Since it was pouring down rain again this morning it turned out to be a good day to travel the fifty some-odd miles down to look at the baler my co-worker wants to sell.
As the crow flies I am betting he is less than 25 miles from the Small-Hold but there is a big old muddy river in between us so going down to the bridge and then backtracking around to his side of the shore line adds the extra mileage.
The baler was actually in better shape than I expected. The paint was hardly faded, all the original warning stickers were still as bright as the day they put on. There was only some minor surface rust here and there. Hell the hitch hole didn't even show any wear, it was still perfectly round with a sharp inside edge.
This isn't the actual baler although it is the exact same model and about the same condition externally as the one I was looking at. The specific one was still in a shed and it was too dark to take any pictures and raining outside the shed. We did hook his tractor up to it so I could see all the moving parts like the ram and pickup head etc. working. All the teeth were intact and the knotters looked good to my inexperienced eye. For what that is worth.
There are a bunch of pro's and con's to this deal though.
Con side is although this baler is in excellent shape he is asking a bit more than what I have seen similar one's go for. Not much more, only about 200 bucks more so maybe the condition offsets the price some. Parts is the biggest con-side to this though as these old 532's are not common around here and although I think OEM parts can be found they are pricey.
Like with the old Ford rake I bought some people love these old Ford balers some people say they are junk. The seller claims he used this baler every year to put up 200 to 300 square bales for his daughter's horse and never had to adjust the timing, replace a tooth or had any trouble with it. Manuals are still available for this model and these 70's era balers were almost tailor made for my old Ford tractors.
On the pro-side of things it is still relatively cheap and compact enough for me to drive it home with little issues even across the bridge and through some road construction. The knotters are supposedly universal between the JD and NH balers of the same time period so those parts should be easy to come by. As I said above the PTO drive with the large flywheel is pretty much custom made to work with the higher torque lower horse power tractors of the day. I could even run this baler with the 8N if I absolutely needed to.
From a strictly cosmetic and brand matching point of view I must admit I kinda like the fact it is a Ford only to match the name brand to the my tractors even if it is in the blue paint scheme. I know that is a silly reason but it kinda takes my fancy a bit.
Bottom line is I bet I buy the thing and try it out. Even at the sellers slightly elevated price tag I will be getting the three hay baling implements for under $1800.00 total and if I have no other issues those should pay for themselves by the end of the second year easily. Especially if I use them to put up the Alfalfa and get enough that I don't need to buy it for lambing season. That's a rough estimate and does not include fuel, time searching, the tractor cost or anything else.
The largest bonus is though that I will not have to wait and wonder about having someone else come in and get the hay cut and baled nor need to borrow someone's equipment. That to me is worth a couple of years of overall loss in itself. Also this time of year if I want to even attempt to get my own hay up by the end of July I would need to jump now and any hay implements this time of year are going to go at a premium regardless. If I wait even more than another week I am done for and only have these last few weeks because of allt he rain we been getting anyway.
So there we have it. To buy or not to buy...... That is the question.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!!!
Buy it you know you want to :-)
ReplyDeleteDawn - Well you're right I really kinda do want it just to kinda match the tractor but I really need it to work for at least three years or so to pay itself off.
Deletecan you find out what the most common broken parts are and lay back at least of each to keep it going? Trying to find something that you admit is rare after the crunch may not be fun.
ReplyDeleteThe parts issue is what concerns me about this. I kinda look at it like I would firearms. Rare exotics are cool, but I like Glocks (for example) because parts are more readily available.
Matt - I agree completely with your philosophy on the matter. If I do buy this one and find a junked one around I would certainly buy it for parts. As I understand it there are a few things that can get broken especially if the timing gets off somehow. On the plus side all the parts are still listed on the New Holland website with numbers for cross referencing at parts shops if nothing else.
DeleteGood advice!!!!
Sounds like a keeper to me
ReplyDeleteME - Well the fact that it is in such good shape is really appealing to me. If it works for a few years it would pay for itself but I am not the greatest mechanic in the world. I was always better at electronics and wires than moving parts.
