John Deere 545 baler advice

[Comptonfarmer]

Have to bale a field of hay with my uncles old 545 belt baler. I have never used it before and he is not here. My main question is, when the bale reaches size is the string meant to be applied automatically? He has always just watched the dial and pulled the rope! Also if it is meant to automatically do it which I’m almost sure it’s meant to, how does the driver know? It has no control box and no buzzer on the baler. Any advice welcome, although I am aware they are not the best of balers, tah

 

[Tractortech]

Now Then..
They were a good baler in their day. Yes, as I recall the string is automatic. Slow if its a single stringer. They used to have a box with a buzzer on to indicate when to stop while it did the string thing

 

[bobk]

@Dave W

 

[Dave W]

Should be a mechanical trip. As the bale is made it pulls the linkage up on the slide with the black plastic knob. Move the knob to alter bale size.
When bale is up to size it trips the belt tensioner on the pump and the string arm moves across. It should have a simple box in the cab which lights and buzzes when the arm is fully extended. Will work without but you’ll need to keep an eye on the bale size and watch the string arm for movement when it’s close.

If unsure get someone to open the back door with pto running. This replicates the bale being made and you can watch what’s happening with the linkages and how it works. Pull string out first though so it doesn’t get in pickup reel