Air Blaster Keeps Baler Knotters Clean

Air Blaster Keeps Baler Knotters Clean BALERS Balers British farmer Fred Symes eliminated problems with the knotters on his Hesston 4900 square baler His home-built system cost him just $230 far less than a similar retrofit kit he could have ordered from his dealer In addition to the knotters Symes system keeps the stuffer brake clean He mounted a small air tank on front of the baler and ran plastic tubing back to nozzles directed at the knotters and the stuffer brake The blast of air is controlled by a pair of electric solenoid valves connected to a switch in the cab Symes hits the switch each time the knotter buzzer goes off keeping the mechanisms totally free of debris After each blast it takes the tank about 45 secs to be restored by the tractor-mounted air compressor I thought about fitting a timer relay so the air blast would be automatic but then I would have needed a manual override as I wanted to be able to give a blast before going out to check on them I also didn t want the cleaning cycle to go off when I m on the back of the baler Pushing the button is no big deal says Symes Keeping the stuffer brake clean could prevent a fire since the brake often reaches high temperatures Symes farms 1 100 acres near Gatwick Airport in London He says he s now fitting a second blower to his MF 185 baler and that the idea should work on any baler Reprinted with permission from Practical Farm Ideas http://www farmideas co uk/

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