Mcconnel balepacker problems

[sandersonT2]

We're after a little help for we are trying to do battle once more with our balepacker, luckily we only do around 2k naked a year now.but this year the lifting table after lifting the bale, at full speed the table will only lower at a snail's pace. If anyone has any ideas that would be great.

 

[rob1]

We're after a little help for we are trying to do battle once more with our balepacker, luckily we only do around 2k naked a year now.but this year the lifting table after lifting the bale, at full speed the table will only lower at a snail's pace. If anyone has any ideas that would be great.

Got to love auto spellchecker, blimey that balepacker must be ancient now, doubt many on here will even know what it is, cant help you im afraid, apart from something stuck in the outlet stopping the oil returning, I had that last year on a machine, oil woud go in fine under pressure but a bt of rubber was stopping it flowing out

 

[Goweresque]

If its been sat all winter and was fine when last used, chances are a valve has got stuck somehow, or isn't fully opening, that sort of thing. Its over 40 years since my father had one of these and I think it nearly drove him to drink back then, a lifelong teetotaller too! There's no electrics in them, its all mechanical, so got to be a stiff valve or something similar.

 

[Hesstondriver]

in reality it can only be one of a few things :

something blocking a ram inlet / outlet
a pinched or crushed pipe
a bit of debris in a valve block
or mechanical i.e metal on metal friction

 

[Barleycorn]

We had one and I know you have got to be bloody careful working on them. Put your arm, leg, or head in the wrong place and it's not a good result, goes off like a mousetrap!

 

[sandersonT2]

I think it must be something simple, but having had the valve chest looked at and resealed the problem continues. We think it is due to back pressure as the table will drop if the pipe on the bottom end is slacked off.
But it sums up the machine it’s main aim is to try and kill you or at least take your leg off, but just as you about to load it for scrap it will normally work without a fault, just to fool you into thinking all is fine.

 

[Oscar]

We had one back in the day, late 70 s. Can t think of anything new to add but the comments re trying to kill you or driving you to drink were comments I heard often when my father ran one !

 

[essexpete]

One of our local agent's fitters had a bad crush accident years ago working on one of the poxy things.

 

[will_mck]

I know this is an old thread but would anyone who owns or owned one of these balepackers recommend buying one? I bale about 15k bales of straw every year, would owning one drive me slowly insane at harvest or are they reasonably reliable? Newest one's are 40years old now

 

[Barleycorn]

I know this is an old thread but would anyone who owns or owned one of these balepackers recommend buying one? I bale about 15k bales of straw every year, would owning one drive me slowly insane at harvest or are they reasonably reliable? Newest one's are 40years old now

There are better modern equivalents such as the bale bandit, or the Krone multi packer. At best the McConnell left a loose saggy stack of bales.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

There are better modern equivalents such as the bale bandit, or the Krone multi packer. At best the McConnell left a loose saggy stack of bales.

They are the most useless contraption on earth if you are selling bales to move on transport
Lorry drives had to stand on the wagon cutting strings and restack . Flatt eight was far better.

 

[will_mck]

I'd only be looking to clear the fields and cart back to a shed at harvest time. I wouldn't be worried too much about packs being slightly loose. I'd be wanting hassle free baling more so, don't mind doing a bit of mechanicing but if was stop start all day long that would be the stuff of nightmares.

 

[sandersonT2]

We solved our Packer problem after discovering a valve out of adjustmen.

As towards using a balepacker, for 15000 bales you have to remember baking will be slow even if it works well we used to do up to 20000 with ours but glad we don’t now. It works best on level fields with dry firm bales if the bales are too soft then the stacks end up soft with broken bale. Also bales need to be a uniform lengt, we use a welger 830 but if gives trouble as bale length alters if it is driven at different speeds, if you get an odd long bale it will burst the bale as pushed back into the stack.
unlike most we only make packs of 16 and treat them as half flat 8 place 2 up against each other tip the third over and place on top,( now a stick of 48) and bring in with old browns bale transporter (56)
stack in shed with Jcb and front mount watver? Bale squeezer

it will do a job but need to go into it eyes open.

 

[will_mck]

I'd be very tempted to buy one of these as they're affordable at least but I bet in reality they could be very frustrating on a sunny day when the rain is in sight, plus no experts about to help or spare parts. Our fields are smallish and I suppose the whole outfit is very long turning on headlands. I'm sure it would be hard to find a fresh one as they're all very old now.