hesston 530 round baler

anyone on here know anything about the hesston 530 4x4 round balers.
RICK

We've had one for years. What do you want to know?

Saw one sell at the consignment sale yesterday for $1800. Appeared to be in operating condition.

i have heard they plug up easily when starting a bale got a nice looking one for sale locally .but i read alot of bad reviews about them
RICK

If the hay isn't dry it can be hard to start a bale. They are decent simple to work on baler.

Not a true 4X4. More like a 39" X4'. There is a bar inside the throat that can cause it to plug easily. If you take the bar out you have to work to plug it. Simple easy to operate bailer. Had one for 10 plus years.

I think its the same as CaseIH 8420 which is what I have, the only thing I don't like about it is the windrow needs to be tight, or you loose the edges, mine has gathering wheels which helps, otherwise they are very good balers, and simple to work on.

Had one for one year, and sold it. Easy to plug, small bales are difficult to move without pushing them, and at least in my area, hard to sell. If you want it to operate on a small tractor, and not planning on selling the hay, and not very much acreage you might be ok. If many acres/bales you will be stopped tying constantly which is a pain. And the small light bales are tough to stab with a spike without pushing them around the field. I hated the baler. About half a dozen times laying on my back in 95 degree humidity broke the camels back for me, and it was gone. To each their own.

I don't think they are such a bad baler. I looked into them before deciding to go all small squares. The attraction was less hp required, drop dead simple baler and for me - selling all of my hay, I felt the small round bales had a place on the horse market. Many of the horse owners have a compact tractor with a front end loader; handling them would be much easier IMHO than a larger/heavier bale. The bales are small enough to load into a compact truck bed - like a Ford Ranger.

Downside IMHO is small bale. The bales don't come out crisp, square shoulder looking - important if selling. The pickup is narrow and if you have a lot of hay, much tying.

A friend of mine has one of these balers, not sure the exact model, but is like the 530. He feeds 15 or 20 cattle and the baler is what he has used for years and suits his operation well.

The same/similar baler is still in production as the Massey Ferguson 1735. Below is a youtube link describing the 1735.

Good luck,
Bill
Massey Ferguson 1735

I own two of these balers and bale with 4020 jds. Late year we baled 1650 bales. I bought the first one 16 years ago so I can say I have used one a "little bit". Very simple baler, very low cost. Will make loose sloppy bales, plug easy, and ten other complaints if the wrong guy is in the drivers seat. I taught my wife how to run our #2 baler with no baling experience. After the first season she now makes me look bad. Its Not hard, just takes a little experimenting to learn its style.No different than square baling with a new holland then switching to a IH. Each baler gets the same job done, but each handles a little different. Loose, worn, or glazed belts will cause them to plug easy. The new style belting with grips on it will make it pick up hay as good as any other baler. You CAN NOT move ahead fast until you see the bale starting to spin. Once you are spinning you can almost drive as fast as you can set in the seat. They do not like wet hay or brush. Most of the time if you are having problems getting the bale to exit the baler it is not dry enough to be baling anyway. Longer the hay the better looking the bale. If you are one of those guys who cuts hay so short that it barley will make a windrow it will not make a good tight bale. I have found that after a few seasons the bales will get a little light. I remove about 2 inches from each belt. This makes a very tight bale. These bales work well for my farm, but maybe not my neighbors. To each his own. Most anyone can buy one without 4 years of payments. Anyone who has one they dont want give me a call. I would buy a third one to have a spare on hand . Al