Deutz fahr GP2.30 round baler

[Mike26580]

There’s a deutz fahr GP2.30 round baler for sale not too far from me. Does anyone know how good or bad they are especially when baling sileage?

 

[Sharpy]

Very good baler, no problems with intake compared to its contemporaries, stringer was reasonably fast, bales were solid. Really a PZ/ Greenland/vicon baler.

 

[Mike26580]

Very good baler, no problems with intake compared to its contemporaries, stringer was reasonably fast, bales were solid. Really a PZ/ Greenland/vicon baler.

That’s great thankyou. There’s a clean looking one for sale in Northern Ireland for £2.300. Once again thank you.

 

[Sharpy]

Possibly dear enough at that, could be 30 years old. Watch the bearings, not greasable and the cogs can be a bugger to remove as they are concentric lock. That apart a good wee simple baler, liked mine a lot.

 

[Mike26580]

Possibly dear enough at that, could be 30 years old. Watch the bearings, not greasable and the cogs can be a bugger to remove as they are concentric lock. That apart a good wee simple baler, liked mine a lot.

Thank you for the information. Would a Ford 7610 bale sileage without undue pressure?

 

[Sharpy]

No probs, JD 3130 and a n Mf 690 were happy on it, baled quite a lot of stuff that other balers couldn't form a bale with, JD 3050 was a bit sore on it.

 

[Mike26580]

No probs, JD 3130 and a n Mf 690 were happy on it, baled quite a lot of stuff that other balers couldn't form a bale with, JD 3050 was a bit sore on it.

Perfect thank you. It looks clean and as £2.3 is only the asking price, possibly it could be bought cheaper. I never thought of buying a DF baler as I didn’t know that they made balers. DF machinery has a great name - hence my interest.

 

[Wellytrack]

It’s your money and your choice but little more will get a MP130. It’s also a vicon, net or wrap, opticut too.

 

[Boohoo]

It’s your money and your choice but little more will get a MP130. It’s also a vicon, net or wrap, opticut too.

The last of the GP2.30s had opticut, think the red version was something like the Greenland RF120 and for £2300 it would need to be one of these late models. You're right about being better with an MP or RF 130, they're bound to be well down in money now that some are 20 years old.

 

[Mike26580]

It’s your money and your choice but little more will get a MP130. It’s also a vicon, net or wrap, opticut too.

Thank you very much. Is the MP130 a good reliable baler?

 

[Lazy Eric]

My brother used to have one... all I remember was the bloody shear bolt snapped just as it was about to finish a bale.. I hated the thing..

 

[Wellytrack]

Thank you very much. Is the MP130 a good reliable baler?

It’s a decent baler, heavier than a 2.30. How potentially reliable it can be is down to its condition, how you use it and some luck.

Welger 220 is a much stronger and better baler again, but then you are moving away completely from your original budget.

In the 2-3 grand budget, expectations have to be tempered with reality, there is a reason why contractors exist.

It’s your choice, so long as whatever your looking at is sound you won’t go too badly wrong.

 

[Wellytrack]

My brother used to have one... all I remember was the bloody shear bolt snapped just as it was about to finish a bale.. I hated the thing..

Slip clutch. I know. It’s annoying.

 

[Cowabunga]

Balers that old are potentially the work of the devil. GP 2.30 was a great baler in its day and easily handled by a 6610 tractor. In an ideal swath, a net wrap version could bale 60 tight bales an hour. However, it was always a temperamental beast, with the criss-cross bale tie being very fast but the twine would not always catch on the bale every time and the pinch brake at the very end could cause the twine to curl back out of the bale's reach. The net cutter is a full width knife and anvil device that is very fussy about alignment and net quality.
The rollers need inspecting carefully, not just for bearing condition but also for cracks in the metal near the centre which could cause a collapse. At this age, I wonder if spares are currently available?

 

[Boohoo]

Thank you very much. Is the MP130 a good reliable baler?

They were as reliable as anything else of that time. There were updates to the pickup and the back door hinges in 2000, but I'd expect most pre 2000 models to have been upgraded by now. Splined shafts on rollers were changed to eccentric shafts at some point but the only splined shaft that failed on ours was the one at the bottom of the back door. Shearbolts help to protect the chains, we never broke a chain. The lack of a drop floor or powered reverse on the chopping rotor is a downside but the pickup and chopping unit are still amongst the best available. I'd expect parts to be available from Kuhn dealers as the current Kuhn balers are descendants of the Deutz/Vicon balers.

 

[Cowabunga]

They were as reliable as anything else of that time. There were updates to the pickup and the back door hinges in 2000, but I'd expect most pre 2000 models to have been upgraded by now. Splined shafts on rollers were changed to eccentric shafts at some point but the only splined shaft that failed on ours was the one at the bottom of the back door. Shearbolts help to protect the chains, we never broke a chain. The lack of a drop floor or powered reverse on the chopping rotor is a downside but the pickup and chopping unit are still amongst the best available. I'd expect parts to be available from Kuhn dealers as the current Kuhn balers are descendants of the Deutz/Vicon balers.

These 'contractor' models are much stronger than the GP 2.30 models. Yes, there were modified roller shafts, probably around 2002 or 2003.

The single shaft wide pickup auger/feed rotor is still one of the best designs out there and gives phenomenal trouble-free output. If a lump did get stuck, a large long handle spanner was provided to reverse the rotor.

 

[Boohoo]

These 'contractor' models are much stronger than the GP 2.30 models. Yes, there were modified roller shafts, probably around 2002 or 2003.

The single shaft wide pickup auger/feed rotor is still one of the best designs out there and gives phenomenal trouble-free output. If a lump did get stuck, a large long handle spanner was provided to reverse the rotor.

I was trying to forget about that spanner! In fairness it wasn't needed that often, bad tedding, rowing up and trying to chop dry, mature grass was usually the problem.

 

[Mike26580]

My brother used to have one... all I remember was the bloody shear bolt snapped just as it was about to finish a bale.. I hated the thing..

Thank you for that.

 

[Mike26580]

They were as reliable as anything else of that time. There were updates to the pickup and the back door hinges in 2000, but I'd expect most pre 2000 models to have been upgraded by now. Splined shafts on rollers were changed to eccentric shafts at some point but the only splined shaft that failed on ours was the one at the bottom of the back door. Shearbolts help to protect the chains, we never broke a chain. The lack of a drop floor or powered reverse on the chopping rotor is a downside but the pickup and chopping unit are still amongst the best available. I'd expect parts to be available from Kuhn dealers as the current Kuhn balers are descendants of the Deutz/Vicon balers.

Thank you. That’s very informative.

 

[Mike26580]

It’s a decent baler, heavier than a 2.30. How potentially reliable it can be is down to its condition, how you use it and some luck.

Welger 220 is a much stronger and better baler again, but then you are moving away completely from your original budget.

In the 2-3 grand budget, expectations have to be tempered with reality, there is a reason why contractors exist.

It’s your choice, so long as whatever your looking at is sound you won’t go too badly wrong.

Thank you Rory that