[AT] new holland baler

[joehardy at epix.net]

John, I farmed many years with a NH 77 baler that worked very well but getting older couldn't handle those 4 foot long bales any more from field to truck to conveyor and into the mow.  I've been using a NH 268 baler for at least 10 years and worked great until this year with knotter problems. I'll have the knotter rebuilt before Summer and the baler should work fine until I can't  farm anymore. I'm sure the 273 should be a good one too. You want to look at the bale chamber to see if it is rusting out too bad. Also, look at the connection of the wagon hitch to the baler chamber.  My baler had cracks at that location of the bale chamber so I had to do some reinforcement.  The thing that really bugged me was that when most balers are stored outside; no one would clean out the bale chambers of hay!  As a result, the hay became wet & rotted out the bottom of the bale chambers! Also, look at the needles to see if they were welded. If so, could be an
 indication of knotter timing  problems. Also, look at the brass cam followers on the knotters to see if there is a lot of flat spots on them. It is very important that those cam followers are always free to turn. If not, that's how flat spots are generated and a major cause of miss tyes. Every time before I would start baling, I'd spray WD40  on the cam follower SHAFTS and would check them for free rotation.  Also, I'd grease the plunger bearing before each use. I liked NH equipment and they were designed very well. I'm still using a 461 NH haybine too. Old is good!  Good luck and keep us posted on what you find...Joe H.  Ryman Farm, Dallas, PA


>________________________________
> From: Carl Gogol <cgogol at twcny.rr.com>
>To: Antique tractor email discussion group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com> 
>Sent: Saturday, February 15, 2014 1:24 PM
>Subject: Re: [AT] new holland baler
>  
>
>John-  I think that the 273 was the model my father purchased new in about 
>1964.  About the only time it would miss tie was on twine spool changes 
>before we learned to trim and really really really set the knot between 
>spools.  Other than that it was flawless over the 4 or 5 years my father 
>farmed after that purchase.  We did about 8 - 10,000 bales of hay and straw 
>a year.
>Carl
>
>-----Original Message----- 
>From: jtchall at nc.rr.com
>Sent: Saturday, February 15, 2014 8:55 AM
>To: Antique tractor email discussion group
>Subject: [AT] new holland baler
>
>Used to be quite a few folks on this list that were up to speed on older hay 
>balers, hopefully there still are. I’m wanting to upgrade a little from my 
>Super 66 New Holland. Great machine just really slow and getting too old to 
>risk breaking and ruining a crop of hay. I’ve ran across a couple of New 
>Holland balers. One is a 273, what are the lists thoughts on this machine? I 
>know its still old, but if it is fairly solid it should be OK for a couple 
>thousand bales per year. Any model New Holland I should stay away from?
>
>John Hall
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