[Coniberty Acres]

What are the good and bad about these balers? Found one for sale a few hours away it is twine tie been in the shed its whole life and looks really good in the pictures. Can you add net to them? What are things to look at on them? How many pto HP needed to run one? probably do less than 100 bales a year with it. has the monitor manuals and some spare parts with it. Don't know anything about new holland balers or round balers in general

 

[8350HiTech]

More than 99 times out of 100, adding net to any baler is going to be not practical. If you really want a net wrap baler, search for one with that in mind. Other than that a 640 is the first generation of NH belt baler so you may have a few early model quirks, but they’re the same basic design that NH used for 20 years after that, which isn’t a bad thing. Minimum HP is kind of a moving target with your terrain and size bale you want to make.

 

[Coniberty Acres]

Thank you. Baler looks super clean in the pics. Terrain is mostly flat round. Would like the 4x5 and 4x4 bales if we can make them smaller.

Here is the description:

New Holland 640 Round Baler 4x5 bales, twine tie, extra wide pickup. Done with baling, I'm getting too old to handle the heat.
OBO, serious offers only. Great shape, field ready, see images.

In-cab controls, some small extra parts (belt connectors / shear bolts, etc.) and user / service manuals included.

Didn't know if it would make a good starter baler for my son

 

[mike10]

You cannot add net. What is described in the post indicates it is a Bale Command, twine only baler. The 640 along with it’s sister NH balers of that era were good balers.

The bale command balers of that era had driving indicators to tell you when to switch sides to fill the bale evenly, however, the indicators did not provide feedback on bale shape, but bale size. In other words they just told you to switch sides at a preset interval which you could set. Worked fine but not as good as the next model balers with true bale shape indicators. On a four foot wide baler, 640, this becomes less important since you do not weave much when baling unless you have very light windrows.

Unless you are dealing with a REPUTABLE dealer that you trust, take the words field ready with a grain of salt. It is the same as saying the baler went through the shop. Yes, in one door and out the other door. Buy at a price where you can afford to spend some money for repairs. Remember those balers were introduced in 1992.

 

[Coniberty Acres]

Thank you. It isn't a dealer its on craigslist, so have to take that into account. It is in our price range and I wonder if it would be a good starter baler for my son. We might go look at it next weekend and see how it looks. Thank you for the info

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

I would personally hold out for a net wrap baler. Aside from the benefits of net wrap (better storage, faster, etc) the balers themselves are more desirable if/when its time to sell/trade down the road. IME whatever extra you pay for a net wrap baler now you will get back when selling/ trading in.

 

[Coniberty Acres]

Is the 640 a hardcore baler? Looking at a vermeer rebel also that just popped up

 

[8350HiTech]

Is the 640 a hardcore baler? Looking at a vermeer rebel also that just popped up

Short answer, yes.

Functionally and in practical terms, yes, and if you operate well you won’t have any soft core. But technically it kind of has a very small soft core.

 

[RockmartGA]

Back to the original question:

From your description, the baler has been well-kept, the owner has manuals and a few spare parts, all of which are positives. For me, after viewing the general appearance of the baler, I would focus on the belts. Frayed edges, bad splices, cracked / dry rotted rubber, belts that appear to be stretched or on the other hand, much tighter than the others, and multiple pieces spliced into a belt are all indicative of belts past their useful life or it could mean you need to take them off and re-cut and splice for a even length. A new belt will cost you $250-300, maybe more with current inflation.

Other than that, usual mechanical stuff. Have him hook it up and run it, operate the tail gate, etc. Look at chains, sprockets, hydraulic hoses, hydraulic cylinders, and so on.

I think New Holland recommends 60 HP for these balers. If you roll a smaller bale, say a 4x4, you might be able to get by with slightly less. You will be happier with at least 75 HP though.

 

[Markpnw]

I have the same exact one with the bale plus command. The biggest thing is to learn the machine once you learn it it’s easy. Mine was in decent shape with 25k bales used well but not abused or killed. The monitor isn’t bad and helps with bale size and how to weave but like stated above thick windrows it don’t matter. Once I get more money I’ll buy a netwrap but I bought my baler for $3500 2 yrs ago. Once you set the monitor and it works good bales turnout very nice. I still need to figure out how to recalibrate my monitor but shouldn’t be too hard.