DeleteNo question, buy it. If it doesn't work out you can always sell it later. Or you might be like me, once I get something I never let it go. Even if I don't use something anymore I just put it back and keep it forever. Always looking towards the hard times coming I guess.
ReplyDeleteSD - If I do buy it I need to get my shedding ramped up though so I don't leave it out in the weather any longer than I have to.
DeleteI wonder if it is the same as some other similar size baler only with blue paint, Ford might not have made it but contracted it out. Anyway it has to be a bargain compared to the original price. Partly cloudy, cutting wood and making some pickles here.
ReplyDeleteSf - As I understand it there are several parts that do switch over. The needles for a 14T fit it I think and the knotters are pretty universal between Ford, JD and NH. The real issue is some of the bill hooks and the like.
DeleteI like Matt's idea, a back up to a back up....set aside a few critical pieces. Buy it, Bubba, you know you want it.
ReplyDeleteStephen - LOL you would tell me to buy an old steam locomotive even if I only had room for 100 foot of track to run it on. I know you :)
Deletebahahahaah! he would! we know him!
Deletelove ya bro! get it. and get a steam locomotive too. your friend,
kymber
kymber - If you could find an object that only glowed on a Bloodmoon that happens in a month with an R in it Stephen would tell you to buy it :)
DeleteI ran an old NH 68 some years back. I wouldn't want to guess how many tens of thousands of bales went through it before I got it to do horse hay. There were grooves worn in the knotters but it still tied quite well. Did eventually loose timing and broke one of the needles though. Maintenance isn't too bad though, would rather work on the baler than my diesel pickup.
ReplyDeleteIndy - Well I hear those NH's and JD's are sometimes indestructible and saw many people bragging about how good they were. If I could find an old NH 68 I would be all over it but the old guys around here don't seem to want to part with them.
DeleteHow often do bailers come for sale? Is there any idea where to purchase the most common broke parts? I think if they do not come available very often you should purchase . But, I would always sicker and offer less , all they can do is say no.
ReplyDeleteI think the independence it brings you is priceless.
LW - They seem to come up for sale around now or a but earlier in the year so the sellers can get higher prices for them being right around bale time. This is one of the few Ford balers I seen for sale though. Even if it eventually breaks down if the thing can make it two or three seasons it would pay for itself easily.
Deletehttp://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/ag-tractors-machinery/125494-ford-532-square-baler-any.html
ReplyDeleteSome good advise here:
MV - YA I actually read that thread the other day as I was checking out what some had to say about them. That's what lead me to the current New Holland site that actually shows all the part numbers and kinda made up my mind about it sorta. If I can find the old numbers I can have any parts guy run them for alternatives or so they say.
DeleteBuy it. At worst you can always sell it again. Much better not to be reliant on a contractor.
ReplyDeleteKev - The fact that the entire parts schematic is at least viewable from the New Holland website was kinda the kicker that made up my mind. I think I am at least going to buy it and give it a try.
DeleteIf we could find deals that good and be set up to bale our own hay in square bales, for 1800, would so do it!! You should buy it. Sounds like its in good shape and it matches your tractor! Its kismet. :O)
ReplyDeleteWe gave up on getting the guy on craigslist to even email us back. Guess he doesnt need the work. sighhh. We want ours baled in square bales. We emailed him twice, left phone numbers. We have ten acres we need baled. Its a good stand this year with all the rain. I think it would be worth someones time to do it, or so it seems. But so far nadda, zippo. can't find anyone to do it. Your own equipment and you won't ever be stuck like we are!
Texan - Ya guys around here never want to bale less than 50 acre fields it seems either. I guess it's too much risk v. reward for them. Currently I got about 13 acres at the Small-Hold in hay (10 in grass and 3 in Alfalfa) and that will more than feed all the sheep all year. The old nags of course need more. I also got a line on a ten acre or so field down the road I might be able to cut and bale if this implement adventure works out.
DeleteI should know in a week or so now if it is going to come together.
My vote is yes, for what it's worth.
ReplyDeleteTB - I am going to give it a try.
Delete