A Good Deal?

Bryce Frazier · May 23, 2014

Just saw this on CL... $300 for a nice-ish working Case 200 Baler?? Says it is a 1965?? Thinking I might buy it... Were they good balers? How much horse would I have to have to run it?? 20? Bryce
1965 Case 200 Baler

David G · May 23, 2014

Buying the baler is the down payment, you can stick a lot of money into one.

Smalltowner · May 23, 2014

You will spend lots of time fooling with the twine knotter, the weak point of this model. We used one for one crop one year, bought used one year old, pulled/powered by a Fordson Super Major, sold the next year and bought a New Holland. Knotter timing is difficult to get right but you may can do it. You need 40HP or more for production baling but smaller HP will work going slower of course.

Adirondack case guy · May 23, 2014

There was nothing the matter with those knotters. As Case dealers we sold dozens of those balers. The only time they wouldn't tie properly is when someone was trying to make bricks, or when the hay got damp towards evening.
I see in the pic. that the knotters are not in the home position as it sets there.
They were a very good small baler for smaller operations. A 35-40 HP tractor would run them nicely pulling a wagon on the level. They were a little light for controlling a wagon on hilly tarain.
Check the plunger slide and rollers for ware. Check the feed arm for cracks in the feed finger head. Knotters are not problematic as stated below. They were used for years on the newer 220, 230, and 330 balers.
If you get it, we can help you out with any advise or parts you may need down on the Case Forum
Loren, the Acg.

LAA · May 23, 2014

I have had a couple of 200"s and a couple more 220"s over the years, all were good balers that made many a bale without any problems to speak of. I had two Uncles that ran them on dairys for years and i can assure you they got their moneys worth out of them. They are simple to work on and not much to go wrong.

DaninKansas · May 23, 2014

The issue will be the knotter. If you get the right person that knows what they are doing it "COULD" be working fine with just an hour or so's worth of labor.

I had a JD 14T baler that I bought from a 80 year old neighbor that said it worked fine for him the last time he used it - about 8 years earlier before he parked it in the shed. I set it up and baled a little bit with it and found that it failed to tie one in twenty bales on one side. If I had just run it a little longer and let all the kinks work out it probably would have been fine.

Instead I thought I would be proactive and get it working right before I shoved a lot of hay through it. I talked to the local JD stealership and "Yeah we got a guy that knows all about them". $1600 later I had a baler that wouldn't tie on one side at all. It never made another bale again and I get $300 for it at the scrap yard.

Zoomey · May 23, 2014

I have some pairs of these. According to JD these were used on 127, 135 and 152 Total Mixed Ratio Feed Mixers.

Zoomey · May 23, 2014

When I say pairs I mean TY9332 mud guards flaps with the JD emblem.

John B. · May 23, 2014

My dad had one of those that always miss tied the bales. When I got old enough I found a book on old binders and read how the knotters work. The knotter on the balers are the same. I found just a loose bolt on Dad's knotter and that cured his problem. Once you know how they work it's easy.

DeltaRed · May 23, 2014

350? Even if it doesnt work/is total junk,you will will still get scrap price out of it

GordoSD · May 23, 2014

Reading between the lines. He had knotter problems. Couldn't fix them. Bought another entire knotter assembly, still wouldn't tie. Now wants it out of the yard at any price.
I'd tell him you will give him $500 for it when it ties 50 consecutive bales.Otherwise you return it, no harm no foul.
Do you have a couple of acres of hay to put up in June?

ss55 · May 23, 2014

I can't say if they are good balers or not.

It's priced at about scrap price, and the seller states the knotters don't work right. The bale in the bale chute does not look tied. If you know how to fix the knotters, you will only be out the cost of your time and the cost of any parts you replace to try to fix it. If you need a working baler now, I'd keep look for something else.

Bryce Frazier · May 23, 2014

Well, it is still toooooo wet to get anykind of field work done at my house, so, the two meadows are going to be left alone to come up in grass (mostly Canary).
I have found that the chickens like to bed down in it, so I am going to mow both of the bigger meadows and bale them this year, and then the smaller one that I have been clearing (also dryer) will have oats next year...
All in all I will probably be looking at 1 1/2 acres of wild grass, but it gets to be about 4 feet tall by July, so I will cut it in mid July, and get quite a nice crop...
I wouldn't think that quality would matter for bedding, just quantity!!!

Thanks for the imput... I don't have anything big enough to pull it, plus I have a NH 68 that I would rather use... I think it is pretty much field ready...

I have my Ford 501 mower ready to go
John Deere 594 Rake ready to go
New Holland 68 ALMOST ready (just a finaly check over)
all I need is a wagon to pull behind the baler....

I think I am set!!! Tractor clubs plow day is set for tomorrow, right now I am watching lightning shoot across the sky, so we shall see!! Bryce

jd7700 · May 24, 2014

That another case of why I never ever let somebody else work on my stuff 9 times out of 10 it costs you twice what it would if uiu had done it yourself even if you had to spend a lot of time maybe ruin some parts in the process

Bret4207 · May 24, 2014

(quoted from post at 20:42:42 05/23/14) Well, it is still toooooo wet to get anykind of field work done at my house, so, the two meadows are going to be left alone to come up in grass (mostly Canary).
I have found that the chickens like to bed down in it, so I am going to mow both of the bigger meadows and bale them this year, and then the smaller one that I have been clearing (also dryer) will have oats next year...
All in all I will probably be looking at 1 1/2 acres of wild grass, but it gets to be about 4 feet tall by July, so I will cut it in mid July, and get quite a nice crop...
I wouldn't think that quality would matter for bedding, just quantity!!!

Thanks for the imput... I don't have anything big enough to pull it, plus I have a NH 68 that I would rather use... I think it is pretty much field ready...

I have my Ford 501 mower ready to go
John Deere 594 Rake ready to go
New Holland 68 ALMOST ready (just a finaly check over)
all I need is a wagon to pull behind the baler....

I think I am set!!! Tractor clubs plow day is set for tomorrow, right now I am watching lightning shoot across the sky, so we shall see!! Bryce

Cut the Canary ASAP. It's not bad feed if it's 18" tall. When it's 4 foot tall it's a bear to work with. And consider that 4 foot long Canary is a bear to muck out of a chicken pen. Work better if you can chop it before putting it down.

A Good Deal?

Bryce Frazier

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David G

Well-known Member

Smalltowner

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Adirondack case guy

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LAA

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DaninKansas

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Zoomey

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Zoomey

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John B.

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DeltaRed

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GordoSD

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ss55

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Bryce Frazier

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jd7700

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Bret4207

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