John Deere 550 round baler can I got knives

[ryan1135]

Looking at an old 550 round baler just for doing 100 or so silo bales Round home so don’t want any thing fancy but ideally wanted the bales chopped I’ve found a good net wrap JD550 but it didn’t have knives in it I’ve found knives online just wondering can you buy knives and put them in to or do they have to be set up for knives from new cheers Ryan

 

[KB6930]

Knives in a baler weren't even thought about when them things were made . Do yourself a favour and run as far as you can from a JD belt baler of that age

 

[ryan1135]

Are they that good ?

 

[Dave W]

Are they that good ?

There's nothing wrong with a 550. You have to remember the design is 35 years old. At the time there was little better.
just don't expect to shut your eyes and let it devour 30ft of fresh heavy silage.
It needs a careful patient operator on the seat which sadly rules out a lot of people these days

 

[Drillman]

We had one once narrow pickup with gathering wheels.

30 acre of straw was a bloody good days work!

 

[Zebbedee]

if Buying an older baler for silage buy a roller baler. The older belt balers just we’re not designed for it a jd 550 will drive you demented no matter how good an operator you are. A Claas Rollant 46 would be the best in that late 90s era or sorta 4K bracket

 

[Phil P]

In order for knives to work in a round bale it requires a feeder fork to drag the grass over the knives, that’s something the 550 was never fitted with. There’s a lot of far better and more modern balers about! Trust me as @Dave W says you need a lot of patience with an old Deere round baler.
I had two in the field the other day and there was more time with one going than two?

 

[KB6930]

There's nothing wrong with a 550. You have to remember the design is 35 years old. At the time there was little better.
just don't expect to shut your eyes and let it devour 30ft of fresh heavy silage.
It needs a careful patient operator on the seat which sadly rules out a lot of people these days

For hay and small rows of dry straw you're probably right I remember my father getting a new 1 in the 90's and behind the hay Bob and 12ft combine they were good but they don't like it damp at all

 

[Tomtrac]

But they did in there day didnt they
I had an old MF 1455e i think number right did a lot with it but had to ram in to a row when empty or it would just sit in pickup and block
Told at the time jd balers 545-550 were beez neez

 

[Boohoo]

if Buying an older baler for silage buy a roller baler. The older belt balers just we’re not designed for it a jd 550 will drive you demented no matter how good an operator you are. A Claas Rollant 46 would be the best in that late 90s era or sorta 4K bracket

The Vicon RF130 just about squeezes into the late 90s category and is miles ahead of the Claas 46

 

[Zebbedee]

The Vicon RF130 just about squeezes into the late 90s category and is miles ahead of the Claas 46

Yea possibly funnily enough I went from a 46 to a Vicon RF 130 had two of them before welgars took over. The Vicon would be a better silage baler right enough but not so easy to get parts for nowadays eg not so common so maybe not a great buy but a nice baler all the same

 

[balerman]

Looking at an old 550 round baler just for doing 100 or so silo bales Round home so don’t want any thing fancy but ideally wanted the bales chopped I’ve found a good net wrap JD550 but it didn’t have knives in it I’ve found knives online just wondering can you buy knives and put them in to or do they have to be set up for knives from new cheers Ryan

Really just don't.If you have a crop that it likes you will think its a wonderful baler,if it doesn't like the crop(anything short or damp on top the row) you will hate it.I have to stop now or my nervous twitch will return...

 

[Bramble]

Looking at an old 550 round baler just for doing 100 or so silo bales Round home so don’t want any thing fancy but ideally wanted the bales chopped I’ve found a good net wrap JD550 but it didn’t have knives in it I’ve found knives online just wondering can you buy knives and put them in to or do they have to be set up for knives from new cheers Ryan

Don‘t do it!!

I used to have one, it was fine when it worked you could do 20-30 acres/day. When it didn’t want to work you could do 5 acres. Next day it might be fine for no reason at all. It was worse in grass than with straw.

Replaced it with a NH 658 Cropcutter (did I mention it’s for sale in the Classifieds!!!). Compared to the JD it was a dream to work with

 

[YELROM]

Really just don't.If you have a crop that it likes you will think its a wonderful baler,if it doesn't like the crop(anything short or damp on top the row) you will hate it.I have to stop now or my nervous twitch will return...

I had a JD590 and remember going to bale a field of hay, spent most of the day making a few bales as they would not start and kept bunging up on pickup reel etc, was about to give up and go home as the hay was getting a bit damp then sudenly it baled the rest of the field without a problem as it feed in better being a bit damper, but the final straw was trying to bale 3rd cut silage one day when it just wouldn't go and i had a melt down and rang and ordered a new Welgar