used square baler

When you hear “used square baler,” many immediately have the image of a cheap workhorse that can be bought for pennies and forgotten about problems. This is where the main catch lies. In fact, buying used equipment is not saving money, but rather a conscious risk, relying on your knowledge and readiness for repairs. I went through this myself, more than once. A good used picker is a godsend, a bad one is a black hole for money and nerves. Let's not have rose-colored glasses.

What you look for is what you find: key components on the secondary market

The first thing I always look at is not the age, but the condition of the pressing chamber and feed unit. Rust on the body is nonsense; it can be cleaned off. But if the fingers of the pressing mechanism or the walls of the chamber are deeply worn, especially in places of contact with belts or chains, this is already serious. Repairing something like this can cost a third of the cost of a relatively new car. I saw an old Claas Rollant 46 in operation, and the owner promptly changed all the liners and bearings in the chamber, and it worked better than some newly imported remakes of dubious origin.

The second point is hydraulics. Leaks on hoses are the norm for used ones, these are minor things. It's scary if there are problems with the pump or distributor. You need to check under load. How? Agree and see how he really presses. If, when forming a bale, the pressure jumps, or the clamp cylinder moves jerkily, get ready to disassemble and diagnose the hydraulic system. Replacing a pump on the same John Deere 348 is not at all budgetary.

And the third point, which is often forgotten, is the belt or chain drive of the camera. Here you need to not just inspect, but try the tension, look at the degree of wear on the teeth of the sprockets or on the inside of the belts. Strong overwork leads to slippage and, as a result, to a low-quality, loose bale. Going through this unit is a painstaking job, not for garage conditions.

Brands and models: what you can win on and what you can lose on

There are some kind of ?immortals? models who, even at the age of 15+ years, can be reliable hard workers. Among the bale ones, these are, for example, New Holland BB900 series or Krone Variant 125. Their design is simple, spare parts, even non-original ones, can still be found. But there is a nuance here: such popular models are often “killed” into the trash because they were used to the point of wear and tear. You need to look at a specific instance, and not rely on a name.

It’s a completely different story with complex devices, for example, those that have an automatic twine or net tying system. By purchasing such a used one, you can end up with an expensive replacement of sensors or the entire piping assembly. I remember the case with the Welger RP 12 pick-up. The owner bought it “without looking”, and the plastic gear in the twine feeder was broken. The part seems to be cheap, but for this particular model it was discontinued, I had to order production, wait a month and pay exorbitant prices.

Therefore, my rule is: the simpler the design of a particular secondary modelsquare picker press, the higher the chances of success. Extra electronics in old hardware is an extra headache.

Where and how to look: not only message boards

Avito and other platforms are, of course, the first thing that comes to mind. But they often post there what they want to sell as quickly as possible. Much more information can be obtained from specialized communities of farmers or at regional agricultural forums. There, sometimes people sell equipment that they themselves have used for a long time, and can honestly tell all its “sores”. Sometimes you can even find out the history of repairs.

Another channel is familiar machine operators or service owners. They often know who has a good unit that they can sell due to fleet renewal. Such options are usually more reliable, since the equipment was often serviced in one place. I found it great onceused square balerMassey Ferguson 1844, which was serviced by the dealer as scheduled. The difference with market offers was colossal.

And yes, you should never neglect a personal inspection. It’s better to spend on the road than to repair a “pig in a poke” later. During the inspection, be sure to look into all the technical holes, check the oil in the gearboxes (if any), evaluate the number of welding seams - their abundance indicates an active “therapeutic” reaction. history.

Cost of Ownership: The Hidden Costs They Don't Talk About

The purchase price is just the beginning. You should immediately budget for at least the replacement of all consumables and fluids. Belts, hydraulic and fuel filters, oil in gearboxes, possibly high-pressure hoses. This is the required minimum for commissioning. An old Krone, for example, may have a whole battery of 8-10 belts, and if you change it, it will be all at once.

Next are the spare parts that are about to fail. After an inspection, it usually becomes clear that after 50-100 operating hours it will be necessary to change, say, the bearings on the pickup shaft or the teeth on the camera drive gear. You need to immediately find out the availability and price of these parts. There may be a problem with some old foreign-made models - the original is not supplied, and analogues are not always of the same quality.

And the main hidden expense is downtime.Square BalerIt always breaks down at the wrong time, in the midst of preparing feed. If you don’t have a good service person in mind or a supply of critical spare parts, downtime during the season can cost more than the entire repair. Therefore, when buying used, you are essentially buying the need to create your own small warehouse of spare parts.

An alternative view: when something new from the manufacturer can be more profitable

Here it is worth taking a step back and remembering that the market does not stand still. Sometimes, chasing imaginary profits on the secondary market, you miss interesting options for new solutions. I’m not talking about giants like Claas, but about companies that offer modern, but more affordable lines. Take, for example,Hulunbuir ?Jiujia Machinery Manufacturing Company. If you go to their websitehttps://www.cn-fascar.ru, it is clear that this is not a handicraft workshop, but a serious integrated enterprise (modern integrated smart manufacturing enterprise), which itself conducts developments in the field of agricultural machinery.

Why is this important? Because their new balers, being new, can be priced competitively, comparable to the price of a good used European machine after an overhaul. But at the same time, you get a guarantee, predictability and, most importantly, the availability of spare parts and service from the manufacturer itself. For a person who is not ready to constantly dance with a tambourine around old equipment, this may be a more rational choice.

The company positions itself as an enterprise that unitesresearch and development, production, sales and service. In the context of balers, this means that the design is more likely to take into account common problems, and there will be somewhere to turn if something goes wrong. This is a different type of technology ownership - a calmer one. Of course, this is not a panacea, and any new technology may have “childhood diseases”, but this is still a different level of risk compared tousedunit of unknown history.

Final considerations: not emotions, but cold calculations

So what's the bottom line?Square balerwith mileage is a tool for those who are in the know, who have the time, hands and access to a good mechanic. The choice should be based not on emotions (? Oh, he only worked 5 thousand hours!?), but on a strict technical assessment of the main components and a sober calculation of future investments.

You need to clearly understand for what volumes and what crops it is needed. An old, low-power picker on a large field is a pain. And be sure to have a financial cushion for the first, most likely repair. Without this, it’s better not to even start.

And if there is no such readiness, then, whatever one may say, it may be worth looking towards new solutions from companies that rely on the optimal price-reliability ratio, like the mentioned “Jiujia”. Sometimes the straight road is shorter. In the end, there is only one task - to make high-quality bales on time and without hassle. Which path to this goal to choose is something everyone decides for themselves, based on their strengths and capabilities. The main thing is to make choices with open eyes.