Improvements Made To Combine/Baler

Improvements Made To Combine/Baler COMBINES Conversions Howard Elmer and his son Sage have improved their self-propelled baler by installing a separate engine for the baler Originally featured in Vol 36 No 5 the baler was built using the frame engine and cab from a Massey 550 combine and an IH 4650 inline baler The Elmers connected the two machines together with a sub-frame of 5-in channel iron and bracing at the hitch and the connection point The baler’s stationary wheels were replaced by the combine’s oscillating steering wheels A right-angle gearbox connected the combine’s old cylinder shaft to the baler pto shaft “The problem was the stroke of the baler versus the constant pressure of a separator the clutches were built for ” explains Elmer “It created a pounding issue that wore out clutches pretty fast ” After 3 years of use and changing the clutches twice they parked the combaler for 2 years They had two other inline balers for their custom work and for baling their own fields However they missed the visibility over the windrow that they had with the combaler cab sitting over the drive wheels The hydrostatic transmission on the modified Massey let them turn corners faster They also appreciated the 3-speed transmission that let them bale at 2 to 3 mph and travel down the road at 12 to 13 mph “We both had the same idea at the same time to solve the problem ” says Elmer “A neighbor had a worn-out Freeman baler that was headed for the salvage yard When I asked him about it he gave it to me It had a Wisconsin V4 engine that we mounted on the combine frame between the drive wheels ” While it was a challenge to get the engine in place it had a drive and clutch built for the stroke of a baler “We barely got it in place to use this past summer but due to the drought we were short of hay ” says Elmer “We needed more for the cow herd so we baled all our barley straw We still need to work on the throttle but otherwise it worked fine baling between 4 000 and 5 000 bales ” The Elmers made another update on the combaler “The only downside to it was we couldn’t see the pickup ” says Elmer “I had learned to drive by sound We added a video camera so now we can watch the hay or straw feed in ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Howard Elmer 67750 Lower Cove Rd Cove Ore 97824 ph 541-568-4671

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