 

[Coniberty Acres]

Thanks guys. Just trying to get my son a baler. Yes net would be nice but we can’t afford one yet. We have found a Vermeer 5400 for $6K the New Holland 640 for $5700.00 and a JD 430 for $4K.

The JD is the closest and cheapest but has been sitting outside

The NH looks to be well cared for and is about 2 hours away so it would be a little bit to tow home
But it’s been shedded and looks in good shape

the Vermeer is the highest but newest baler and looks in good shape. It is also about 2 hours away in the other direction. Not sure how it’s been stored.
My son has quite a bit of ground he can pick up to round bale he could wait and save his money and get a net wrap baler next year but is taking a chance of loosing the ground because when people get someone doing it they don’t like to change. So kind of what he was thinking was get a baler to use that would also be a good spare baler when he upgrades.

 

[Tx Jim]

My neighbors 457 rd baler has been sitting outside ever since he purchased it new about 15 yrs ago. I prefer my rd baler to be in barn when not in use. JD 430 rd balers make a good bale of hay when properly operated.

 

[Markpnw]

I may be wrong but many Vermeer's are built with intent to install net wrap down the road if it is desired. Not sure how much that’ll cost, but that’s something to consider talking about with a Vermeer dealer.

 

[Coniberty Acres]

My neighbors 457 rd baler has been sitting outside ever since he purchased it new about 15 yrs ago. I prefer my rd baler to be in barn when not in use. JD 430 rd balers make a good bale of hay when properly operated.

A 457 has just popped up also. It has net wrap and 13K bales on it. The 430 sold. Thats the thing stuff around here goes fast. Makes it hard when you need to research stuff to make sure it will work for ya

 

[Coniberty Acres]

I may be wrong but many Vermeer's are built with intent to install net wrap down the road if it is desired. Not sure how much that’ll cost, but that’s something to consider talking about with a Vermeer dealer.

There are a few Vermeers popping up a nice 555xl for 10K but I think we want a 4' wide baler. I am researching these balers too they seem to have a good reputation

 

[Trillium Farm]

There are a few Vermeers popping up a nice 555xl for 10K but I think we want a 4' wide baler. I am researching these balers too they seem to have a good reputation

Best thing is to make a "Short List" of balers that would suit you, that way you'll be ready for the next one!

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Also don't limit yourself to what's for sale real close. A round baler is about the easiest piece of equipment to transport. No big deal to haul one a few hundred miles.

 

[KurtS1]

I have a 640 New Holland round baler and have had very good luck with it. It makes a very nice looking bale, that handles well and stores well (I store mine inside). It was a local trade in, to my local dealer. It was always kept inside and very well cared for. I probably paid a little too much for it, but was in a bind and needed a working baler (my old Vermeer had a bearing go out and we couldn't get the old bearing out). It was field ready and worked GREAT! In the end, I feel was worth all that I paid and then some. The only issues that I have had with it, is that after a few years, the twine tie cycle would want to repeat. It was an easy fix, utilizing this forum and the helpful knowledge, provided by Mike 10, in his tech write up section!

The only other complaint that I have is that it doesn't have the wide pick-up and can miss some hay. I tried for years to find some economical NH haysaver wheels, but had no luck.
A couple of years ago, I upgraded balers, still NH, but now have the wide pick-up and net wrap and the bale command monitor (my 640 just had the buzz box to indicate that the bale is made). However, I kept the 640 as a back-up and have used it a couple of times.

 

[Coniberty Acres]

KurtS1 thank you. It says a 60hp tractor to pull it and mine would be about max on that but we wouldn’t be doing over 100 bales a year starting out. The guy is asking $5700 for the baler but it is stored inside and looks clean and well cared for. Might go check it out this weekend

 

[Trillium Farm]

KurtS1 thank you. It says a 60hp tractor to pull it and mine would be about max on that but we wouldn’t be doing over 100 bales a year starting out. The guy is asking $5700 for the baler but it is stored inside and looks clean and well cared for. Might go check it out this weekend

Disclaimer: I know Nothing about roundbalers, but a bit about manuals and min hp requirement.
Whenever one looks at the manual and the min hp listed (For any implement) this is in IDEAL conditions often found only in dreamland.
Be careful as if you don't have enough hp the baler may not perform as intended, the only way to ensure it will do the job is to try it 1st if you can.
If you cannot do this, assess the saleability of the unit in case you want to get rid of it.