... I've been baling for 20 years and the McHale is just sh*t in that regards.

class had the market sowed up here , now it's very rare to hear of a new class being sold , I wonder why.

 

[Yale]

We bought a Kuhn as it has the all in one rotor/auger system.

Apparently the Mchale and others similar have issues with certain types of short grass.

 

[Nithsdale]

class had the market sowed up here , now it's very rare to hear of a new class being sold , I wonder why.

1 word which I've said twice;

Reliability.



McHale isn't the best baler, but it just doesn't break down.

 

[Wellytrack]

Claas will roll up a nice bale, so too Krone Welger Kuhn and all the rest. Kuhn have a good intake system.

In saying that I know what baler I’d rather have when the weather is breaking and the phone ringing.

 

[jimfarm.243]

We bought a Kuhn as it has the all in one rotor/auger system.

Apparently the Mchale and others similar have issues with certain types of short grass.

How do you get on with it? Any problems?

 

[Yale]

Hence I said McHale reliability.

The Claas makes better bales in all crops - it's not even a contest. It is a superior baler on steep land, too. I could guarantee sitting bales on steep slopes with the Claas and they'd not roll away... maybe 1/1000 would roll. McHale the bale physically turns before it leaves the chamber - you need to keep your wits about you and even then, I get at least 1 in every field... I've been baling for 20 years and the McHale is just sh*t in that regards.

Edit;
Also - the camless pickup reel is pants. Although I think nearly all balers are onto camless now? The McHale leaves more crop than the Claas did... and if you drop the pickup reel lower to counter it, it catches the ground jamming it on rough/uneven parts. It's much sorer on itself.

The Kuhn is a cam pick up.

Camless pickups are fitted to try to make up for the crop having to travel further to a rotor which is set back from separate side augers.

The idea is to try to throw the crop towards the rotor however it is a dubious solution to a built in problem.

Even John Deere have now fitted the Kuhn type rotor to its latest balers.

 

[Yale]

How do you get on with it? Any problems?

It was new about a month ago and the photos were on its first outing in September.

Apart from a sensor which needed adjusting on the back door it worked well.

I can’t give any opinion on longevity however I did PM someone on here who has had one for many years and they liked theirs.

All I’d say is have a look at one in the flesh and give the tyres a kick.

The net wrap system has round bar augers on the delivery mechanism which really puts it over the edge of the bale.

 

[Hilti]

JD has had that rotor for years.
Run a F440 , never let me down in 6 seasons
Kuhn baler very similar

 

[Nithsdale]

The Kuhn is a cam pick up.

Camless pickups are fitted to try to make up for the crop having to travel further to a rotor which is set back from separate side augers.

The idea is to try to throw the crop towards the rotor however it is a dubious solution to a built in problem.

Even John Deere have now fitted the Kuhn type rotor to its latest balers.

Yeah I know. In a perfect crop in a perfect field camless works well... but it isn't anywhere near as good over all situations from my experience - say where a crop is very flat to the ground or where tractors have turned. But, it's the fashion at the moment to have camless so you've just got to go with it.

The side auger issue has never been a big issue, unless you don't know what you're doing... someone should only choke a baler twice - First time can be forgiven, 2nd time they should understand what they did wrong. (Unless the rake man has made a right arse of the job!)

 

[Finn farmer]

McHale isn't the best baler, but it just doesn't break down.

Which makes it the best baler in my opinion. No use in having a baler that puts out tight bales, if it's sitting in a workshop while it should be spitting out said bales. Delays in harvesting get very expensive very fast.