How to choose a baler? Characteristics of baler and baling presses

Modern agriculture can not be imagined without mechanized machinery. One of the most demanded machines for cleaning the field is a baler. This unit makes it possible not only to significantly reduce the time for drying and collecting hay, but also significantly reduces the laboriousness of the process.

What is a baler?

For agricultural works, a tractor is used, to which, depending on the functions performed, a mounted implement is attached. For harvesting, use a rotary mower. She puts the chamfered grass in a roll, which is almost ready for further processing. After a while, the chamfered mass is dried, and the roll can be transported. At this stage, a baler comes into operation. The main function of this machine is to pick up straw or hay, compress and form bales.

Types of mechanism

There are many classifications of a baler:

1. In the form of formation of a bundle of hay: bales and roll presses. Mechanisms of the first type under the influence of the piston on the hay form rectangular bales. And roll presses form bales by twisting the dry mass into the cylinder.
2. According to the degree of compaction of the mass: presses with low (up to 100 kg / m³), medium (100-200 kg / m³) and high (200-300 kg / m³) compression density.
3. By the method of feeding straw into the press chamber: presses with side, front and top feed of dry grass.
4. By type of aggregation: trailed, self-propelled, mounted and semi-mounted balers.

In domestic agriculture, baling and baling presses are most often used.

How does the baler work?

During the movement of the machine above the roller work the fingers of the baler, which pick up the hay and feed it into the press chamber. In this compartment, with the help of rollers and a pressing mechanism, the mass rotates. At the same time, a new portion of hay is continuously fed. During the rotation, the mass is compacted.

As the hay comes in, the mass density increases. When the maximum possible density of the bale is reached, a signal is sent through the upper roll to the special device. When the hay is fed into the press chamber, the upper roll of the press prevents clogging of the acceptance hole. After the alarm is triggered, the tractor driver turns on the winding machine. The baler stops, the coil is wound with a twine.

After winding, the tractor operator opens the rear panel of the chamber, and the roll is unloaded to the ground with the help of rotating lower rollers. After closing the back cover of the chamber, the press starts to work again, and the bale formation process is repeated.

To obtain a quality roll with good preservation, the humidity of hay or straw should be 20-23%. It is recommended to press in the morning or evening time for better baling.

Pros and cons of the roll aggregate

The main advantages of a roll press - the duration of the cycle. Compared to the baler, the baler of hay is easy to use and maintain. Also this mechanism is easier to repair.

Because of the cylindrical shape of the bale, the roll press has a significant drawback - a large-sized briquette of hay. As a result, there are difficulties in transporting and loading / unloading. Therefore, there is a need to use additional mechanisms. And such auxiliary manipulators and load-lifting machines are not cheap. In addition, additional resources will go into their service: materials, raw materials and human labor.

Principle of the baling press

The collection of the sloping mass takes place with the help of prongs located on the gross compartments. Processing of hay and straw bales is carried out with the help of a piston, which compresses the mass with reciprocating movements in special compartments. In this case, it is possible to adjust the length of the bales.

The processed mass is packed in blocks of rectangular shape, which are firmly bound by twine. The bale baler makes it possible to form the crop harvested in several bales into one dimension block. During operation, the unit can capture an area of 2 to 2.5 meters, while not complicating the overview of traffic.

When you hit the press of external objects or when excessive accumulation of mass, all the excess passes through the pulley. This allows not only to create quality bales with the same amount of hay, but also protects the drive from breakages.

The baler is controlled directly from the tractor cab.

Pros and cons of the baler

The main advantage of the baling press is the ability to adjust the density of the bale. In this case, compared to the roll aggregate, the bales formed are much smaller. This allows you to unload bales not only mechanically, but also manually.

Also, baling presses have the best performance characteristics. So, to transport bales of rectangular shape is much easier compared to rolls. In one body, you can place rectangular bales 1.2 times larger than rolls. In addition, they are easier to store in storage. They are even used for temporary cattle fencing. All these advantages provide a high demand for baling presses. The only drawback of this unit is high cost.

Baler for minitractor

Recently, the mini-press has become increasingly popular, which can be used in combination with a motor block or a small tractor. Due to the small dimensions, the mini pick-up is very convenient to use in small areas. Therefore, it is often used by individual farmers or in small farms.

Mini-press can also be roll or baling. The main advantage of this unit is that it forms small bales with a weight of up to 20 kg. Therefore, compacted hay can be easily unloaded / immersed and transported. Some models of the mini-press have the additional function of adjusting the size of the bale or the diameter of the roll. It's always very convenient.

Cost of the machine

Like any other agricultural machinery, a baler is not cheap. Today, a wide range of this equipment is on the market. Manufacturers produce presses with different technical capabilities and modifications. If you need to select a baler, the price is not the most important criterion. During the purchase of the unit, attention should be paid to the type of machine (baling or roll press), power, quality of assembly and briquetting, productivity, bale density, press chamber dimensions, speed of movement, width of field processing, economy in service. It is equally important to choose the press of a well-known manufacturer that produces a quality and reliable unit. After all, agricultural machinery should serve for a long time and have good operational capabilities. Therefore, very often you can see that for the same baler the price of different manufacturers can vary significantly. For example, a roll aggregate of the Italian company Super costs 750 thousand rubles. For the same mechanism of domestic production, you need to pay about 400 thousand rubles. A press-baler 145, produced by Ancona LLC, can be bought at the plant for 375 thousand rubles. The Russian baling press costs from 450 thousand rubles.

A little cheaper are balers for mini tractors. The average price for a mini-press of Russian production is 350 thousand rubles. A similar unit of the Chinese company is 1.5 times cheaper.