Open Throat vs Closed Throat Balers

Would someone mind telling me the difference between the closed throat and open throat round balers? My Gehl 1875 is considered a closed throat as rrlund mentioned to me. I have to run a real slow rpm when first starting dry hay or it just balls up in front of the rolls and pickup, which is tough to clean out. Once it starts to roll, in about 10 feet or so, I can speed up and go.

Would an open throat baler be a lot more forgiving when starting a bale, or is the difference for other reasons? I am used to small and large squares and not so much on the round baler. Thanks for any insite - Bob

Open throat has a larger area for hay to enter. All things equal an open throat baler is easier to start a bale forming than a closed throat.

I had an old vermer that was a closed throat, the feed rollers were almost touching, and it would ball up when starting a bale in you did not do everything just right. We upgraded to a JD 530 and it had a gap between the feed rollers and never had a problem starting a bale with it. You could clogged it up if you it a big wad of hay.

Like the others said, an open throat baler is much easier to start a bale. The open throat has a much wider opening for the hay to enter the bale chamber. I had an old Vermeer closed throat baler that was a trick to start and if the hay was just a little damp you may as well go back to the house. It did put up a really nice bale. I have an old JD 435 baler now that is a breeze to bale with. I've actually baled a fence post or 2 that floated in during a flood and didn't know it until I fed the bale.

I have an IH 2400 5X6 which is a closed throat. It starts bales pretty easily even in dry hay. It wasn't like that when I bought and it took a couple of seasons to get to where I am now. There was much cussing and some unplugging.

The biggest help was reading the manual cover to cover and then carefully checking the baler. The adjustment of the cover behind the top feed roll is critical. Additionally a PO had installed it upside down.

It's obsolete but gets the job done for me and was bought right.

It took two things to make the JD 435 (closed throat) bale well. First, slowing the pto if the grass is slick or exceptionally long really helps. Second was doubling the number of fingers it came with. Not the pickup fingers, but the ones above them below the rollers. It does a much better job of making the hay follow its intended path that way. It was a disaster of plugged rollers and snapped chains before that.

I also noticed a huge difference when I went from baling with the 4440 to the 7800. The hitch is an inch and a half higher and it completely changes the way the machine feeds. It was an unexpected benefit when all I really wanted was a quieter ride.

Notjustair: Your JD 435 is NOT a closed throat baler. The JD 410 and 510 where the last closed throat JD balers. Even the 430 and 530 where open throat balers. You must have had the baler set wrong/low to where the pickup was too high/tight against the baler on the 4440. The higher drawbar on the JD 7800 would have opened the throat up. You need to look in your operator manual and adjust the wheel spindle mounts to raise the baler up so the throat is opened up. I have ran into this issue on several JD balers of all models if they are set wrong they will NOT take in hay very well. Look at the spindle brackets and they have several different sets of holes for height adjustment.

Bobl1958: An open throat baler is much easier to start bales with. It is also more forgiving of baling tough hay. If your baling much hay trading up to an open throat baler would make your life easier.

(quoted from post at 19:17:27 06/10/16) It took two things to make the JD 435 (closed throat) bale well. First, slowing the pto if the grass is slick or exceptionally long really helps. Second was doubling the number of fingers it came with. Not the pickup fingers, but the ones above them below the rollers. It does a much better job of making the hay follow its intended path that way. It was a disaster of plugged rollers and snapped chains before that.

I also noticed a huge difference when I went from baling with the 4440 to the 7800. The hitch is an inch and a half higher and it completely changes the way the machine feeds. It was an unexpected benefit when all I really wanted was a quieter ride.

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I've got a 435 and it's NOT a closed throat baler. It bales as good and starts as well as my neighbors new JD baler. Mine will bale everything from wheat straw, bermuda grass, fescue or peanuts without any trouble. What kind of shape are your belts and starter roll? The only thing that I can that would make it hard to start would be if they were worn.

Woohoo! Here I was thinking it would never go back on the 4440 because it worked so much better on the 7800. It also makes me mad that I fought that thing and no one at the Deere dealership brought this up. It came from them, for Pete's sake!

(quoted from post at 19:17:27 06/10/16) It took two things to make the JD 435 (closed throat) bale well.

I also noticed a huge difference when I went from baling with the 4440 to the 7800. The hitch is an inch and a half higher and it completely changes the way the machine feeds.

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All JD rd balers built after the 410/510 models are open throat. Tractor drawbar height required should be outlined in operators manual. I know drawbar height is outlined in my 467 OM as pictured below. Note recommended 540 PM height has a 7 inch variation.

I had a Hesston 5510 or 5580 or something like that; 5x6, 4" belts, cross (x) tie arms, manual as I recall. Must have been a closed throat as it was a pain to start any kind of roll.

Have had 2 JDs and both just run up to the bale and eat it...lovely. A 530 5x6 and a current 375 5x4.

Welcome back. Did you plant any hay this year?

Thanks. Actually missed the place.

Weather has been finicky for all of us (I'm sure) and has really messed up my plans for sorghum-sudan the last couple of years. Plus I didn't know
I had 10's of millions of rye seeds and bermuda roots buried in my soil. I did a good dose of 2-4-D several years ago and that really helped the
grasses return. Also the heavy rains have helped to bring them back to the mainstream.

I have 2 bermuda patches but the rest is rye; some rye in the bermuda. I will surely continue to feed and "nature-water" the bermuda but the rest
will probably go back to something with more volume once the weather settles down. I don't think I'll have another "Gotcha" hay crop as tall as
the one I had a few years ago. That sucker was just too much to work, course it only got that tall because I couldn't get the weather to cooperate
so that I could bring it in sooner......but the seed was true to it's claims....heavy stands, small stems, late maturing and succulent.

Oh and I forgot, the Sugar Cane Aphid invaded my regrowth that year and ruined it....as if I needed a second cutting. Never had that little sucker
before and after researching and contacting TAMU ag. folks, wondered why as according to them it has been around for quite awhile.

How you doing with all the water?

Mark
I have enough rainfall at this time but I know better than to complain. The drought we had really hurt Coastal but it seems to be rebounding from the extra H2O. I've been trying to get some hay baled that got drenched by 2+ inches of rain that we only had a forecast of 20% showers. I baled hay yesterday after raking it and letting it dry for 2 hours but ground was wet enough for tires to show moisture while baling but hay tested lower moisture than I desired(10-12% moisture) but still showed some green color.
Jim

(quoted from post at 14:42:10 06/17/16)
Mark
I have enough rainfall at this time but I know better than to complain. The drought we had really hurt Coastal but it seems to be rebounding from the extra H2O. I've been trying to get some hay baled that got drenched by 2+ inches of rain that we only had a forecast of 20% showers. I baled hay yesterday after raking it and letting it dry for 2 hours but ground was wet enough for tires to show moisture while baling but hay tested lower moisture than I desired(10-12% moisture) but still showed some green color.
Jim

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Hear you on that. Playing the same game here but we too did need the moisture.

Hesston 5500 was closed throat, 5580 was open throat. I had a 5540 4x5 open throat, good baler but if hay was damp it would rap around the square starter roll and lock up the baler. Dulled many knife blades cutting hay off that square roller, finally traded it for a 640 NH and used it for years with very little plugging problems.
Up graded to a NH BR7070 couple of years ago, plan on it lasting till the next generation wants a new baler.